UFO over Melbourne, tonight, 10th July 2014

Interesting sighting tonight. I was out with a friend in the rooftop garden of a pub when she said 'What the hell is that?'

There was a bright light in the sky, with what appeared to be a bright light/light trail behind it. It was west from where we were (out toward the airport), and maybe 45-50 degrees up from our position. I thought is could have been a meteor, but the trailing light appeared too consistent. I wondered if the trailing light could have been an illuminated contrail, but what would illuminate it. The light also seemed to be travelling in a line across the sky, neither ascending or descending. It was moving quickly, and even had I thought to get my phone camera out, I doubt much would have shown.

I have checked twitter, and there are numerous posts about it. I found this image from one of the tweeters (Liam Morris), but it doesn't do justice to what was seen. The light trail behind it (which may have been part of the structure of the craft) cannot be seen.



twitter.com...

David ‏@Dave2307 Did anyone see something above the sky tonight in NSW Victoria? There have been a large amount of UFO report! www.facebook.com... …

twitter.com...

Rakhal Ebeli @rakhalebeli · 37m Just spotted something unusual in the sky.

twitter.com...

liam morris @LiamSmorris11 · 1h Who else just saw that comet/meteor/UFO flying over Melbourne? #aliens

There's also a Facebook page from channel 9 asking for footage., but there was a meteor sighting over NSW also this evening, and this is not the Melbourne sighting.

www.facebook.com...

So, what was it? My own guess is definitely something terrestrial, possibly a military aircraft. I do not believe it to be a meteor/bolide. Other than that, I have no idea.

I just seen the Facebook thing before. Apparently this was also sighted from northern Tasmania, so I'd go with it being a meteor.

originally posted by: DaesDaemar
I just seen the Facebook thing before. Apparently this was also sighted from northern Tasmania, so I'd go with it being a meteor.

The problems I have with it being a meteor are that the trail behind it looked solid, and not like a meteor trail, and it also was travelling slower than I would imagine a meteor to be. That's not to say I'm not wrong - it may well have been one, it just didn't look like it to me.

I just spoke to my flatmate - he also saw it, in a different location, and he doesn't think it was a meteor.

Just found this video on instagram. Looks a lot more like a meteor/fireball here, so I was wrong. It says the video was taken on Lygon St, which is about 5 km west from where I was, so theoretically closer.

instagram.com...

I live in Sydney, and there have been a few posts on FB about this out west??. Cant be the same one... they even commented saying the tail didn't look like a comets

Please check Lunar Meteor Hunters Blog

Breaking News- MBIQ Detects NSW QLD ACT VIC TAS Australia Meteor Approx 2145 10JUL2014 - Confirmed!
Likely Seen By Thousands! May be space trash based on long duration of 20 seconds or more.

There are many 1st hand accounts of the sighting.

a reply to: cuckooold

Time?

Was it headed west, north westerly direction around 10pm over Melbourne?

a reply to: InhaleExhale

I was in Richmond at the Corner Hotel on the rooftop bar. I remember it being about 9:45 pm. From where I was sitting, it was streaking across in the west, but I would have though it was heading south/south west.

The meteor trackers website matches for time.

I have seen, photographed & recorded video of this light, a few times since May 24th of this year. There were a few MUFON reports of the same description from: Ohio, Chicago, Toronto, New York, New Mexico and Florida that night. Even a pilot recording heading into New York.

The last one I filmed, was last night. Very clear footage.

I'll post them all together, after the next holiday here. They come around, when people are looking up at the sky already (ie. fireworks, the meteor shower in May, your NSW meteor event).

Can anybody provide basic information on viewing direction? Azimuth, elevation, angle rate?

I mean, dammit, BASIC STUFF.

Otherwise, it's all just jerking around.

originally posted by: cuckooold
a reply to: InhaleExhale

I was in Richmond at the Corner Hotel on the rooftop bar. I remember it being about 9:45 pm. From where I was sitting, it was streaking across in the west, but I would have though it was heading south/south west.

The meteor trackers website matches for time.

So it streaked across the sky, to fast for a plane?

I would say it was something coming in to the atmosphere and burning up, the meteor web site has a match.

Its quite common even with the light pollution over Melbourne to view many satellites at dusk and dawn time and if you are lucky can witness quite a few meteorites or debris falling into the atmosphere to be seen by us Melbournians.

www.theage.com.au...

'Meteor' or space junk streaks across skies above Melbourne, A meteor apparently lit up the sky on Thursday night, with reports of a "massive shooting star” flooding in from Victoria and New South Wales.

Callers to talkback radio stations reported seeing a bright object travelling east to north about 9.45pm. Some callers said they initially thought it was a plane

Looks to me like a 'Meteor'

en.wikipedia.org...

Is this a possible match?

www.facebook.com...

originally posted by: cuckooold
....

The problems I have with it being a meteor are that the trail behind it looked solid, and not like a meteor trail, and it also was travelling slower than I would imagine a meteor to be. That's not to say I'm not wrong - it may well have been one, it just didn't look like it to me.
.

If it does turn out to be that rocket body entry, YOUR observations and interpretations were SPOT ON and deserve a round of applause. What can you recall about the direction of motion of the fireball and the precise time?

In any case, my hats off to a sharp observer!! Way to go, mate.

Just space debris

www.theage.com.au...

NASA issued an alert on Thursday saying a seven-metre, three-tonne, cylindrical object would plunge to Earth over Victoria and Tasmania, said Professor Brian Schmidt, an astronomer at the Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics at the Australian National University. “Orbits of these [pieces of space junk] is monitored quite closely," he said. "This one was decaying rapidly and the prediction of the path was confirmed, because everyone saw it." The object was the "third-stage" of the Soyuz rocket used on July 8 to launch Russia’s second Meteor-M weather satellite, quashing beliefs it was a meteorite.

originally posted by: JimOberg

originally posted by: cuckooold
....

The problems I have with it being a meteor are that the trail behind it looked solid, and not like a meteor trail, and it also was travelling slower than I would imagine a meteor to be. That's not to say I'm not wrong - it may well have been one, it just didn't look like it to me.
.

If it does turn out to be that rocket body entry, YOUR observations and interpretations were SPOT ON and deserve a round of applause. What can you recall about the direction of motion of the fireball and the precise time?

In any case, my hats off to a sharp observer!! Way to go, mate.

The exact time was 21:43, and I remembered checking immediately afterward, so possibly minus 30 seconds. I'll try to upload a map later when I'm at home and have access to a computer, but if I had to hazard a guess in its direction, I'd guess probably coming in from the N/NE, and headed S/SW (although I may be out here, a map may clarify). Some of the videos I have viewed show it descending, but it looked like it was travelling level to the horizon when I saw it.

Not sure of the validity of the claims that some people saw it for 2 minutes, and change it's direction.

originally posted by: cuckooold


The exact time was 21:43, and I remembered checking immediately afterward, so possibly minus 30 seconds. I'll try to upload a map later when I'm at home and have access to a computer, but if I had to hazard a guess in its direction, I'd guess probably coming in from the N/NE, and headed S/SW (although I may be out here, a map may clarify). Some of the videos I have viewed show it descending, but it looked like it was travelling level to the horizon when I saw it.

Good stuff, what's the GMT time please? It does seem a match for the reentry.

At one point in the near-horizontal descent, which CAN take 100 seconds or more to cross the sky, the object as big as this breaks into flaming fragments that fly on in 'perfect formation'. This OFTEN leads to witnesses interpreting it as windows on a large mothership UFO. From this description that would have occurred down Tasmania way or farther.