What was this??!!

[PhotoGav]

Here is footage from my all sky camera at around 3am BST this morning (12th May 2020). You will see an object move from top to bottom and leave a 'puff of smoke' at the end. What is going on there? It looks like a satellite trail, but one of those out of control spinning satellites with an intermittent flash. I don't think it is an airplane - they normally look quite different with two flashing lights (one on each wing) and also, there are virtually no aircraft in the sky at the moment. Next weirdness is that the streak appears to carry on beyond the 'puff'. Could it be a satellite and a meteor / fireball whose paths just happen to conincide perfectly? Or is it a satellite burning up in the atmosphere??!

 

[PhotoGav]

Here are the main frames, one by one...

[Kev M]

✈️

[rotatux]

The puff looks like not moving with the stars or clouds, maybe something has landed on your camera cover dome/pane

[RT65CB-SWL]

Hi @PhotoGav.

You also have captured 'something travelling north-west to south-east as well - just after 3:11:xx, (sorry! could not catch the seconds). 

Edited May 12, 2020 by Philip R

[PhotoGav]

Yup, probably just an airplane...

Pretty sure it’s not anything on the camera dome - it waits away on the wind.

Confined to the big box of ‘I’ll never know’ things!!!

[PhotoGav]

15 hours ago, Philip R said:

Hi @PhotoGav.

You also have captured 'something travelling north-west to south-east as well - just after 3:11:xx, (sorry! could not catch the seconds). 

Yes, the sky seemed really busy with satellites throughout the night.... Musk, etc, grrrrrr

[wimvb]

50 minutes ago, PhotoGav said:

Confined to the big box of ‘I’ll never know’ things!!!

So, a real UFO. 😉

Edited May 13, 2020 by wimvb

[Philter]

I had a look at the flightradar24.com playback for around that time and it looks like a DHL 757 was passing over Marlbourough on it's way from East Midlands Airport to Madrid. Could it be that?

https://www.flightradar24.com/2020-05-12/02:00/12x/BCS8930/247c2851

Edited May 13, 2020 by Philter

[JamesF]

Disappointingly I'd have to agree on an aeroplane for this one.

The time it takes to cross the frame doesn't seem consistent with a meteorite.  It's far too slow.  Also the odd "dotted" pattern of the trail in frame 3 is I think consistent with alternating port and starboard lights flashing on an aircraft.  I'd guess they're obscured in the other frames.  The "puff of smoke" is, I reckon, a bit of a contrail that's spreading out.  Could be that there was a pocket of lower temperature air there or something that caused it to show up there and nowhere else, or perhaps it was changing altitude or something like that.

James

[PhotoGav]

Good work folks, I am convinced by that aircraft identification. It is heading in the right direction at the right time (and it was flashing!). It must be a brief contrail that spreads out. Or, given that it was a DHL flight, perhaps an unwanted package that was 'liberated'!

Thank you for your investigations. Though it is, of course, mildly disappointing!!

[wimvb]

8 hours ago, PhotoGav said:

Though it is, of course, mildly disappointing!!

I agree, now it's demoted to IFO. From mysterious UFO to common DHL .

Edited May 13, 2020 by wimvb

[LukeSkywatcher]

Zoom in and you can see flashing lights. Aircraft I'm sure. Cant say what streak at end is.

[RT65CB-SWL]

I have just seen on the news channel, (via my iPhone), that the Chinese rocket 'Long March 5B' made an uncontrolled re-entry; missing New York by several minutes before finally crashing on or near to Ivory Coast/Côte d'Ivoire.

...or Royal Mail and courier companies trialling safe distancing deliveries of your mail and parcels.

[JamesF]

3 hours ago, Philip R said:

I have just seen on the news channel, (via my iPhone), that the Chinese rocket 'Long March 5B' made an uncontrolled re-entry; missing New York by several minutes before finally crashing on or near to Ivory Coast/Côte d'Ivoire.

Looks as though at least some of it may have fallen on land, judging by the reports of people finding "unexplained" debris along the projected flight path (I use the term "flight" in its loosest possible sense).

James

[wimvb]

9 hours ago, Philip R said:

I have just seen on the news channel, (via my iPhone), that the Chinese rocket 'Long March 5B' made an uncontrolled re-entry; missing New York by several minutes before finally crashing on or near to Ivory Coast/Côte d'Ivoire.

Clearly no long march. 

[barkis]

Sporadic meteor?

[RolandKol]

I wonder how would "Elon Musk" look like on such a cam?