UFO? A Lucky Catch Though!

[Superdavo]

I want to immediately make clear that I'm not some crackpot who claims to have been visited by aliens, but this is an unidentified object (until someone helps me identify it), and as far as I could tell, was flying, so by definition, is a UFO. 

It was on my second-to-most recent observing night. I looked up and saw a light that was flashing as bright as the full Moon. It flashed, disappeared, then flashed again a little further in its path, about a second later. It kept doing this for as long as I could see it. Assuming it was just a helicopter or plane with its lights aimed towards me, I pointed my finder at it, hoping to see it between the flashes. Nothing. It was moving far too fast to attempt to use my 'scope on it directly. As this mysterious object moved along through Lyra, I noticed that it was passing through an area of sky that my camera was snapping already, photographing the Milky Way!

The Image, showing the object as a series of flashes passing through the field of view, in the top-right

A UFO-free sub of the same area 

Personally, I'm stumped. Any ideas?

David 

[starman1969]

Wow nice catch. I like a good mystery & I'm hooked on UFO stories, although I pretty much believe none of them anymore. There are still plenty of mysterious things going on up there which are hard to explain. I'll try at an intermittent flaring satellite for this image.

[Stargazer33]

Too even a spacing to be a flaring satellite. Looks more like a strobe to me. I would say almost definitely that it's some sort of aircraft.

[houston]

It wasnt a ryanair plane, their not allowed to put there lights on.

[ronin]

I was looking at an aircraft a couple of nights back that had a white flashing light on it, couldn't see the aircraft to any extent and it was lower then one would have been in your image.

Seemed "small" as in a private jet size, wonder if you have captured one at a greater altitude. From what I saw it would fit.

Not sure if there is a defined frequency for the flashes on something like a Learjet or similar.

[Pig]

Its a weather balloon

[Daz1974]

Shaun Ryder will have the answer

[starman1969]

Its a weather balloon

  :grin:  

[Spikey]

If it's regular flashes like that it's a plane navigation lights/visibility strobes.

I've had loads of subs with them on.

[Tinker1947]

Either a planes visibility strobe as mentioned or a satellite revolving and your seeing a reflection of the sun.... 

[Paul M]

I've just put 3 Lucky Dips on Friday's Euro Millions so I'm all gambled out. But if I had another £6 I'd put it on that trail being a plane

Just looks like high visibility strobe lights to me.

Although aircraft have red and green navigational lights they are directional to some degree and not as bright as anti collision strobes. 

[Zakalwe]

The flashes are very regular, so I'd say that it is probably an overflying aircraft.

Here's a similar effect. This was taking at a much longer focal length and you can see the reflection of the lights on the fuselage (the short white streaks either side of the white ventral anti-collision strobe):

[Alien 13]

It is certainly something that is on or off a rotating object dims and brightens, i got this a week or so ago M31 and a tumbling satelite. 

[Matt Scunthorpe]

Yeah id have to go with the others and say a plane of some kind, just because of the fixed frequency of the flashes.

Matt.

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[jgs001]

Either a plane or a tumbling sattelite.. could be either, the frequency would suggest a plane, but then I'd expect to see other effects (wing tip lights etc)... so... on that basis, I'm going with a tumbling sattelite... It'd be worth checking it out on calsky.com and see if they can provide an ID based on the location and time.

[Peter Drew]

I can never understand why UFO's (extraterrestrial?) would need to have lights on. 

[Cath]

I can never understand why UFO's (extraterrestrial?) would need to have lights on.

Lol

The ufo fraternity won't thank you for coming out with that, logic upsets the cause

[Pig]

I can never understand why UFO's (extraterrestrial?) would need to have lights on. 

Do you think they have brake lights also ?

You can hear the flying saucer examiner saying "ok can you tell me what the stopping distance is at warp 5.39  "

I bet some of you will probably know the answer !!!

[leelee970]

I think it could be a crew member on the ISS taking photos of Earth with his camera flash on.

[Kirscovitch]

Sunlight reflecting off of Venus igniting swamp gas causing a fire making bigfoot fire a series of signal flares asking for help?

[StevieDvd]

I can never understand why UFO's (extraterrestrial?) would need to have lights on. 

So I can land in your dark sites without squashing the local astronomers. And in the same way as your terrestrial car lights transfix rabbits in their glare, my lights attract humans looking for a free probe :-)

[Spikey]

All very amusing But if we can stick to answering the question perhaps?

[Matt Scunthorpe]

I think its pretty much been answered as aircraft lights. I cant think of anything that would give such a perfect pattern?

Matt.

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[Digz]

I think its pretty much been answered as aircraft lights. I cant think of anything that would give such a perfect pattern?Matt.Sent from my GT-I9100P using Tapatalk

Or, in other words, stick to topic or it will get closed!

[Naz]

We got lots of planes around here that are difficult to see in the dark, lights yes, fuselage no.