What blinks besides planes?

[Manok101]

So I was gazing for about 10 minutes at one of the NGC clusters, and noticed, blink, 20 seconds, blink, 20 seconds, blink... and it seemed to be going in a circle, was this a satellite? I know plane lights blink twice, living near an airport which also seems to be a major intersection. The light was blueish, not white, green or red. I am at a loss to explain. This was in the south, what time it was I am unsure, but it was earlier in the night.

[RogerTheDodger]

Could it be a strobe on a weather balloon?

[Manok101]

I dunno, weather balloon possibly it did seem to be like something in the Wind

[vulcan]

Definitely a UFO!

[spaceboy]

One of those flying cars with it's hazards on because the satnav got them lost???

[Parus major]

How close is your local USAAF base?

[John]

Helecopter ?

[brantuk]

It could have been the "Blinking Nebula" NGC6826 which produces an optical illusion of a blink (it's a planetary nebula)

[Lurker]

Could be the astrountant eyes blinking.

[Manok101]

It could have been the "Blinking Nebula" NGC6826 which produces an optical illusion of a blink (it's a planetary nebula)

Hmm didn't consider that, my eyes move back and forth all the time and that could have caused the appearance of movement, though the cluster I was looking at never moved. For whoever asked about the USAF base don't have one but there is a place where they repair aircraft and ship it out nearby, among other things.

[starstalker]

did u try to point the scope at it?

[lee allen]

Chinese lantern me thinks or a UFO! must be a UFO

[spaceboy]

Which cluster was you looking at Manok ? I saw some flashing in the sky tonight at 22:48 just below Procyon. Wasn't going in circles but it flashed maybe 5-6 times and that was it. The sky is clear enough that I would have seen if it was an aircraft. I did noticed a few meteors tonight so I wondered if it was meteors or something hitting the atmosphere head on apposed to skipping across the sky ???

[The Sailor]

I had the same item tonight, but it was heading in a straight line West to East. At first I thought it was the ISS, it was travelling at about the same speed, but then the light, white and about the same brightness as the ISS, went off. The duration of the light was about a second on and then off for a second, this went on till it just dissapeared well above the horizon. The only thing I thought of at the time was a satellite tumbling across the sky catching the suns rays on some part of it and then the light stopped when it left the suns reach.

Jim

[Tadakun]

it's a bit of a fetch, but maybe the Nanosail-D catching sunlight?

[Manok101]

Dunno... only know it was in the south, does the blinking planetary set in the south? I was using my goto scope, and was just pointing it at one of the NGC clusters in the south, south west. It wasnt very big or didn't appear very big in the 2" eyepiece i was using (28mm)

[brantuk]

Well it's in Cygnus at the moment so it's quite high. Track the constellation in Stellarium and you can find out where it will have been at the time you were looking

[DrNeb]

Could be the astrountant eyes blinking.

is an astrountant a mixture between an astronaut and an accountant?

[Panzer]

Heres a story,

Last summer me and a few mates were out having a few beers on a clear night at a mates house in Garforth. Its REALLY out in the sticks there, not a single light for about a 4-mile radius. Anyway, I was looking directly up in amazement at how many stars were visible, when my eyes honed in on 2 or 3 tiny dots that were moving quite fast. I thought they were satellites at first, when I noticed they were moving in irregular patterns, not orbit, through a postage stamp-sized area of the sky in very nimble turns and weaves. The only word to describe their movement was like a dogfight. I stared at them for some time trying to work out what they were, but was completely at a loss and determined to figure it out. It was such a small area of sky amidst so many stars that I couldn't point it out to my friends, they just couldn't see where I was looking accurately enough (if only I had my telescope then!!!)

Now, I do not for one second believe it was aliens. I don't think we have ever been visited by another race and likely never will be (not to say they aren't out there somewhere though!). It couldn't have been planes, it was way, way too high altitude for them. It wasn't satellites, because they orbit. So what the hell was it?? Most people just note the fact I was drinking beers and write it off to drunkeness. I had only had a few regular size bottles at this point and was probably still under the legal limit to drive!

Can anyone put my mind at rest? Its been baffling me ever since!

[Manok101]

By the way finally took the time to look up what cluster I was looking at, it was NGC 2477, and it would have been on the lower right of the eyepiece that I saw this light.

[spaceboy]

Certainly in the same direction where I saw the flashing but to far away from the area of Procyonto be considered the same thing unless it's moved higher up the sky since you seen it?