Strange Flashes in the night sky ,what are they,and have you seen them?

The June Bootids are a meteor shower occurring roughly between 26 June and 2 July each year. In most years their activity is weak, with a zenith hourly rate (ZHR) of only 1 or 2. However, occasional outbursts have been seen, with the outburst of 1916 drawing attention to the previously unknown meteor shower. The most recent outburst occurred in 1998, when the ZHR reached up to 100. The meteor shower occurs when the Earth crosses the orbit of Comet Pons-Winnecke, a short-period comet which orbits the Sun once every 6.37 years.

This would match the time of the OP's sighting, sounds very much like a meteorite shower to me.

In Texas, have seen this as well.

The oddest I have seen is a large star like (or planet like) object that would occasionally, and randomly flash (like a camera flash) but not enough to light up the night sky.

If you're not looking carefully, it can be easily missed.

[edit on 9-7-2008 by messiah4hire]

reply to post by azonic-mantra


Thanks for your post,however this was not a meteor shower I have seen shooting stars many, many, times before and stayed up to watch meteor showers. They always look much the same and not unlike a firework streaking across the sky before burning out. The flashes I saw were not like that at all. Also shooting stars and meteor showers appear much lower as they come through the atmosphere. The flashes that I am seeing are I would guess at about the same hight as a satellite , if not even higher.

Although i could go in to explaining how meteor showers can give quite different visual displays depending on:

- The content of the providing comet
- The angle that they enter the atmosphere
- Where you view them from (city or rural)

I'll give this another shot as to be honest flashes in the sky really could be anything and there are a number of options before the ET one, from your last description stating satalite-like altitude then i'm going to have to say satalites, more accuratley Iridium Communication Satalites:

"Iridium satellites produce bright flares when their solar panels catch the sunlight. All you need to see a flare is a trusty mark 1 eyeball (preferably two). Times of flares for anywhere in the world can be obtained from Heavens Above. When a flare occurs it can be as bright as magnitude -8 which makes it much brighter than Venus"





[edit on 9-7-2008 by azonic-mantra]

reply to post by rocksolidbrain


This is a quote from www.satobs.org...

Iridium flares. The flares/glints can last anywhere from 5 to 20 seconds before the satellite once again becomes almost invisible to the naked eye.

This is why I think that they are not iridium flares, because they only last for up to 1 second ,not 5 to 20 seconds. Just like a quick camera flash.


Cheers Tarifa37

This thread is going round in circles. A flash, as I said before could be almost anything. There are many causes of flashes in the sky, but the majority of what is being reported here is probably caused by space junk, and I agree with azonic-mantra that some could also be from meteors.

Not all meteors appear as "classic streaks" in the sky - some are barely perceptible flashes, and some may be much brighter. No "streak" has to be associated with it. Meteoroids hitting our atmosphere can and do disintegrate on contact with the atmosphere, producing a flash. The June Bootids may be one cause/source, but there are many other sources for meteors that are active, although at low levels.

The U.S. Space Surveillance Network, a department that tracks debris floating through space and reports to NASA, observes over 13,000 man-made objects orbiting Earth larger than 4 inches in diameter [source: National Geographic News]. That number has only been increasing, up from 9,000 objects in 2000. The organization estimates there are also millions of much smaller objects floating around, and all of it combined weighs about 5,500 tons.

source

Don't you think all that junk up there is capable of catching the sun? Remember, much of it is tumbling uncontrollably.

Anyone here who thinks these flashes are related to aliens, is totally ignoring the most likely explanations, which is fine... just don't come here claiming there is something abnormal/alien in this when there is no factual basis to support this!

Anyway, how are you going to prove anything in connection with these flashes? Even if you could capture some on film (difficult at best), it's just a "flash"... it could be anything. Unless you precisely plot the flashes in the sky, and record the time, and compare with data from an orbit database, you can't dismiss satellites/junk in orbit. If you could get a photo of a flash bright enough with a diffraction grating, it could be spectrographically analyzed and provide some evidence as to it's origin, but that will be a mammoth task...

