View Full Version : Full Moon and UFO
WB5HQH
03-31-2011, 01:38 AM
Came across this while I was looking at the recent cases close to me. Yeah I got one of them black UFO caps. Anyone seen this before in a photo? I have debunked many lens flares and reflections but this looks different. Shot from Evangeline Parish, La. on 3-19-2011 using a Canon Rebel T2i with a Sigma 18-250 mm lens. He said it could only be seen in the viewfinder. I know some DSLRs can capture infrared light, not sure about this one.
First a image showing moon and object, then a crop with the object.
http://www.wb5hqh.com/ufo1.jpg
http://www.wb5hqh.com/ufo2.jpg
N5PAR
03-31-2011, 02:27 AM
Kinda looks like the Enterprise of Star Trek fame.
KD6VM
03-31-2011, 02:38 AM
Kinda looks like the Enterprise of Star Trek fame.
That was my very first thought!
KA9VQF
03-31-2011, 02:54 AM
Looks more like the ISS to me
K1DNR
03-31-2011, 02:59 AM
How long was the exposure? Probably at least 1/125 if the moon is spherical and not football shaped!
My guess is something very high up catching sunlight from over the horizon. Most DSLRs have an infrared filter in front of the sensor.
What time did you take it? It *almost* looks like the ISS, but it is too large or too close.
K1DNR
03-31-2011, 03:01 AM
I would look at one of the websites or something like SatScape and see what known objects were overhead at the time that picture was taken.
The only thing really bizarre is the trails.
W5BIB
03-31-2011, 03:33 AM
Looks like a "Weather Balloon" to me. You can even see the shrouds ! ;)
Nope...it's the Hubble Space Telescope.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hubble_space_telescope
K1DNR
03-31-2011, 07:12 AM
Nope...it's the Hubble Space Telescope.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hubble_space_telescope
That would be cool, except Hubble is only 13.2 meters long, by 4.2m in diameter (43x14 feet) or about the size of a city bus. It is also 350 miles away. The panels are 2.6mx7.1m (8.5x23 feet).
Hubble wouldn't explain the streams that are visible in the photo.
It is unidentified!!
KC9IUX
03-31-2011, 08:22 AM
How long was the exposure? Probably at least 1/125 if the moon is spherical and not football shaped!
Even at a very low F stop?
KC9IUX
03-31-2011, 08:30 AM
Ever hear of John Lenard Walson ?
It cracked me up that he claimed to have images of "craft" in orbit complete with sound (yes, sound in an airless medium) using a secret method.
That pic is a head scratcher.
N0WVA
03-31-2011, 12:43 PM
The moon looks obscured. Was there a lot of haze out that night from jet trails?
KA4DPO
03-31-2011, 01:02 PM
It bears a striking resemblance to the light from Venus being reflected off of swamp gas. :):)
Looks like a defunct Texan in orbit. :D :D :D
N8CPA
03-31-2011, 02:49 PM
My guess: A shuttle SETS experiment. There were missions that the shuttle would deploy a tethered satellite to scrape the upper atmosphere- Think of it as reverse kite flying from space.
W2ILP
03-31-2011, 03:00 PM
UFO = Unidentified Flying Object.
Who says that it was UNIDENTIFIED?
Before coming to that conclusion we must be certain that it was not identified by anyone. It is more probable that it was or could be identified than that it wasn't or could not be identified.
w2ilp (Identification Logically Probable)
I once saw an flying insect that I never saw before. I did not know what to call it but I did not call it a UFI = Unidentified Flying Insect...because I know that there may be some bug-man specialists who might be able to identify it better than I could.
WB5HQH
03-31-2011, 03:51 PM
If you read the thread I said "HE shot" so it wasn't me and I don't know the answers to all these questions. And it will be a UFO until identified, then it will be a IFO. UFO doesn't mean a flying saucer. It looks like none of ya'll have seen this type of aerial phenom or lens error either. I personally have never seen anything in sky I didn't know what it was. Even saw a flying wing :eek: when I was a kid and knew it was an airplane and not a space ship. Thanks for the comments. Fun as always.:D
KG6MZS
03-31-2011, 04:54 PM
Given the angular size relative to the Moon, I would guess aeronautical phenomena. I'd say it is a wide body on approach. I suspect are seeing the sides of the fuselage lit up and the landing lights ahead. There are no contrails on astronautical phenomena. I think you caught it between strobe blinks and the wings are not visible.
I have been into astronomy since I was a kid and only once did I see a phenomena that I couldn't explain. But that's a different thread :-)
73 de Eric, KG6MZS
K1DNR
03-31-2011, 05:14 PM
Even at a very low F stop?
The moon moves across the sky. Anything less than 1/125 will result in visible distortion of a "circle" into something more oblong. This is a general rule of thumb. The demand is even greater if using any magnification.
F stop has nothing to do with motion or blur. Just shutter speed. (a more open f stop allows you to use a faster shutter speed)
Stop motion=faster shutter, not f stop. Unless you are tracking the moving the object, in which case the object is effectively motionless and shutter speed doesn't matter.
