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What the heck did I just see?! [video]

Savo83

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Savo83

Savo83

Posted
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I was out setting up my scope when I seen what could only be described as a silent object which looked like it was on fire crossing the sky.  Video was taken about 23:21 and I can assure you that it was definitely not a plane.  It's hard to judge but it was really high and extremely fast.  It was absolutely massive, any ideas?!

Never witnessed anything like that in my life.

https://onedrive.live.com/redir?resid=2C365CFD7C24541A!2950&authkey=!APDzD1gAh3BJqOI&ithint=video%2c.mp4

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Nillchill

Nillchill

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it may have been the ISS it flew over the UK at approx 11:00 pm on wednesday 18th. was the direction it was moving approx west soth west  towards south / south east maybe? the speed of the object would be approximate speed ISS passes over.

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ronin

ronin

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Chinese Lantern, they appear a lot bigger then they are although some can actually be a around 2 foot diameter. If they get into one of the air streams they can be carried along very fast - seen one over my house a couple of years ago and working out what it was took a while. They do not appear like a small glowing orb and when up they do not gently float along.

They can also be difficult to determine their distance and so can be closer then you think, therefore also appear move quicker.

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LukeSkywatcher

LukeSkywatcher

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What is a chinese lantern?

Have a look at this:

http://uk.images.search.yahoo.com/images/view;_ylt=A2KLktkpDaNTRwcA6OVNBQx.;_ylu=X3oDMTIycjgwNDhjBHNlYwNzcgRzbGsDaW1nBG9pZANmZGI1YzkwNjZhMmI5MTkwMmUzNjgzZWZlM2E3YzM1MARncG9zAzYEaXQDYmluZw--?back=http%3A%2F%2Fuk.images.search.yahoo.com%2Fsearch%2Fimages%3Fp%3Dchinese%2Blantern%26fr%3Dcrmas%26fr2%3Dpiv-web%26tab%3Dorganic%26ri%3D6&w=1247&h=846&imgurl=cdn.theatlantic.com%2Fstatic%2Finfocus%2FcNewYear021611%2Fc10_RTR2IHMB.jpg&rurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.theatlantic.com%2Finfocus%2F2011%2F02%2Fchinese-lunar-new-year%2F100010%2F&size=311.2KB&name=%3Cb%3EChinese+%3C%2Fb%3ELunar+New+Year&p=chinese+lantern&oid=fdb5c9066a2b91902e3683efe3a7c350&fr2=piv-web&fr=crmas&tt=%3Cb%3EChinese+%3C%2Fb%3ELunar+New+Year&b=0∋=21&no=6&ts=&tab=organic&sigr=129n2gd0o&sigb=137urr318&sigi=122ugdbqv&sigt=10tfkq932&sign=10tfkq932&.crumb=3gzO5ZyksDY&fr=crmas&fr2=piv-web

They are essentially paper mini hot air balloons with a small candle inside. They are released into the air during many Chinese festivals. They are a nuisance. When they crash down, they can cause fires and even livestock have been known to chew on the thin metal wires in them and thats not a good thing either. IIRC, in the UK a few months ago, there was talk about banning the sale of them.

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LukeSkywatcher

LukeSkywatcher

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Chinese lantern in a strong wind (you can see it blowing the trees) :)

Oh yeah, when those things get high enough they can fairly move and the candle flickering is a dead give away. The video though does look like the ISS to me but the description doesnt seem right. 

The word "fire" in the OP, does point to it being a lantern.

The colour is more orange then white, so i'm ruling out the ISS.

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kerrylewis

kerrylewis

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I like these 'what did I do see?' threads. I remember starting one after a night when I saw a ghostly V-shaped formation of objects crossing the sky . I was convinced that I had seen something extraordinary but the common explanation offered by everyone was a flight of geese or ducks lit by street lights from below! So flipping obvious yet it never crossed my mind at the time! One response helpfully explained that when we are out observing we are geared up and tuned in to see extraordinary things mostly very distant. We can't handle the mundane explanations like satellites, Chinese lanterns, and yes -geese!

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Savo83

Savo83

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You're totally right.  I've checked stellarium etc and I can see no satellites passing over from my location so it looks like it was a lantern.  Great feeling though when you're totally stumped and a million things are going through your mind :)

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LukeSkywatcher

LukeSkywatcher

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I like these 'what did I do see?' threads. I remember starting one after a night when I saw a ghostly V-shaped formation of objects crossing the sky . I was convinced that I had seen something extraordinary but the common explanation offered by everyone was a flight of geese or ducks lit by street lights from below! So flipping obvious yet it never crossed my mind at the time! One response helpfully explained that when we are out observing we are geared up and tuned in to see extraordinary things mostly very distant. We can't handle the mundane explanations like satellites, Chinese lanterns, and yes -geese!

I saw exactly the same thing one night and had no idea.

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proflight2000

proflight2000

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Chinese lantern for sure, if you slow motion the video you can see the change in flame light, certainly not the ISS, the ISS however fast is a white constant light and at the altitude she is her speed would be seen slightly slower than what is in the video as the wind is carrying this along.

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