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is that comets I saw?

dooces

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dooces

dooces

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welcome to the forums dooces!

thanks dooces!

So im new to stargazing having recently bought my 5". having only spent a couple (clear) nights with it, im not sure what it was I was following last night. I may be crazy, but I swear I was following at least 3 comets / meteors / very slow planes on fire / very slow ufos on fire last night. ive searched everywhere for stargazing "events" and have found nothing to explain what they were... they were moving fast enough were I couldn't go 30 seconds without re-centring with a 4mm eyepiece, and I had to constantly move it with the 2x barlow and the 4mm eyepiece... the best way I could describe it would be a spinning disco ball with tentacle wisps... (and there were several)...

so if anyone can please tell me what they were, or if my scope desperatly needs to be collimated (though I can see stars very sharply, and I can even make out the giant red (grey) spot on jupiter), or if i should be posting elsewhere, perhaps to a webmd forum for psychiatric advice.

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The Warthog

The Warthog

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Keep in mind the aadvice given to medical students, "When you hear hoofbeats, think horses, not zebras." First of all, with a 4mm ep and a 2x BArlow, you are almost certainly giving the scope more magnification than it can handle. Anything you get in your FOV at such a high magnification will have to be recentred every few seconds as the apparent motion of the skies is much enhanced. (I am assuming you don't have a motorized mount.)

You say you can see stars sharply, but can you see them sharply with that combination of Barlow and ep? The quality of your 4mm ep may come into question here.

Have a go again tonight with the 4mm alone, and compare to the views in a longer ep. That may answer some questions for you.

Good wishes for your new hobby.

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dooces

dooces

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oh to clarify, I was only playing around with the 2x barlow in tandum with the 4mm eyepiece towards the end of the night - I really wanted to see what they were. I do not have a motorized mount, but i must admit i have amazing dexterity and I can follow quite well with the 2x + 4mm. but anyways, the observations I made were mainly with just the 4mm eyepiece, (and sometimes with the 10mm and 2x barlow) and I used my 10mm eyepiece when i would lose the object (rogue clouds). I spent a good 4 hours following these things.

and to further clarify, I am from windsor, ontario, so perhaps your skies are the same as mine. worth keeping in mind as these ufo's are almost certainly targeting us first.

*quick edit* I have also reposted my original post on a veterinarian website for diagnosis, as per your advice.

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Csuka

Csuka

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and to further clarify, I am from windsor, ontario, so perhaps your skies are the same as mine. worth keeping in mind as these ufo's are almost certainly targeting us first.

*quick edit* I have also reposted my original post on a veterinarian website for diagnosis, as per your advice.

Lol, Drugs are bad mmkaayyyy

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Csuka

Csuka

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srsly, no drugs, and april fools was yesturday... im still searching everywhere to see if anyone else saw these things... could they simply have been early meteors from Lyrids?

I have no idea, i'm new to all this myself, you sure they weren't something like Chinese lanterns and your scope made them look like meteors? IDK lol

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dooces

dooces

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certainly not chinese lanterns. unless they're powered by nuclear fusion. I was tracking one well after sunrise, and it was visible THROUGH some clouds. 3 specifically where some of the birghtest objects in the sky.

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eddy

eddy

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Where were they located and at what times?

What were the movements like, were they tracking with a sidereal motion? Or were they irratic? How long did they last? If it was hours then it wasn't a meteor so thats ruled out, same for planes and chinese lanterns, were they close together, or seperate sides of the sky?

Even the best scopes would struggle with 2x barlow + 4mm eyepiece, what scope do you have?

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The Warthog

The Warthog

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Meteors would move so fast across your FOV that you would wonder if you saw anything at all. However, the combination of 4mm ep and 2x Barlow is far too much for your scope.

Our skies were said to be partly cloudy last night, and it was true. There was only one cloud, and it went from horizon to horizon in every direction. We are supposed to be getting some clear weather from your direction tonight.

Did these objects move from east to west? Did they move at a different rate from the stars around them? What general direction were they located. I doubt that what you saw was anything other than an artifact of your scope and eps, but try finding the objects tonight, at a lower magnification.

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dooces

dooces

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you are probably right, although, these objects were certainly moving, infact, what made me pull out my scope in the first place was noticing a shimmering star that I thought was moving when I went to the store. the stars in the background were clear, sharp, and these objects were moving relative to them. I apologise for my naivety, and I acknowledge it, but I am confident in my assertions. Please understand that I also spent a lot of time with just a 10mm lens.

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dooces

dooces

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Meteors would move so fast across your FOV that you would wonder if you saw anything at all. However, the combination of 4mm ep and 2x Barlow is far too much for your scope.

Our skies were said to be partly cloudy last night, and it was true. There was only one cloud, and it went from horizon to horizon in every direction. We are supposed to be getting some clear weather from your direction tonight.

Did these objects move from east to west? Did they move at a different rate from the stars around them? What general direction were they located. I doubt that what you saw was anything other than an artifact of your scope and eps, but try finding the objects tonight, at a lower magnification.

they were moving south to north, and they were moving absolutly faster than the stars around them. they were also significantly brighter (which made me consistantly bump up the magnification to eventually the 4mm with 2x barlow, which they were still very bright in) they were also distinctly different from any stars around them. even in the 10mm eyepiece, I could clearly see a cone trail.

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dooces

dooces

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they could not have possibly been aircraft, unless of course they were on fire, and moved incredibly slowly - they were all visible throughout the night (over the span of 4 hours), moving steadily, and consistently.

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eddy

eddy

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Satellites sometimes flash, if they're tumbling and can take a while to get across the night sky, but 4 hours seems a bit too long for a satellite.

I have no idea what you saw, but i wouldn't say they were unexplainable i just dont know what they were ;)

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dooces

dooces

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I AM NOT CRAZY, I swear. again, I saw what I thought was a moving object before I even got my telescope out, which made me take out my telescope. so terrible optics aside, something was moving in the heavens last night.

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acey

acey

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If it was three satellites moving together then it would be a NOSS triplet. If they were low in the sky then they could look colourful and spikey because of atmospheric refraction.

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dooces

dooces

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If it was three satellites moving together then it would be a NOSS triplet. If they were low in the sky then they could look colourful and spikey because of atmospheric refraction.

I couldn't say for sure if they were moving in unison, as they were located significantly far apart, the brightest was directly overhead, the other was 50°east and the 3rd most predominant was southeast, about 30° above the horizon.

I thought about satellites, but having followed one through sunrise, it made me doubt it.

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