KJ6LFD
03-31-2011, 05:17 PM
Air Force UFO Identification Chart:
http://www.openminds.tv/wp-content/uploads/US-Air-Force-UFO-Chart.jpg
K1DNR
03-31-2011, 05:19 PM
Given the angular size relative to the Moon, I would guess aeronautical phenomena. I'd say it is a wide body on approach. I suspect are seeing the sides of the fuselage lit up and the landing lights ahead. There are no contrails on astronautical phenomena. I think you caught it between strobe blinks and the wings are not visible.
I have been into astronomy since I was a kid and only once did I see a phenomena that I couldn't explain. But that's a different thread :-)
73 de Eric, KG6MZS
You can't use angular size because you don't know the altitude. Is it something huge 300 miles away or something like a jet 10,000 feet away? We don't know. Both would have the same appearance of relative size.
That said, you could be right about the wide body and landing lights.
We live on a Laguardia approach, and also near flight paths of JFK and Newark. We get some interesting looking perspectives on incoming and outgoing aircraft in different types of weather and conditions.
The photo is quite interesting none the less.
KG6MZS
03-31-2011, 05:26 PM
You can't use angular size because you don't know the altitude. True, to a degree (if you will forgive the expression :). However, if it was astronautical phenomena it would need to be fantastically large to have that angular size. Occam's razor favors aeronautical phenomena.
K8ERV
03-31-2011, 05:29 PM
It looks hungry to me.
(Occam's razor must be getting dull by now)
TOM K8ERV Montrose Colo
K1DNR
03-31-2011, 05:35 PM
True, to a degree (if you will forgive the expression :). However, if it was astronautical phenomena it would need to be fantastically large to have that angular size. Occam's razor favors aeronautical phenomena.
We used to go outside at dusk or evening and watch satellites pass. You can see them at dusk and early evening because still reflect sunlight. They usually look like very, very small dots against the sky - and you are correct that their dimensions would not appear that large next to the moon.
I'm sure everyone has seen the Sun/ISS transit photos - but that is more of a silhouette I think. Its also quite large.
We would not be seeing either vapor trails or headlights projecting through air if the object was in space either.
Very likely commercial aircraft of some kind.
When did Occam start shaving again?
N3HQN
04-01-2011, 12:32 AM
Never seen anything like it. I say send it on over to Noory.
http://www.coasttocoastam.com/
EA5HDX
04-01-2011, 12:56 AM
Tycho Monolith? :)
KA4DPO
04-01-2011, 02:14 AM
Maybe they're looking for Al Bundies socks.....
Well, I think Eric, KG6MZS, is on the right track. I am a commercial pilot. During the open shutter the single red beacon flashed once and the wing tip strobes fired several times. You can plainly see the contrails lit by the moon. Your eyes can fool you Luke! Don't trust them or, for that matter a camera.
Just my humble opinion. I grew up around airplanes and worked on them in the Air Force and now fly them. I've seen a lot of planes on the ground and in the air. That is what we have here.
Keith
K1DNR
04-01-2011, 04:08 AM
Well, I think Eric, KG6MZS, is on the right track. I am a commercial pilot. During the open shutter the single red beacon flashed once and the wing tip strobes fired several times. You can plainly see the contrails lit by the moon. Your eyes can fool you Luke! Don't trust them or, for that matter a camera.
Just my humble opinion. I grew up around airplanes and worked on them in the Air Force and now fly them. I've seen a lot of planes on the ground and in the air. That is what we have here.
Keith
Yep. I have a 5 minute exposure of the George Washington Bridge I made a few years back, complete with star trails and several commercial jets flying through.
The jets are streaks of light, with a pair of repeating dots (flashing lights) on either side of the streak, much like a scar that was once stitched.
I believe this is most likely explanation.
N8CPA
04-01-2011, 11:36 AM
We used to go outside at dusk or evening and watch satellites pass. You can see them at dusk and early evening because still reflect sunlight. They usually look like very, very small dots against the sky - and you are correct that their dimensions would not appear that large next to the moon.
I'm sure everyone has seen the Sun/ISS transit photos - but that is more of a silhouette I think. Its also quite large.
We would not be seeing either vapor trails or headlights projecting through air if the object was in space either.
Very likely commercial aircraft of some kind.
When did Occam start shaving again?
Depending whether it's ascending or descending, if you see a satellite node transition close to the terminator, it will look like it approaches from one direction, hovers, turns, takes off in another direction, then disappears.
KD8GFC
04-01-2011, 12:31 PM
61646Here is a pic of the ISS shadow from the sun as you can see they look similar but not the same so it cant be the ISS.
K1DNR
04-01-2011, 04:33 PM
61646Here is a pic of the ISS shadow from the sun as you can see they look similar but not the same so it cant be the ISS.
That was the mission to populate the sun with more spots, right? :D
KG6MZS
04-01-2011, 05:10 PM
61646Here is a pic of the ISS shadow from the sun as you can see they look similar but not the same so it cant be the ISS.
Obviously photoshopped. There haven't been any sunspots since the ISS went up. :)
