Sky Light! - What did I see?

[Charic]

Hi........I've seen satellite  flares, Meteors and what I believed to be an iridium flare and other strange lights in the skies over the Years,  but I recall they all have movement!  I've just been out in the garden (midnight) looking up ( just south of Ursa Major - the base of the pan! ) and there was an almighty light, as if someone had shone a galactic mag-lite. straight down at me? no movement whatsoever,  just a flash and then off, and no second flash, like you often see a satellite rotating.

Can debris enter the atmosphere 90° degrees to the surface, that would seem appropriate for a burnout with no movement or travel indicated, or does it always have to deal with the gravitational pull and come in at some angle.  I`ll accept that  something just entered at 90° I've not heard a bang, and there's no hole in my roof yet?

Any thoughts!! 

[wxsatuser]

I have seen a few of these, they are not like Iridium but are as bright.

[WebSentinel]

Didn't that happen to John Travolta in Phenomenon? Trying seeing if you can make a pencil move without touching it!

[cotterless45]

I've seen a couple of transient really bright glares. Just adds to the night,

Nick.

[Paul M]

It might be related to this subject : http://stargazerslounge.com/topic/195925-green-flash-in-night-sky-what-was-it/?hl=fluid+in+the+eye#entry2056450

I posted in that thread about my own experience of random flashes.

[Beulah]

Hi........I've seen satellite  flares, Meteors and what I believed to be an iridium flare and other strange lights in the skies over the Years,  but I recall they all have movement!  I've just been out in the garden (midnight) looking up ( just south of Ursa Major - the base of the pan! ) and there was an almighty light, as if someone had shone a galactic mag-lite. straight down at me? no movement whatsoever,  just a flash and then off, and no second flash, like you often see a satellite rotating.

Can debris enter the atmosphere 90° degrees to the surface, that would seem appropriate for a burnout with no movement or travel indicated, or does it always have to deal with the gravitational pull and come in at some angle.  I`ll accept that  something just entered at 90° I've not heard a bang, and there's no hole in my roof yet?

Any thoughts!! 

Well my take on this is that it could be lightning. There's a lot of cumulonimbus around at the moment and it feels like it's been threatening to thunder for a few days now. Even if the sky above you is clear, you can still experience lightning phenomenon from clouds scudding about your horizon.

The experience can be compared to a silent camera flash.

Pretty certain it's not psychosomatic because I have only experienced it twice in the years I have been observing, and usually when conditions are favourable, such as storms after rain.

[Vanilla]

"and there was an almighty light, as if someone had shone a galactic mag-lite. straight down at me? no movement whatsoever, just a flash and then off, and no second flash"

My...mmm..."Friend", Zakra (I call him Bob), says he's sorry about that. They were testing their Photonomers on his...umm...Plane...yeah...his plane, and it wasn't meant to scare you.

OK...I might as well tell you the truth. One night when I was up late (outside)..this [removed word]...sh..%&@#$V...

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[Vanilla]

Well...THAT didn't come out the way it was supposed to.

For the record: I was not trying to circumvent the rules of this forum. I wouldn't do that.