CentreScope

15 hours ago, NGC 1502 said:

Just one comment-  a very bright point source light in binoculars could appear ring shaped if out of focus….

First, the object wasn't so bright that it would be an issue.  My binoculars aren't so cheap that they don't produce a sharp image, and I do know how to focus them.  I've used them to view nebula, Jupiter's moons (and of course our own), and numerous other objects.  

And no, it wasn't the moon.  As I said at the beginning of my OP, I used to be into Astronomy when I was younger and am familiar with astronomical objects and also the equipment to view them.

I'll start out here by saying that I used to be heavily into astronomy when I was much younger, but I still take a passing interest in what goes on in the skies and am familiar with many different objects and what they look like and where they are.  I don't have a telescope anymore, but i do have a pair of 7x35mm binoculars.

Last Wednesday at around 8:30 in the evening before there were any stars out, I noticed what appeared to be a rather bright looking star in the southern sky about 45° up, and slightly to the West (I live in the central Wisconsin region). When I looked at it with my binoculars, I could see that it was a ring shaped object. It was whitish in color and had a dark middle area; could even be described as doughnut shaped. I kept watching it for another 45 minutes until clouds moved in and it never moved or changed shape or had any other changes.  The only motion it made was as it was drifting to the West with the Earth's rotation, just as any celestial object would.

When I went online and looked for information about a ring shaped object in the sky that night, I was expecting to see plenty of reports about it. I especially expected to see something on one of the astronomy forums like this one. I mean, there is no possible way I am the only person who saw this. Anyone who aimed a telescope or spotting scope of any size at it would have seen a good amount more detail than I did through my binoculars, and even I was able to see that the object was ring shaped.  It was very small in my binoculars, but the ring shape was very distinct.

Since it had no flashing lights, didn't move, didn't change shape, etc., I'm inclined to believe it was a celestial object rather than anything in the atmosphere such as a drone, or even a satellite (which would have been moving across the sky).  And no, I don't think it was a UFO or aliens.  It also wasn't Venus, Jupiter or Saturn.  I was thinking more along the lines of a nearby nova,  and the ring was the outer shell of a star being ejected.  But when I looked in the sky each night after last Wednesday, it wasn't there anymore.  If it was a nova, it would probably be visible for quite some time.  So I'm at a loss as to explain what it was.  I would feel much better if I knew others saw it and got a better view than I did with 7x35mm binoculars.  The pros see supernovas that occur in other galaxies, so why wouldn't they see an object that was bright enough to be seen while the sky was still blue (it was shortly after sunset)?

Did anyone else see what I'm describing here?  Or has there been any reports about it in the scientific community?