Can someone explain something spectacular I seen in the night sky?

[steveyraff]

Hey all, 

I'm 31 years old, from Northern Ireland. Long time reader, first time poster. 

I've always had an interest in astronomy, but only at an extremely amateur level, so my knowledge is not great. When I was a lot younger, I used to be much more active with the subject as a hobby - and spent a lot of time looking at the night sky most nights with my small reflector telescope. 

Anyway, because of my limited knowledge, during all that looking up at the sky I seen a few things over the years that I couldn't explain. Eventually, for most of them, I found my answers online. A few times I seen what looked like a satellite, except it slowly pulsed instead of being a steady light, and seemed to veer in direction rather than travel in a straight line. I eventually found that it was probably the sun reflecting of some tumbling space debris. 

There's still one sight that I've never found any answers to - and it was one of the most spectacular things I've ever seen in the night sky. I was quite young at the time, probably about 11 or 12, but I remember it very vividly. My mother and sister witnessed it too and we still talk about it now and again. 

We were driving down a country road, late at night. It was quite a high, mountainous road. The sky was extremely clear, and as always I was looking up at the stars as my mother drove. My sister commented on a very bright, red light in the sky and my mother said it was probably an antenna of some kind on top of a mountain. I remember even at that age, knowing that was ridiculous! The light was practically right above us, and there were no mountains there (we were driving along a road thats already one of the highest points in the area). 

It appeared to me, to be extremely high - either atmospheric or beyond. I'd be very surprised if anyone here thinks it may have been some kind of aircraft, but I'm open to all suggestions! 

Anyway - it was a real bright red light. Sort of as bright as when one of the planets are very close or a bright satellite, but when I say red, I mean, as red as the tail light of a car! It wasn't moving at all. Then something really amazing happened. As I watched this stationary right light, after a few minutes, from one side to the other, it suddenly changed white over the period of about one or two seconds. 

It remained like this for maybe one minute only, before suddenly shooting off across the sky, trailed by what looked like a blue flickering flame of some sort, until it disappeared out over the horizon. 

It was so amazing looking, but being a young kid, I was totally freaked out and vividly recall not being able to sleep that night! 

Is there such a thing as perhaps a rock or debris burning up in the atmosphere, red then white with heat, perhaps visually appearing to shoot off as it breaks up or something like that? 

It's the kind of thing I'd expect people to see and be convinced it was a UFO, but I am sure there is some reasonable explanation I don't have the knowledge of. 

Really looking forward to you guys shedding some light on this, as it has baffled me for years! Many thanks!

Steve.

P.S 

Would also like to add, we live in a very rural part of Northern Ireland. There was no airports near here. The occasional airliner that flies over head is always at a full 30,000 ft cruising altitude and even then I was very familiar with how they looked at night. At the time, we did used to have a lot more military helicopter activity. Again, being Northern Ireland, I was extremely familiar with how they looked (and sounded) at night time. I was very familiar with the various lights they used and often seen and recognised them at night time. This was nothing like any of the above. 

[gkec]

You are possibly right with the rock debris.  Known as a meteor.  Was there any sound?  Another possibility is ball lightning.

[barkis]

Welcome to SGL  Steve.

 What you saw might have been a Chinese Lantern. They have been mistaken for UFO type phenomena.

They can reach great heights, and this one, if indeed it was a lantern, may have encountered a blast of wind that caused it's demise, by burning it's envelope,

and sent it careering across the sky.

It's a possible explanation, by no means a definite one.

Ron.

[LukeSkywatcher]

Maybe it was a flare. 

[steveyraff]

You are possibly right with the rock debris.  Known as a meteor.  Was there any sound?  Another possibility is ball lightning.

Nope, no sound. We stopped the car at one stage and all got out to have a proper look. Silent. 

I've seen lots of photos and footage of meteors, but nothing quite like this. Although, I think the reason I mentioned the rock thing, I remember years ago hearing Patrick Moore being interviewed on TV, and when asked what was the most spectacular thing he has seen during his years in astronomy, he mentioned something about a fireball I think he referred to it as. He said he was a bright red light and part of his description reminded me of my sighting. I guess the part that seemed most unusual was both the sudden change in colour, and how it all of a sudden changed for stationary when it shot off across the sky trailed by a blue flickering tail of some kind, gas or flame I am unsure. 

[steveyraff]

By the way, on the Chinese lantern theory - when it shot off with this blue tail behind it, it seemed to move from high above me, to across the sky and over the horizon in the distance. It suggests to me that it was moving very high and maybe directionally with the atmosphere? If it was aircraft height, then it means it flew off directionally out of sight - but definitely not downwards to the ground. 