In short, there is no way to prove or disprove what is the cause... but why bother, when we already know what the likely cause is?

I recently did an investigation in Monterey California with ATS member ProjectPhyrePhly. His research group captures strange objects in the sky. There were a number of fires making night-viewing next to impossible, but I did get this one flash that came through the smoke.

I should add that there were no satellites or planes in the area and we confirmed this with data provided by NASA's J-Pass/J-Track. I've captured these before, they are all very brief and I used to wonder if these couldn't even be associated with gamma-ray bursts.

I'm providing a download link to the flash (about 1.6 megs big) in a WMV format. It is solely for ATS research and not for public distribution, so please do not post it out in public..

You will be looking at the bottom right at first for the rapid sprite

Johnny's "sprite" capture in Monterey

If your interested in hearing about the Monterey investigation you can do so by going to the ATSMIX link located below;

Project Phyre Phly Investigative Report

Originally posted by JohnnyAnonymous
I should add that there were no satellites or planes in the area and we confirmed this with data provided by NASA's J-Pass/J-Track. I've captured these before, they are all very brief and I used to wonder if these couldn't even be associated with gamma-ray bursts.

Does NASA's J-Pass/J-Track include data for all space-junk up there? I seriously doubt it!

As for GRB's, I doubt that would be the cause. There are detectors that would pick them up if that were the case, and even the brightest GRBs are barely visible to the naked eye. These flashes are much brighter than any known GRBs.

Thanks for sharing your flash though

Originally posted by C.H.U.D.
Does NASA's J-Pass/J-Track include data for all space-junk up there? I seriously doubt it!

As for GRB's, I doubt that would be the cause. There are detectors that would pick them up if that were the case, and even the brightest GRBs are barely visible to the naked eye. These flashes are much brighter than any known GRBs.

Thanks for sharing your flash though

No.

NASA J-Track/J-Pass does not provide data on every piece of floating debris, and other than NORAD and U.S. Space Surveillance Network (that I know of) has the capacity to do so. When we go out to capture something in the sky, we are primarily concerned that what we see is not something that is easily explainable (IE: satellites, Hubble, ISS, planes, birds, bugs, bats, etc.).

In regards to the GRB's. We use high amplification Night-vision devices, amplifying light by 10,000 to 60,000 times normal. So we would see objects that say someone with just a pair of binoculars would not see. Obviously, we apparently don't know what these flash's are and I as researcher was just adding this to the mix of the thread as one needs to try and submit and/or rule out all possibilities.

Also in as far as we know, this flash could've been in the smoke or below the smoke, we have no reference points to help prove/disprove one way or another. My team is not suggesting that this is alien or something easily explainable, we are solely providing a recorded flash within the terms of the original thread posters query of "Have you seen them?"


Johnny

[edit on 7/9/2008 by JohnnyAnonymous]

I saw a similar thing a few months back while driving home on a deserted country road. The landscape near me was lit up like daytime and it was 3 or 4, very rapid, very white, bright flashes. It looked very close and It seemed to occur all in the same area.

Originally posted by JohnnyAnonymous

NASA J-Track/J-Pass does not provide data on every piece of floating debris, and other than NORAD and U.S. Space Surveillance Network (that I know of) has the capacity to do so. When we go out to capture something in the sky, we are primarily concerned that what we see is not something that is easily explainable (IE: satellites, Hubble, ISS, planes, birds, bugs, bats, etc.).

Flashes from space junk and meteors are also "easily explainable", but how do you cross them off the list of possibilities?


Your work in trying to document various phenomena is admirable, and I can see why you contributed your flash to the thread, but, would you not say that since everyone here is experiencing naked-eye visible flashes, they may well be a similar but different type of phenomena to those which might be visible to image-intensified optics? I do not think this is the case, but how do you rule out that possibility?

I still don't see how any of these descriptions of events we have here could be related to GRB's. A couple of months back the brightest ever (in viable wavelengths) GRB was recorded, and that was just barely perceptible to the naked-eye. Just out of interest, one ATS member (The Horse Chestnut) seems to have been lucky enough to observe it through binoculars, and may well be the only person anywhere to have visually observed the event.

