What the?? UFO spotted?? 11.55pm 5/7/2010

[xboxdevil]

Ok, I've just seen something very strange....at 11.55pm Monday night I was looking out to see if it was worthwhile setting anything up. Then I saw what at first glance looked like an airplane, having lived around Manchester Airport all my life I soon realised that the trajectory was not normal. When I first saw it, it was in the SW sky approx. 15 deg below and about 45 deg to the right of Vega, it tracked across the sky at a similar speed to the IIS that I saw at 10.12pm earlier this evening, magnitude was less that ISS had been, the trajectory however was irregular, there was approx a 15 arc minutes (about half a moon) irregular movement in altitude as it was moving across the sky.

Then something really odd happened, as it was passing under Cygnus, there was a really bright flash of light (maybe near Deneb) and within 1/2 a degree of the object that I was looking at that pulsed really brightly from off to bright and off again in less than half a second. Magnitude way brighter than ISS had been earlier tonight.

Then the object faded as it went through Lacerta.

I've just checked Stellarium for satellites and Heavens Above for flares - nothing on either?

Definitely not a lantern either, yes I see loads of them!! Did anyone else see anything??

That was very strange indeed.

[xboxdevil]

Anyone any ideas on what the brilliant flash of light may have been? it would have been at about 23:57 last night high in the East.

[brantuk]

Sounds like an iridium flare but if you checked that allready I could be wrong

[carastro]

the trajectory however was irregular, there was approx a 15 arc minutes (about half a moon) irregular movement in altitude as it was moving across the sky.

This is the unexplainable thing. Very weird.

Carole

[xboxdevil]

can anyone else double check?

[xboxdevil]

This is the unexplainable thing. Very weird.

Carole

Yes, that's what caught my eye in the first place. I would say that there was a few of seconds of normal trajectory, followed by about a second or so where there was alt movement (both up & down)

[yeti monster]

Could be an optical illusion, I've thought I saw summat wierd before but put it down to me blinking or turning my head a wee bit. If it did it repeatedly, I'd say not an illusion.

[Doc]

The up and down movement could be caused by the atmosphere, if the view between yourself and the satallite was through a dense turmoil part of the atmosphere this could cause the light in your eyes to bounce around.

[xboxdevil]

The up and down movement could be caused by the atmosphere, if the view between yourself and the satallite was through a dense turmoil part of the atmosphere this could cause the light in your eyes to bounce around.

I guess so, although the really strange thing was the really bright point source of light - it reminded me of watching a kids cartoon where the star would twinkle really bright - only this was brighter.

I thought for a moment that the American Star Wars program was in operation!!

[MarkF]

Watching the ISS the other night it had some erratic up and down movement as it passed above some very high thin cloud, made my heart skip a beat until it came out into the clear sky again and was steady as a rock. It gave the impression it was weaving, of course it was a light sky so I could see it was cloud it passed above even though it didn't dim in brightness.

[Deneb]

We are not alone, I saw some weird stuff in Pakistan, could not explain it, it showed up on a couple of pics i took. No object can do a sharp 90 degree turn, no matter what.

Nadeem.

[Psychobilly]

I would hazard a guess there's all sorts of exotic kit in orbit above Pakistan and Afghanistan....

Billy....

[Doc]

I would hazard a guess there's all sorts of exotic kit in orbit above Pakistan and Afghanistan....

Billy....

Those drones fly really high.

[Deneb]

No drone on this planet does a sharp 90 degree angle turn, no way..Unless the US is test flying some sort of Super Duper Reconnaissance Plane of some sort at break neck speeds..

Nadeem.

[Earl]

I wouldnt put it past them.

In the 70's they were flying black triangles