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Your strangest astro observation ..

Volusian

By Volusian
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Volusian

Volusian

Posted
Posted

While watching the skies what would you say has been your strangest and possibly most unexplained observation .. ?

I remember while out one evening with some school friends around the mid 1970's while launching some home grown 4ft high rockets we had made at school that there was a strange glow high in the sky ... the colour was reddy / orange and around the size of the moon to the naked eye .. this was summertime around 7pm or so - so the object was quite bright even during daytlight. The object was moving but very very slowly indeed. However as it moved it also after around an hour or so changed shape to a pale milky white in colour and ended up goughnut shaped probably around twice the size of the moon ... The further it moved accross the sky the larger but fainter it got ...

To this day i cant really explain it ... but i remember it vividly !

I still wonder if it was some kind of high altitude / space gas cloud of some description .. or was it something more sinister perhaps ? :)

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Space Oddity6

Space Oddity6

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One summer evening last year I was in the kitchen and looked out the window to see a bright yellow light in the sky.

At first I thought it might be a helicopter as it was just hovering in the sky maybe 50ft up but scrapped that idea when, after it having been there for about 5 minutes I went outside to find it was emitting no noise.

My next thought was Chinese lantern but it wasn't gaining height or moving at all. I did eventually start to turn and I could see it appeared triangular in shape with the top pointing upwards like a pyramid. Anyway it turned and began moving soundlessly westward and out of sight.

To this day I can't explain it and I swear the fact that I'm a raging alcoholic has nothing to do with it! :)

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Jimmy Stix

Jimmy Stix

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One afternoon last summer I went outside, looked up, and saw this huge glowing orb. It made everything feel warm and later on my face was kinda flushed. Anyway, after about 10 mins it disappeared and everything went grey and before long there were drips of water coming out of the sky.

What on earth was that do you think? :)

Sorry, pretty feeble I know, and I did not mean to hijack your thread. Just could not resist another poke at our lovely UK weather.

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Brett

Brett

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Where I live there is always a super bright spot in the sky about the width of four moons. Its not visible on a clear night but noticeable with the slightest fog or cloud and is a bright white colour unlike the bright orange LP surrounding it. I often wonder if its anything to do with the array of dishes and antennas on top of our local hospital which sits directly under the glow.

post-16082-133877519385_thumb.jpg

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stevelcfc

stevelcfc

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One afternoon last summer I went outside, looked up, and saw this huge glowing orb. It made everything feel warm and later on my face was kinda flushed. Anyway, after about 10 mins it disappeared and everything went grey and before long there were drips of water coming out of the sky.

What on earth was that do you think? :)

Sorry, pretty feeble I know, and I did not mean to hijack your thread. Just could not resist another poke at our lovely UK weather.

like it lol

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turbotim

turbotim

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Ive wanted to post about this before, but i thought all you guys might think im nuts, it even took me a while to tell my family and close friends. Since getting into astronomy i am always looking up whether its taking my dog out or the garbage. I see a strange light here and there but can usually be explained as satellite etc. But one night i was out with the scope and walking across the deck into the house and was looking up towards cassiopeia and all of a sudden i see a huge black stealth looking spaceship gently cruising and blocking out the stars as it coasted by, i quickly ran in the house to get my girlfriend to come out and look. I only took my eyes off it for a couple of seconds to tell her to come, and looked back up and it was gone. She said, what was it, and i said it was a asteroid or satellite. I didn't want her to think i was nuts:eek: But i ended up telling her a couple weeks later. It was a perfect boomerang or v shape no lights no sound and it was huge. And before i looked away from it to call my girl friend, i was able to gaze at it for about 8 to 10 seconds!

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Shibby

Shibby

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the colour was reddy / orange and around the size of the moon to the naked eye .. this was summertime around 7pm or so - so the object was quite bright even during daytlight. The object was moving but very very slowly indeed. However as it moved it also after around an hour or so changed shape to a pale milky white in colour and ended up goughnut shaped probably around twice the size of the moon ... The further it moved accross the sky the larger but fainter it got ...

Fascinating report. Could it have been a rocket fuel dump? Check these out:

YouTube - UFO Sighting Caught On Security Camera Russia, May 22, 2009

Not to mention the recent incredible spiral one in Norway!

http://stargazerslounge.com/astro-lounge/92700-norway-phenomena-sky.html

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rocketandroll

rocketandroll

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When I was about 17, 18 I was walking up my parent's garden, mid afternoon on a partly cloudy day. I don't know why, but I happened to look up and directly above there was a break in the clouds. I saw a bright light moving across the gap, it was yellowy orange... not moving VERY fast, but faster than an aircraft... then smaller bits started breaking off it. I watched it for perhaps two or three seconds before it disapeared behind the cloud.