Anyway, if we know for a fact that the brightest GRB so far recorded was barely visible to the naked human eye (under the best observing conditions possible), then I think we can rule out everything in this thread(apart from your flash), as not being related to GRBs. Don't you agree?

Edit to add: Also, GRB's do not produce a series of flashes located in different areas of sky. This is a commonly observed behavior for space-junk though!


[edit on 9-7-2008 by C.H.U.D.]

reply to post by C.H.U.D.


Im not being funny ,but please tell me or even better show me ,where I said the flashes were of "alien" origin. I just said Quote"Has anyone else seen this happen? Has anyone got a logical answer?"
If its space junk great case solved.However how come its always in the same part of the sky and also came from four different points in the sky within seconds of each other ?
Cheers Tarifa37

So I was at a lakeside cabin outside of Ely, MN this last weekend and I saw these flashes and was very excited. I decided not start a thread because I have no knowledge of reflections on satellites and I didn't have a pic. or video. But I saw the same thing.

I would like to say that the sky was amazingly clear with no moon in sight and the stars were extremely bright and beautiful. I was having a smoke with my hubby and we were watching different satellites whiz across the sky. We saw about four or five each traveled in a straight line but they came and went from different angles and areas in the sky.

I was looking directly over my head when I saw the first flash it was about the magnitude of a flash of lightning but in the pinpoint of a star and just as fast. It was right above the handle of the dipper about 10 degrees. And I immediately asked my husband if he saw it. He hadn't so I told him where to look. Just then another flashed and it was a little ways away. He says "oh, ya." Then another, along the same trajectory -all brilliantly white. Now a few seconds or so in between each flash all in the same trajectory but not the exact amount of seconds. It wasn't like every two seconds it was random and the distance between each flash was different. This happened about 6 to 8 times with nothing visibly traveling between each flash.

Then nothing. We watched for a few more minutes but had to return inside to check on the kids and finish our RummyKing game. -I wanted to stay and look on while checking in on the kids but my husband wasn't interested. I am a scaredy-cat out there alone because wolves and bears which have been known to happen by. So reluctantly I didn't go out and look later. It was between 11 and 12 that we saw it though.

Maybe some very strange satellite or maybe something more exciting but definitely an unidentified flying object to me.

reply to post by anyone


Wow, thanks for your detailed post.I am so glad its not just me who has seen this.You say yours was on the same trajectory,well mine was more like one flash from the left then one from the right then one left but a different place than the other left and then a final one from the right also in a different position but all in the same part of the sky.
Also if you were my wife would not want you eaten by a bear or wolf. All we have here to worry about are hedgehogs and foxes. Actually when I was star gazing the other night a hedgehog crept up on me and made this snuffling noise. I almost jumped out of my skin lol:lol

reply to post by tarifa37


I was not referring to you specifically tarifa37, but you have to admit, that by posting here on this forum (Aliens and UFOs). the implication is that these things are alien... otherwise, why not post on the Space exploration or even Sci/Tech forums? Your thread and questions are valid, I'm not disputing that, just perhaps where you posted it could have been better IMHO, although perhaps it's a good thing for UFO hunters to be aware of, just as long as no one is mislead into thinking that these things could have to do with ET's.

Anyway, some other posters were implying that there was some intelligent control behind these flashes, or at least, I got that impression.

As for the second part of your question... Is it always in the same part of the sky?

Or do you mean "any flashes that follow on soon after seeing the first"?

If so, that's an easy answer. Space junk tumbles wildly allot of the time but it also travels in a straight line, so flashes will usually be fairly randomly spaced out along a line. The brightness can vary allot too, depending on the random angles between the object, sun and your eye and also the type of surfaces on the object.

Keep in mind that many surfaces of things that are sent into space are highly polished and very reflective. Even a coin sized object can create a very eye catching glint under the correct circumstances, and there are millions of those up there, most of which cant be seen till they glint since they are so small and not at a correct angle to keep bouncing the Sun's light back at you, unlike the very predictable and stable Iridium sats. for example. Also, over time ,things stay shiny up there, unlike here where things tend to get tarnished over time due to our thick atmosphere.

