If you happened to be gazing into the sky in Longmont on Friday morning, you may have noticed something a bit out of the ordinary — a white, translucent, weirdly-shaped balloon floating some 50,000 feet above the ground.

Have no fear — the balloon is not a Chinese surveillance device nor is it a wayward hot air balloon left over from last weekend’s Labor Day Lift Off in Colorado Springs. Rather, it has been identified as a Stratollite, a special kind of high-altitude balloon developed by World View Enterprises, a private, American near-space exploration and technology company headquartered in Tucson, Arizona.

Phil Wocken, Vice President of Marketing and Communications at World View Enterprises, confirmed on Friday afternoon that the balloon was gathering solar radiation data as part of a mission launched in conjunction with NASA and Space Environment Technologies.

Unlike weather balloons, which ascend and eventually pop, Stratollites can be remotely operated, navigated, and adjusted at altitude to maintain a flight path over specific areas. Stratollites, which measure around 450 feet tall when inflated, have a broad range of uses, from wildfire detection and methane emissions monitoring to national security surveillance and weather forecasting for government, scientific and commercial sectors.

This particular Stratollite balloon was launched from Arizona on Aug. 31, and is scheduled to travel near the 40th parallel for the next two weeks. The Stratollite will gather data for the Automated Radiation Measurements for Aerospace Safety (ARMAS) project, which is focused on measuring radiation in the atmosphere to make flying safer.

By collecting real-time radiation data, the mission contributes to improving aviation safety — as well as earth science research — by “laying the groundwork for an automated, reliable operational system that can monitor the natural galactic and solar radiation environment at commercial aviation flight levels,” the company spokesperson said.

The Boulder County Sheriff’s Department confirmed on Friday that the balloon poses no concern for public safety.