A team of scientists from the Indian Space Research Organisation will soon arrive in Leh to find out more about the mysterious luminous objects seen on the horizon over a lake in Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir.
Official sources said that after getting preliminary reports that the luminous objects flying over the horizon of Pangong Lake, located 160 km from Leh, could be Chinese lanterns, the security agencies wanted an assessment by experts.
Therefore, it was decided to request ISRO to send a team of scientists to examine the flying objects and give its report, the sources said.
The Indo-Tibetan Border Police had written to the government in October this year about sighting of some orange-yellow luminous flying objects on the horizon over Pangong Lake. Besides, the Leh-based 14-Corps was also alerted by the ITBP, which reported to its Udhampur-based Northern Command.
After the incident, scientists from various organisations in consultation with experts of the IAF, whose radars were also unable to pick up any signal due to the flying of the unidentified objects on the horizon of the lake, came to the conclusion that they were simply Chinese lanterns.
The proposal to shoot down one such flying object was turned down by the government.
It is not clear when the scientists from ISRO would be arriving to examine the flying objects.
Intelligence agencies have opined that this could be a psychological operation by the Chinese army. A possibility of launching 'Chinese lanterns' during day break and in the night was looked into by various astronomers, scientists and experts who have studied glaciers for years together, the sources said.
The history of lanterns being used in battle-ground dates back to the third century, when Zhuge Liang used this technique to seek help from his friends in fighting the enemy. The lanterns or balloons were deployed for signalling and a spy blimp.
Experts from the Ladakh-based Indian Astronomical Observatory and other scientists then studied the phenomenon of the luminous objects and found that they disappear in 12 to 18 minutes.
