A giant white balloon, suspected of being a Chinese spy balloon, drifted across the skies of the United States, sparking curiosity and concern among residents and elected officials.
The balloon, which is the size of three school buses, traveled from China to Alaska and then Canada before crossing into the continental United States.
The high-altitude object continued to move over the central U.S. on Friday at 60,000 feet.
The balloon roiled diplomatic tensions between the United States and China, causing Secretary of State Antony Blinken to cancel an upcoming trip to China.
Sources differ slightly in their characterizations of the balloon.
According to The Atlantic, the ball drifted between clouds and shimmered in the sun, looking almost like a second moon.
Meanwhile, The Independent states that residents initially wondered what the floating object was before its suspected origin as a Chinese spy balloon was revealed.
The AP News refers to the balloon as a "bobbling sky orb," and notes that it has caused curiosity to sweep the nation and internet through search terms like "spy balloon tracker".
Despite this interest, there is no such tracker available yet.
A couple of St. Louis TV stations offered grainy live feeds of the balloon to try and track its path over the U.S. As the object continued to move over the central U.S., diplomatic tensions between the two countries rose.
The U.S. Department of Defense confirmed that it was aware of the balloon's presence and was closely monitoring its movements.
China, meanwhile, denied that the balloon belonged to them, stating that they had no knowledge of it.