[RLWP]

Red light, white light, change of direction, great speed and a blue flame has all of the characteristics of a fast jet.

And I wasn't there, I only have your description to work with

Richard

[steveyraff]

Red light, white light, change of direction, great speed and a blue flame has all of the characteristics of a fast jet.

And I wasn't there, I only have your description to work with

Richard

Thanks Richard! 

Yes, the latter parts did look like what I'd expect from a fast fighter jet - afterburner flame etc. Still not sure how it might tie into the couple of minutes it appeared perfectly stationary though. 

Thanks for the suggestion

[RLWP]

Aircraft approaching low directly towards you with a white headlight. As it is low, you are getting light scattering so the light appears red (about a hundred metres of canal tunnel with smoke in is enough to turn an approaching boat headlamp red). Once it gets near enough, scattering reduces and the light turns white, aircraft turns and hits afterburner

I can see how that would seem very peculiar to a child

Probably completely wrong of course

Richard

[esxste]

Thanks Richard! 

Yes, the latter parts did look like what I'd expect from a fast fighter jet - afterburner flame etc. Still not sure how it might tie into the couple of minutes it appeared perfectly stationary though. 

Thanks for the suggestion

Distance can make fast moving objects appear to be stationary. Especially if they are flying directly away from you or  directly towards you. 

[steveyraff]

Distance can make fast moving objects appear to be stationary. Especially if they are flying directly away from you or  directly towards you. 

Perhaps, but I do recall the sky was very clear, and the night sky was filled with stars. I remember lining the light up to other stars surrounding it, and the distance between it and all other points of light around it stayed exactly the same for 4 or 5 minutes. It seemed much longer at the time, but it was probably no more than 5 minutes. When it shot off it was a very rapid change, and it took only a matter of seconds of it to trail across the night sky and disappear over the horizon. 

[hes not well again]

I wonder wether gkec might be on to something with his suggestion of ball lightening. There are accounts of them behaving in ways not readily explainable, in fact their very existence was doubted until fairly recently. I'm just glad it wasn't aliens, it gives me no pleasure to report that the last time I was abducted by 'them' I wasn't even offered the complimentary [removed word] probe.

[steveyraff]

I'd never have thought of ball lightening. I must look that up and research it a bit to see if anyone has ever seen ball lightening resemble something similar. 

[cotterless45]

I've only seen it glowing green, before rushing back to bed to hide under the covers,

Nick.

[steveyraff]

lol. 

Well some good food for thought her now at least. Cheers for everyones suggestions. 

[hes not well again]

As I recall ball lightening was in the same bracket as ghosts, until one appeared floating down the central aisle of a charter plane on it's way to Helsinki.  Carrying some physicists on their way to a convention! It disapeared through the rear bulkhead after a while.

[Dave In Vermont]

My grandmother, many years ago, answered the phone when it was making odd noises during a thunder-storm. A 'ball & chain' of lightning jumped out of the receiver and rolled up a wall, down to a radio - blowing it up, and proceeded to chase my terrified granny down the hallway to the front door. She opened the door, and the thing rolled outside and went off towards a field and vanished.

My grandmother never went near a phone during a storm ever again.

Dave

[Kropster]

Sounds like a Foo Fighter to me. Check Wikipedia (not the Rock Band entry!)

[LukeSkywatcher]

Ive seen ball lightning. It hovers without making any sound and then simply vanishes. By far the strangest thing ive ever seen. 

[BeanerSA]

I read that whole first post with an Irish accent!

[LukeSkywatcher]

I read that whole first post with an Irish accent!

Funnily enough, so did i. 

 

[MAN or ASTROMAN]

All this talk of Ball Lightening reminded me of the light phenomena that has been recorded at the Hessdalen valley in Norway.Theories for the mysterious 'Hessdalen lights' include some sort of piezo-electrical effects caused by geological stresses. There is a site for 'Project Hessdalen' including an 'interactive Observatory' on the net. Cases of the Hessdalen lights are often discussed at the saner end of UFO investigations.

[cathalferris]

I'd love to see if such odd terrestrial lights get picked up by the likes of the Modis or Suomi NPP satellite - they are definitely sensitive enough to pick up these things..

[SkyJamie]

I was just reading yesterday about something called Leaping Sundogs and came across this article

http://forgetomori.com/2011/science/a-new-natural-phenomenon-crown-flash/

"Some US satellites carry transient radiometric sensors capable of recording atmospheric visible-light flashes such as lightning and bright meteors"

And more info here for anyone interested

http://amasci.com/amateur/sundog.html