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optical illusion
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| HarbingerDawn | Date: Tuesday, 11.09.2012, 01:11 | Message # 16 |
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| Quote (SpaceEngineer) Venus? I saw it last night - it is extremely bright, I even couldn't resolve its shape in the 25x binoculars. You may easily see it in a daytime.
anonymousgamer's object can not be Venus; Venus is visible in the morning currently, and his object was seen in the afternoon.
lexrazor's object is also very unlikely to be Venus, as it was twinkling, which large planets like Venus and Jupiter almost never do.
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Edited by HarbingerDawn - Tuesday, 11.09.2012, 01:12 |
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| lexrazor | Date: Tuesday, 11.09.2012, 01:18 | Message # 17 |
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| Quote (HarbingerDawn) Figuring out the exact direction isn't very difficult... just remember what direction it was and use Google Earth to find the azimuth (heading). And you can estimate the height in the sky by using your hands and fingers.
As for the star chart thing, download the planetarium software "Stellarium". Best free planetarium software available, in my opinion.
ill try everything i can out
Quote (HarbingerDawn) This is common for bright stars relatively near to the horizon. What was the exact time of day (what was the hour)?
it was around 11pm i think. i didnt really pay much attention to the time but it was bout the same time the previous day.
Quote (SpaceEngineer) Venus? I saw it last night - it is extremely bright, I even couldn't resolve its shape in the 25x binoculars.
maybe but why would it disapear and reappear over and over and not move at all?
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| anonymousgamer | Date: Tuesday, 11.09.2012, 01:22 | Message # 18 |
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| Ok, so the "altitude" of the object was about 30 degrees, i.e. this photo
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| Antza2 | Date: Tuesday, 11.09.2012, 07:29 | Message # 19 |
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| Could it have been a weather balloon?
Go to antza2.deviantart.com for cool photos!
Edited by Antza2 - Tuesday, 11.09.2012, 07:32 |
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| HarbingerDawn | Date: Tuesday, 11.09.2012, 10:38 | Message # 20 |
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| Quote (lexrazor) it was around 11pm i think
At that time the bright star Capella would have been rising in that direction. It would probably have looked very much like what you described. As for why it would disappear and reappear, I can't say. It is a close-orbiting binary, but they're not eclipsing, and the timescale doesn't match up anyway.
I assume you live in a place with a fair amount of light pollution?
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| pebble | Date: Tuesday, 11.09.2012, 12:18 | Message # 21 |
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| Quote (lexrazor) Tonight i was sitting outside and its a pretty clear night and i was looking at this star/planet im not really sure which one it is. Im not really good at recognising the bodies.
Perhaps you could use this virtual planetarium to help illustrate where you saw the object. You'll need to set it for your location with the map pin icon, and then the time and date of your observation. Then just take a screenshot of the part of the sky you were observing, and post it here.
Edited by pebble - Tuesday, 11.09.2012, 12:19 |
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| lexrazor | Date: Tuesday, 11.09.2012, 12:23 | Message # 22 |
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| It could be. no its a pretty small town and there wasnt a lot of light coming from around the houses or street lights around my place. Ill try to observe it again tonight and see if it will be at the same place. and ill also try to compare it with any star charts i can find. and ill figure out a way to give a better description of the location
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| pebble | Date: Tuesday, 11.09.2012, 12:27 | Message # 23 |
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| Quote (anonymousgamer) I saw something similar during the day... I was at the beach, and this white dot was in the sky. Unmoving, unblinking.
On several occasions I've seen brilliant daytime objects that appeared to be unmoving, or moving very slowly, that turned out to be lost mylar party balloons. Until they got close enough to resolve, they looked for all the world like some metallic object. I've also seen more than one tangled together, and those can tumble and move about each other in the most enigmatic, erratic fashion.
What are the prevailing winds around the area? Could it be something released from the ground, and which floated downwind?
Not saying that's what it is, just offering that possibility.
Edited by pebble - Tuesday, 11.09.2012, 13:20 |
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| lexrazor | Date: Tuesday, 11.09.2012, 12:39 | Message # 24 |
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| Quote (pebble) Perhaps you could use this virtual planetarium to help illustrate where you saw the object. You'll need to set it for your location with the map pin icon, and then the time and date of your observation. Then just take a screenshot of the part of the sky you were observing, and post it here.
thanks for the link pebble i looked up the time and the rough location and i came up with 3 possible objects. Either Capella as HarbingerDawn suggested or Jupiter or Aldebaran. Thought the timing and angle for Jupiter and Aldebaran is a bit off for my POV i suspect it could actually be Aldebaran. But it still doesnt explain the way the object twinkled and disappeared.
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| pebble | Date: Tuesday, 11.09.2012, 13:19 | Message # 25 |
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| Perhaps you could look in the same area at night and see if the object is there again?
And usually planets and stars don't disappear like that. So that's curious.
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| HarbingerDawn | Date: Tuesday, 11.09.2012, 13:23 | Message # 26 |
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| Quote (lexrazor) Thought the timing and angle for Jupiter and Aldebaran is a bit off for my POV i suspect it could actually be Aldebaran. But it still doesnt explain the way the object twinkled and disappeared.
Jupiter would not be twinkling, and Aldebaran would be noticeably red and not very forgettable, so I think Capella might be your best bet.
As for the disappearing, the only thing that makes sense would be a cloud passing in front of it or something, but in an area with any light pollution that would be immediately obvious, and in an area with dark skies you should still be able to tell. So it remains a mystery.
I suggest that if you have any friends with good cameras that you ask one to try to take a picture of the object and post it here, that would help to solve the mystery.
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| lexrazor | Date: Tuesday, 11.09.2012, 14:29 | Message # 27 |
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| @HarbingerDawn
i guess im one of the unlucky ones who dont own a home telescope or a pair of binoculars or even a good cam. But i would definitely keep track of that object as best as i can.
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| lexrazor | Date: Tuesday, 11.09.2012, 15:23 | Message # 28 |
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| ok im sorry bout double posting but i think i found the reason the object act this way. Apparently what i saw was actually the Capella star and this is what is causing the rapid color changes:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e1SdC9KnsGg
and here is a closer look:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8cumLG3oYrU
now.. as i can understand those videos and some of the comments explain the color changes but i still have no idea why the "star" just disappears.
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| HarbingerDawn | Date: Tuesday, 11.09.2012, 15:29 | Message # 29 |
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| Why the object has been twinkling has never been the mystery, only why it disappears...
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| anonymousgamer | Date: Tuesday, 11.09.2012, 21:28 | Message # 30 |
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| Quote (pebble) What are the prevailing winds around the area?
It was a very calm day. I did think it could be a weather balloon, but the thing was like a stuck pixel on a TV. It did not move at all.
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