Strange Moon Anomaly 2015

originally posted by: Leeyum
a reply to: intrptr

Yeah my first instinct was that it's an artifact. It's not one I have seen before, but it's the only logical explanation. It would be interesting to see some other examples of this. Not necessarily with the moon, but any light source.

I can't tell if it is an bug in the camera lens or a meteor zooming off the moon like a rock skipping on water.

That does not look like the moon, that looks like the sun. lol I wish I had my new camera today, I had such a perfect shot of the full moon rising it was beautiful.

It could be something "real".

But then again, considering that the Moon also looked to distort its shape and wobble while you were zooming and panning (a distortion and wobble most likely caused by the zooming and/or panning), I think it is very possible that the beam of light coming off the top left of the Moon was also caused by zooming and panning.

originally posted by: Diabolical1972
That does not look like the moon, that looks like the sun. lol I wish I had my new camera today, I had such a perfect shot of the full moon rising it was beautiful.

It's the moon, but overexposed.

Some cameras do not have easy manual settings for things such as exposure, so getting a properly exposed video of image of the Moon (one in which the detail is not washed out by the brightness) can be a challenge for those cameras.

...And by the way, you have until Wednesday to get an image of the full Moon. Today's moon was a not-quite-full waxing gibbous.

I'm going with the Occams Razor on this one.

It looks pretty real to me.

a reply to: Leeyum

That is the Moon. The sunset is evidence, as is the fact that the Sun looks much larger and washes the camera out far more than this example, without a solar filter.

It is also not a product of the camera focusing as some suggest.

From what I can see, i see an object come in from the right, hit the polar region, and continue to the left at a different vector than the incoming vector.

It honestly looks like a meteor that grazed the surface and bounced off into space

Okay... reconsidering possibilities, I'm still pretty flabbergasted, but it's most likely an asteroid strike. There is a small plume on the top right and ejecta off the top left. But it's so fast... most impacts of that size look slower and the vaporized rock settle slowly. There should also be quite a scar left.

If one wants to go tin foily, then maybe a military strike... or back to ginormous ships.
If it's a vehicle, then wowzees ... it's a bigun.

Maybe an astronomy dept would be interested. Again, neat find and I'd love for some pro astronomers to chime in, though most have run from this site!

add: and the speed is just impossible for the size ... I haven't the maths to compute it, but that must be some fraction of light speed.

There have been some neat Moon anomalies through the ages... most impacts leave a glowing haze of ejecta for hours and ember like craters. This is one of the better ones, despite the slight out of focus, it still defies easy identification from this layman, anyway.

I'm pretty sure it's an insect that just happens to briefly fly in front of the moon. If you look at the enlarged part of the clip there is a flapping motion - perhaps the light is being refracted through translucent wings - maybe a dragonfly or similar.

It seems to appear as you start to zoom, so my guess it's light moving across the camera lens as the focusing mechanism rotates.

Nice view though

originally posted by: Baddogma
Okay... reconsidering possibilities, I'm still pretty flabbergasted, but it's most likely an asteroid strike.

An asteroid stike of such large scale (creating a plume clearly visible from Earth without a telescope) would be visible to countless others, and create a furor in the astronomical community.

It just didn't happen, sorry.

The most likely explanation is something happening in the earth's atmosphere, or even in your own camera.

a reply to: CreationBro

It honestly looks like a meteor that grazed the surface and bounced off into space

exactly what i was thinking of

originally posted by: Leeyum
a reply to: intrptr

Yeah my first instinct was that it's an artifact. It's not one I have seen before, but it's the only logical explanation. It would be interesting to see some other examples of this. Not necessarily with the moon, but any light source.

If I was a camera bug and had the same outfit, I could probably duplicate the effect on a light bulb.

originally posted by: OneBigMonkeyToo
It seems to appear as you start to zoom, so my guess it's light moving across the camera lens as the focusing mechanism rotates.

Nice view though

Yes, it does seem that the streak of light occurred at same time that the Moon's shape appeared to distort -- a distortion that was caused by the zooming of the camera. That makes me think the streak of light could have also been caused by the zooming of the camera.

Besides that, if the streak of light was something real and very near to the Moon, it would have been traveling hundreds of miles in a fraction of a second....

...For example (using the meteor explanation as an example), it would have been moving way too fast to really be a meteor that struck the Moon and bounced off.

Thanks for all your responses. I still have the same camera, so if it's a clear night tonight I will try recreate the effect.

I think it's a bug, with the light from the Moon being reflected or refracted on its wings.

With such a bright Moon in view it could even be a bird, I have seen birds' wings reflecting light almost as if they were made of metal.

originally posted by: Dr UAE
a reply to: CreationBro

It honestly looks like a meteor that grazed the surface and bounced off into space

exactly what i was thinking of

It would have to be pretty large for us to actually see this thing hit/graze the moon from all the way down here, right?

Great footage - I'll keep watching this thread.

originally posted by: ArMaP
I think it's a bug, with the light from the Moon being reflected or refracted on its wings.

With such a bright Moon in view it could even be a bird, I have seen birds' wings reflecting light almost as if they were made of metal.

The bird would still be visible once it had crossed. It wouldn't just stop appearing from the camera's view.

Granted, it could be a bug, small enough to go fairly undetected unless reflecting the light of the moon/distorted by the camera.

But I wouldn't bank on either.

The stretching of the moon could be panning but that little thing that moves from right to left from the top of the moon. I have no idea. I don't see a camera doing that. Good eye. Though it's kinda weird making footage for a wine mockumentay and you zoom in to the moon. If you saw it back then why wait so long?

a reply to: Leeyum

I only have one explanation-a reflection of the setting sun's rays but apart from that who knows, but I have seen this many times before and it happens just after dark and the moon appears so bright that it's almost like staring at the sun.

Maybe this was taken when the moon was at it's perigee i.e the point where it is closest to the earth, and given the time and location that might explain it. There is a full moon ATM and it replicated the effects in the video.

a reply to: ConscienceZombie

In response to it being weird filming the Moon for a mockumentary on wine making. I guess it is a little random. But, as all the filming was done during the harvest period while my friend an I were working the night shift, it seemed relevant at the time. Oh and I hadn't noticed it back in 2015, only recently when looking back through all the clips I had recorded.

a reply to: Thecakeisalie

Hi there,

If I recall correctly, I believe there was a Lunar eclipse a day or 2 after this clip was recorded. I had intended to try recreate the shot last night as I still use the same camera, but by the time I finished work it had clouded over. I believe I will get another chance tonight so i will have another go. The only difference being the original clip was filmed in NZ and I am currently in Germany.