A hot air balloon is a lighter-than-air aircraft consisting of a bag, called an envelope, which contains heated air. Suspended beneath is a gondola or wicker basket (in some long-distance or high-altitude balloons, a capsule), which carries passengers and a source of heat, in most cases an open flame caused by burning liquid propane. The heated air inside the envelope makes it buoyant, since it has a lower density than the colder air outside the envelope. As with all aircraft, hot air balloons cannot fly beyond the atmosphere. The envelope does not have to be sealed at the bottom, since the air inside the envelope is at about the same pressure as the surrounding air. In modern sport balloons the envelope is generally made from nylon fabric, and the inlet of the balloon (closest to the burner flame) is made from a fire-resistant material such as Nomex. Modern balloons have been made in many shapes, such as rocket ships and the shapes of various commercial products, though the traditional shape is used for most non-commercial and many commercial applications.
Hot Air Balloons
There are many potential explanations for sightings. We recommend eliminating the most common and mundane before jumping to less probable conclusions or you submit a report.
Resources
Traffic Control Trackers
Live flight tracking maps are available for monitoring airline, marine, and balloon traffic and trajectories in real-time or historically around the world.
ADS-B Exchange
FlightAware
Flightradar24
Marine Traffic
PlaneFinder
RadarBox
SondeHub Tracker (tracks both meteorological and amateur radio sondes, including radiosondes used by weather services and enthusiasts.)
SondeHub Amateur (tracks radiosondes launched by amateur radio operators and hobbyists.)
Space/NASA Launches
Planned launches occur regularly all over the globe. These tracks can help identify the potential missions or launches in your area.
SpaceLaunchSchedule.com
SpaceFlightNow.com
RocketLaunch.Live
Satellite Trackers
Satellite tracking can also be done in real-time with the aid of tracking maps. They are also helpful for tracking Starlink launches.
Heavens Above
N2YO
Satellitemap.space
Spot the Station (International Space Station)
Space Weather
There are a number of sites which track solar flares, magnetic storms, asteroids, and other events which are helpful for eliminating explanations related to astronomic phenomena.
Spaceweather.com
Spaceweather.gov
Eyes on Asteroids