There is also more than enough junk up there, that more than one object could be visible at the same time, which would account for seeing flashes that don't all seemingly follow a straight line.Sometimes junk will only glint once, and you never see it again. With so much up there, the possibilities are endless!

Some objects will also be in similar orbits to others (if they originated from the same "parent" object for instance), so it might appear that a pair of flashing objects might be connected, when indeed they are! Leave the rest up to chance, and between them and all the tones of space rock/dust that hits us, it's a real mess up there

Originally posted by tarifa37
All we have here to worry about are hedgehogs and foxes. Actually when I was star gazing the other night a hedgehog crept up on me and made this snuffling noise. I almost jumped out of my skin lol:lol

You can add wild boar and beavers to that list (they've just been reintroduced), but definitely be on your guard for rouge man-eater hedgehogs

I've had a fox jump over the fence into the garden while I was star gazing before. Not sure who was more surprised - the fox or me!

I think that space junk could explain it although the large oblong flash that i saw last night must of come from a large piece of junk. The other thing I don't understand (apart from how you put those smiley faces on the post ) is why were my three sightings of these flashes all in the same part of the sky on different nights. At the zenith and about 10 deg east. Well I guess I will never know for sure, but I will be looking on the next clear night to see if it happens again. Cheers Tarifa37

Originally posted by tarifa37
I think that space junk could explain it although the large oblong flash that i saw last night must of come from a large piece of junk.

It's very possible, but I suspect a very fast meteor might be the cause. I have seen some that are so fast it's hard to see motion (some may well be inter-stellar objects/meteoroids/dust-grains that originate outside of our solar system and travel at greater speeds than regular meteors). They literally appear as a line in the sky and are gone just as fast.

Originally posted by tarifa37
The other thing I don't understand (apart from how you put those smiley faces on the post ) is why were my three sightings of these flashes all in the same part of the sky on different nights. At the zenith and about 10 deg east.

Well, I don't know about you, but where I am, the Zenith is just about the only part of the sky I can easily make out stars that are below about 0 mag in brightness on a clear night. Pretty much all else is lost in light pollution. Perhaps where you are is not so bad, but I suspect that you are only seeing them there because they are much more easily seen where the sky is darkest (and the atmosphere is more transparent).

Also, I would say if this is the case, when observing you tend to be looking at the part of the sky with the best limiting magnitude. I find my eyes drawn there! I usually only notice dimmer satellites when they are almost right on top of me too. That is perfectly natural though.

I have seen flashes from elsewhere in the sky when observing from relatively dark sites in the countryside, so either you were just very lucky/unlucky and/or a combination of the above.

Perhaps this meteor observing "trick" that I use may help: Try to decentralize where you are looking at - we mostly only use the central part of our vision to look at things, and we only see in detail in this central part. When you are observing, instead of focusing on a particular part of the sky, try to go into "wide" mode, and be aware of all the sky on the periphery of your vision, which although it is good at picking up movement/changes in brightness can not resolve detail, but you will be aware of any flashes lower down in the sky. Sometimes this trick will let you see a meteor you might otherwise have missed.

Edit: BTW for the smiley faces, make sure Smilies are on (when you reply, look on the left and you should see it), then you'll see them on the right. Just like this

[edit on 9-7-2008 by C.H.U.D.]

reply to post by azonic-mantra


Good post

Don't forget that speed and size also plays a large part in how a meteor appears to us.

Thank you also for effectively stating that the meteor phenomena that we see can take a very varied selection of forms. Very few people seem to realize this who do not take time to observe for meteors. You obviously have a good few hours, and no doubt many meteors observed under your belt!

[edit on 9-7-2008 by C.H.U.D.]

So this is somewhat off topic in that I didn't see this flash whilst looking at the sky but this thread is what pushed me to start this other thread
about a pink flash I saw while in a plane flying over the Pacific Ocean. I thought maybe one of you could shed some light on it, seeing as you all are sky watchers. Please check it out. Maybe it strikes a chord with some of you who saw colored flashes.


I will never forget that pink flash.