Indian Army mistakes Jupiter and Venus for Chinese drones

Whoever said “When you assume, you only make an ass of u and me” was pretty spot on. Believe it or not, the Indian Army reportedly mistook Jupiter and Venus as Chinese surveillance drones flying over from Chinese skies at night for over six months. The Army’s fears were allayed only when astronomers went to Ladakh and observed that the “objects” were actually Jupiter and Venus. 

According to a report by The Telegraph, the Army had been monitoring the two objects since August  2012, and had until February 2013 recorded 329 sightings over Thakung near Pangong Tso, which is a high-altitude lake spanning across the India-Tibet border. The two objects were thought to have violated the Line of Actual Control (LAC) between India and China. The army apparently decided to ask for two astronomers from the Indian Institute of Astrophysics in Bangalore so they could be sure of the findings, and the institute then sent a team of two astronomers to Ladakh so they could help solve the mystery. 

War of the Worlds Pt. 2

The astronomers were told that the two objects were observed at 4,715 metres above sea level near Thakung. They were also told that there was a delay of 4 minutes in the appearance of one of the objects every consecutive day; that it was the brightest object in the sky and moved in harmony with the stars.

The astronomers then asked the army to use a theodolite (a precision instrument with a telescope and is used to measure angles in the horizontal and vertical planes) to record the angle and elevation of the two objects. The Army then observed the objects for five days in February and reported their findings to the astronomers, who came to the conclusion that the objects were Jupiter and Venus.

It’s not surprising that the Army took the issue seriously given the fact that there is a lot of tension over the India-China border, and Eastern Ladakh is quite a sensitive region. As recently as April, there was much excitement about a Chinese platoon of 50 troops setting up camp 30 km south of Daulat Beg Odi near the Aksai Chin-Ladakh LAC. Indian forces responded by setting up a camp of their own around 300 metres away, but the issue was resolved after three weeks’ worth of negotiations and both countries soon withdrew their troops.

The Indian Institute of Astrophysics also said that stars and planets look very bright at Ladakh given the high altitude and increased atmospheric transparency, and that planets rising from the East could be easily perceived as moving across the LAC towards India.