At the time I was totally freaked but have thought back since and can only assume it was a very large meteor that was big enough to be visible in daylight, or something even bigger grazing the atmosphere and then bouncing back out again. That'd certainly explain the 'breaking up' element of it.

Anyway... not massively astronomical, but more so than seeing a 777 get struck by lightning, which ironically I also saw from my parent's garden. Thought that's a more common phenomenon :-)

Ben

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sbooder

sbooder

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I have had two unexpected things. First was while watching the transit of Venus, I was looking through my C10-NGT with baader filter and a jet flew straight through the image and I saw the exhaust fumes either vaporise of just disperse (do not know much about jet engines) in the eyepiece.

The second was a view of the ISS by complete chance; it went right through the middle of my 10mm eyepiece again with the C10-NGT, absolutely cracking if not brief.

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turbotim

turbotim

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No, it wasn't a flock of birds. It was so big i could see what it was, i couldn't believe it, Now i have seen a flock of birds way up there before and it looked like a ufo, but i have common sense and realized it was a v of birds. Well, the ship i seen was huge, I always wondered if i would see a ufo one day and i always see some even pretty good ufo videos online, but when i seen this i was in shock It blew every thing out of the water i consider myself lucky to see it, I just wonder if it was one of ours or one of theirs! It looked to big to be something we would make.

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Patrick Gilliland

Patrick Gilliland

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Anything odd in the sky tonight?

Jan 18 viewing from London direct east to west, thought it was a plane at high altitude, but changed mind when it vanished. Disappeared about 10 degrees after passing north south. Any satellites up there that would be visible by naked eye, assuming it vanished as was reflecting light and passed the reflection point. I assume this is my lack of knowledge as opposed to anything really odd but intriguing nonetheless for a newbie. Wish I was more nimble with telescope as could not get on it quick enough.

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Ewok

Ewok

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Posted
One summer evening last year I was in the kitchen and looked out the window to see a bright yellow light in the sky.

At first I thought it might be a helicopter as it was just hovering in the sky maybe 50ft up but scrapped that idea when, after it having been there for about 5 minutes I went outside to find it was emitting no noise.

My next thought was Chinese lantern but it wasn't gaining height or moving at all. I did eventually start to turn and I could see it appeared triangular in shape with the top pointing upwards like a pyramid. Anyway it turned and began moving soundlessly westward and out of sight.

To this day I can't explain it and I swear the fact that I'm a raging alcoholic has nothing to do with it! :)

Both me and one of my mates have also witnessed something similar to this whilst camping in the Yorkshire Dales. The "orange triangle" we witnessed was pointing upward just like a pyramid would, it eventually sliped behind the Horizon, over the moors towards Masham. All of this only took 5 mins. My mate attempted to take a photo but his camera was only a basic digi and all we got were blank, black images.

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Beulah

Beulah

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I was out observing last Autumn and around midnight, after I finished looking through my telescope, I like to finish the evening by gazing with mk1 eyeballs.

After about five minutes of this, I saw a very, very bright small flash, as bright as lightning, in the cloudless sky, the diameter as large as a full moon at 45 degrees. It was as if someone had literally flashed a hand mirror at my face.

I have seen iridium flares before, and they are spectacular enough, and I surmise that this was a particularly bright one.

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Dave S

Dave S

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A few years ago I was travelling to Stamford very early one morning and very dark. Going up a steep incline called potters hill, i was half way up when three incredibly bright green lights in a perfect row flew over the crest of the hill followed by a perfect row of about six white lights......I filled my pants.

Imediately over the crest came into view the rest of the truck, Headlights winscreen etc.

They're a common sight on the road now, but back then I'd never seen a truck with all these mass of couloured lights.

If only I'd got his reg he could have had my underwear cleaning bill.

Dave...

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ollypenrice

ollypenrice

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I saw a rocket fuel dump last year, though had no idea what it was till morning. I was with a retired professional astronomer and when he said he had no idea what it was I felt a lot better!!

The main 'nebula' was fist at arm's length sized and to its west was a small 'nebula' and point of light moving at the same speed. The point was, as it transpired, the rocket.

VERY SPOOKY, let me tell you. Lots of jokes going around the observatory about the last thing the dinosaurs saw...

Olly

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Ender Of Days

Ender Of Days

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A few years ago (got it noted down somewhere) Id got my old 20x50's attached to the loft window frame and was looking at M51,

I was Using averted vision to see the very faint GX when what appeared to be a Satellite drifted into the f.o.v,It actually went straight into the centre of M51 but didn't pass,it just stopped,

For quite a while I thought a Satellite had gone into eclipse exactly over M51,but looking back with hindsight (and a few more years) I imagine it was a lens flare of some kind,although the "Satellite" looked like what one would do,but I do wonder :)

JJ..

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