I may have just seen a UFO. I don't know.

?

Maybe. It could be a star. But if so, it is twinkling like police lights (red, light blue, dark blue sequence). It's approx 45 degrees above the southwest horizon (very roughly).

I used the Google Sky app on my phone to try to identify it as a star but there are no bright stars (at least not THIS bright) in that patch of sky. Messier 83 is in that vacinity. It is a globular star cluster. Could that be what I am seeing?Whatever it is, it is bright and strobing reds and blues.

It seems to be stationary. I watched it for about 15 minutes. I'll check it again in an hour or so.

Any ideas?

Checking.

Yes, red blue pulsating light source in south south west sky. Roughly a 45 degree inclination.

Thanks for the confirmation...but what in the heck IS that?

My guess would be two different stars roughly inline with each other.

Do you know about red/blue shift, or the doppler shift?

Blue shift means approaching red means moving away.

www.astro.ucla.edu...

According to what I've read Messier 83 is visible with binoculars. I'm not sure if a spiral galaxy flickers. As far as I'm aware, no. I'm thinking it's something else you're seeing.

a reply to: SimultaneousFinal

It's approx 45 degrees above the southwest horizon

Viewed from where roughly?

This sounds Sirius.

a reply to: DenyObfuscation

From my viewpoint in NYS its SSW at 45-50 degrees

Can you give a rough idea where you are?

Country? City? State?

The sky will look different depending upon your Lat and Long

originally posted by: DenyObfuscation
a reply to: SimultaneousFinal

It's approx 45 degrees above the southwest horizon

Viewed from where roughly?

This sounds Sirius.

I think Sirius would have been labelled in Google Sky.

originally posted by: eriktheawful
Can you give a rough idea where you are?

Country? City? State?

The sky will look different depending upon your Lat and Long

USA. North central WV.

The object is no longer visible. It may have moved below my viewing range (it is very hilly here).

originally posted by: shaneslaughta
a reply to: DenyObfuscation

From my viewpoint in NYS its SSW at 45-50 degrees

Is it still visible?

It is no longer visible where I am.

Well, here in SC, looking towards the West, I see Jupiter (it's the brightest thing in the sky in that direction), just below two stars that make up Gemini (Caster and Pollux I believe).

Going further south, I'm not seeing anything very bright (as described by the OP) except Procyon (but that's at wws and is not 45 to 50 degrees up from the horizon).

originally posted by: eriktheawful
Well, here in SC, looking towards the West, I see Jupiter (it's the brightest thing in the sky in that direction), just below two stars that make up Gemini (Caster and Pollux I believe).

Going further south, I'm not seeing anything very bright (as described by the OP) except Procyon (but that's at wws and is not 45 to 50 degrees up from the horizon).

Remember that some time has passed since I made the original post. If the object is astronomical in nature, its position has changed. It's no longer visible here in WV. Where did it go? I don't know. Maybe behind a hill. Maybe it was indeed a UFO and flew off. Beats me.

a reply to: SimultaneousFinal
Could have been Sirius. It would have set below the horizon a few minutes ago (if there are hills it would have gone behind them earlier).

Here's what it can do. They don't say twinkle, twinkle for nothing.


BTW, M83 would have been in the southeast, not the southwest.

I didn't even know about Google Sky until viewing this thread. I just checked it out and was browsing then came across the huge red line. Any idea about what it is?

originally posted by: Phage
a reply to: SimultaneousFinal
Could have beit en Sirius. It would have set below the horizon a few minutes ago (if there are hills it would have gone behind them earlier).

Here's what it can do. They don't say twinkle, twinkle for nothing.

BTW, M83 would have been in the southeast, not the southwest.

Wow. Thanks. You're probably right about the object being Sirius. I wonder why Google Sky didn't label it as such.

About the Messier object, I was confused on the number. I see that 83 is a spiral galaxy. The one I was talking about is a globular cluster. Forgot the number though.

a reply to: Sharted

Possibly a satellite track.
Google Sky

Seems to be to be an 'Iridium flare' Satellite, quite common and easily mistaken for something 'other worldly'.
The Iridium communication satellites have a peculiar shape with three polished door-sized antennas, 120° apart and at 40° angles with the main bus. The forward antenna faces the direction the satellite is travelling. Occasionally, an antenna reflects sunlight directly down at Earth, creating a predictable and quickly moving illuminated spot on the surface below of about 10 km diameter. To an observer this looks like a bright flash, or flare in the sky, with a duration of a few seconds.

Ranging up to -8 magnitude (rarely to a brilliant -9.5), some of the flares are so bright that they can be seen in the daytime; but they are most impressive at night. This flashing has caused some annoyance to astronomers, as the flares occasionally disturb observations and can damage sensitive equipment.[citation needed]

When not flaring, the satellites are often visible crossing the night sky at a typical magnitude of 6, similar to a dim star? Have fun sky watching!