A pilot flying above the Chinese spy balloon took a dramatic close-up snap of the large white orb a day before the US Air Force shot it down.
The photo shows the top of the pilot's helmet inside the U-2 cockpit with the balloon flying below and it was taken on February 3 as the balloon "hovered over the Central Continental United States", according to the caption provided by the US defence department.
The Pentagon released the image on Wednesday more than two weeks after the balloon made international headlines as it transited the United States.
