New UFO footage 8/15 Downtown PDX

Originally posted by InformationAgent
reply to post by Phage

 

I have followed your posting's for years. You sir = the reason I joined ATS.

might be the silliest thing ive read here in a month! lol
seriously? joined ATS cuz of Phage?
lol, whatever.

Phage can be cool, but c'mon. lol

ohh yeah, the thread..

I think it's prolly a toy also.
only I wont say "definitely a toy" and pretend i know for sure. lol

reply to post by yigsstarhouse



This looks like a UFO sky lantern on a tethered and controlled string.
Why this seems to be the latest rave is beyond me. But I s'pose they'd be fun to fly.

reply to post by yigsstarhouse


Yiggy!

The guys are right.....it's one one those motorised gliders with LED's on it.

I've watched them a lot.

Kind regards
Maybe...maybe not

reply to post by yigsstarhouse


"It wasn't a police car or anything." Really? Wow, this chick should win the obvious statement of the year award. I'm guessing it also wasn't a boa constrictor. For Pete's sake, make yourself useful and take your top off.

Originally posted by Maybe...maybe not
reply to post by yigsstarhouse

 

Yiggy!

The guys are right.....it's one one those motorised gliders with LED's on it.

I've watched them a lot.

Kind regards
Maybe...maybe not

May I ask you something although it's a little off topic (but I don't want to start a whole thread)


How far away (feet/miles) can a light from a plane (military or conventional) be seen from the ground at night?


I ask because I often see 'dots' of lights no bigger than a distant star. But....they move. I want to think they're satellites but very often, they move very slow (or apear to be) and then, stop and seem to go in another direction.

So it got me thinking. Can I be seeing a regular light, from a regular plane lets say, 20,000-30,000 away at night? Somehow I don't think so.

Thanks!

reply to post by PlausibleDeniability


I saw two blue lights do the same thing you're describing in downtowm Phoenix a few years ago. It was outside a bar and a ton of people saw it. Everyone figured it was RC planes

reply to post by Human_Alien


Human Alien.....

How far away (feet/miles) can a light from a plane (military or conventional) be seen from the ground at night?

Perhaps I can offer a couple of answers that might be helpful.

Regarding distance.....

I live in the mountains approx 70 kilometers from Sydney Airport. I can see the planes at night, immediately upon their take-off because I can easily see their lights. I cannot see that during the daytime.

Regarding height.....

I've read that during the day, it is very difficult to see a plane if it's altitude is greater than approx 40,000 feet. I don't know what the situation is at night regarding a plane, albeit you can see satellites quite easily as they reflect sunlight.

Kind regards
Maybe...maybe not

reply to post by Maybe...maybe not


Thanks Maybe.

I am strickly referring to night time and planes (satellites?) that are orbitting not, taking off though.

Here, please allow me to ask these questions so I can try to have a better understanding. Thanking you in advance!


The scenario is night time.

First question:
Although I can't imagine why but....do satellites have exterior lights for let's say either warning or navigational purposes (although that sounds ridiculous)?

Second question:
How high up/far away (miles/footage) would you say the lowest satellite orbits?

Third question:
Given your answer to the second question, would a person be able to see it from Earth? Remember, I am talking about night time only. So reflecting sun light is not part of the factor.

Fourth question:
How bright would you say a standard navigational light be on a conventional or military plane? I tried Googling it but I kept reading 35-50 watts (at $500 per bulb) which can't be correct, can it? I have light bulbs stronger than that in my house.

Fifth question:
How far can light travel (please break this down to layman terms because I do not understand light-years)? I mean, how far away (altitude-wise) can someone on the ground see an exterior light on a plane?

I have a feeling the answer to your second question will be that the satillites are high enough to reflect the sun even though it is dark to us, if that made sense!

If it's bad form to barge in, I apologize, but regarding your questions....

Originally posted by Human_Alien

First question:
Although I can't imagine why but....do satellites have exterior lights for let's say either warning or navigational purposes (although that sounds ridiculous)?

The ISS, for instance, is lighted. I'm not sure if artificial satellites in general have lights. If I were to speculate, I'd say unlikely, because power is at a premium. Man-made satellites are, however, very reflective, to control heating.

Second question:
How high up/far away (miles/footage) would you say the lowest satellite orbits?

Orbits decay quickly below 200 km, so most satellites are placed above that for this reason as well as minimizing debris impacts. Short-term satellites might be placed in lower orbits (for photography, for example).

Third question:
Given your answer to the second question, would a person be able to see it from Earth? Remember, I am talking about night time only. So reflecting sun light is not part of the factor.

Satellites are visible from Earth's surface all the time. Just because it's dark where you're standing, that doesn't mean a satellite you're looking at isn't high enough to reflect sunlight. If conditions are right, you might witness the ISS when it's the brightest thing in the sky except the Moon, and there's also the Iridium satellites.

Try here: spaceweather.com...

Fourth question:
How bright would you say a standard navigational light be on a conventional or military plane? I tried Googling it but I kept reading 35-50 watts (at $500 per bulb) which can't be correct, can it? I have light bulbs stronger than that in my house.

www.skygeek.com...

www.xevision.com...

Fifth question:
How far can light travel (please break this down to layman terms because I do not understand light-years)?

In a vacuum, infinitely. In reality, atmospheric conditions on Earth and even dust in space cause reflection, refraction, etc., so the visibility of light from a given source varies on this basis.

I mean, how far away (altitude-wise) can someone on the ground see an exterior light on a plane?

Under clear conditions, just about any well-lit aircraft will be visible in sufficient darkness, regardless of altitude. If we assume a typical commercial aircraft operates between 7,500 and 11,000 meters (roughly 25,000 to 35,000 feet), that's 7.5 to 11 kilometers, or 4.7 to 6.8 miles. You can see lights from those distances.