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Bright blue light observed in night sky



 
 
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  #1  
Old June 5th 06, 03:42 AM posted to sci.astro.amateur,melb.general
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Default Bright blue light observed in night sky

Hi there,
Here is a description of a very stange phenomenon I observed last
night. I have no idea what caused this. If anyone has any good ideas
please let me know. (A web search only reveals a couple of similar
experiences, but most of them seem to be posted on "UFO" type forums,
and hence the conversations tend to become a bit... muddy.)

I was in Cheltenham, Victoria (Australia), outside looking at the
stars. It was about 10:30 pm, Sunday June 4th. Conditions were clear;
there was no cloud and the stars were as bright as ever. The moon was
almost exactly half, and was towards the West - probably WNW about 40
degrees above the horizon.

My first observation was of the sky actually dimming. (This could have
been because I had just blinked and opened my eyes at the time that an
initial flash was fading. However, it left me with the impression that
the the light in the sky had been sucked away, and then emitted in the
flash that as to follow. In fact the more I think about, this initial
impression is also my considered lasting impression - it was as though
the light was being sucked into a single point and then released in a
huge silent explosion of light. Stupid as that sounds, read on...)

The flash followed almost immediately. I would estimate that between
the time I saw the sky start to fade until the blue flash began was
about half a second. The blue light flash was very bright, and it
filled probably 40 degrees of the horizon and to a height of about 40
degrees. It seemed to have a point source, but that was obscured by a
building so I can't say what was at the middle of it. I heard no
noise, but I was not in an entirely silent environment; I think I would
have heard a loud noise such as thunder, but not a quieter one such as
the sound of a distant flare. The glow seemed to come from ground
level or not much above, from a direction roughly SSE. It was more a
pulse than a flash, lasting less than a second.

The colour of the flash I would describe as not a natural colour. That
is not to say that this was not a natural phenomenon, but the colour
was not like any other you usually associate with the sky - it was not
the blue of the sky, lightning or stars. It was darkish, yet very
bright. Not dark blue, but tending more towards dark than light blue.
Perhaps a bit like a luminescent ocean blue.

Someone I was with also saw the light, although she had her eyes
half-closed so did not get a good look at it - she described it as
whitish. Perhaps she had seen the initial flash that I had missed?

My intial thoughts were that it might have been:
- a flare, but the spread was too wide and I saw no moving object.
- an explosion, possibly of an electrical station, but there was no
noise, the colour was wrong and the house lights stayed on!
- lightning, but it did not come from above and it did not flicker.

Perhaps it was some sort of "Aurora"? I have never seen anything like
it and I can't explain it.

-- ff

  #2  
Old June 5th 06, 03:53 AM posted to sci.astro.amateur,melb.general
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Posts: n/a
Default Bright blue light observed in night sky

On Sun, 04 Jun 2006 21:42:08 -0500, Frackshat wrote:

Hi there,
Here is a description of a very stange phenomenon I observed last
night. I have no idea what caused this. If anyone has any good ideas
please let me know. (A web search only reveals a couple of similar
experiences, but most of them seem to be posted on "UFO" type forums,
and hence the conversations tend to become a bit... muddy.)

I was in Cheltenham, Victoria (Australia), outside looking at the
stars. It was about 10:30 pm, Sunday June 4th. Conditions were clear;
there was no cloud and the stars were as bright as ever. The moon was
almost exactly half, and was towards the West - probably WNW about 40
degrees above the horizon.

My first observation was of the sky actually dimming. (This could have
been because I had just blinked and opened my eyes at the time that an
initial flash was fading. However, it left me with the impression that
the the light in the sky had been sucked away, and then emitted in the
flash that as to follow. In fact the more I think about, this initial
impression is also my considered lasting impression - it was as though
the light was being sucked into a single point and then released in a
huge silent explosion of light. Stupid as that sounds, read on...)

The flash followed almost immediately. I would estimate that between
the time I saw the sky start to fade until the blue flash began was
about half a second. The blue light flash was very bright, and it
filled probably 40 degrees of the horizon and to a height of about 40
degrees. It seemed to have a point source, but that was obscured by a
building so I can't say what was at the middle of it. I heard no
noise, but I was not in an entirely silent environment; I think I would
have heard a loud noise such as thunder, but not a quieter one such as
the sound of a distant flare. The glow seemed to come from ground
level or not much above, from a direction roughly SSE. It was more a
pulse than a flash, lasting less than a second.

The colour of the flash I would describe as not a natural colour. That
is not to say that this was not a natural phenomenon, but the colour
was not like any other you usually associate with the sky - it was not
the blue of the sky, lightning or stars. It was darkish, yet very
bright. Not dark blue, but tending more towards dark than light blue.
Perhaps a bit like a luminescent ocean blue.

Someone I was with also saw the light, although she had her eyes
half-closed so did not get a good look at it - she described it as
whitish. Perhaps she had seen the initial flash that I had missed?

My intial thoughts were that it might have been:
- a flare, but the spread was too wide and I saw no moving object.
- an explosion, possibly of an electrical station, but there was no
noise, the colour was wrong and the house lights stayed on!
- lightning, but it did not come from above and it did not flicker.

Perhaps it was some sort of "Aurora"? I have never seen anything like
it and I can't explain it.

-- ff


IIRC, aurorae are usually green or red, not blue. It may have been
a flash from a distant thunderstorm, over the horizon. Or it could
have been from a bolide (really bright meteor). Forty degrees
along and above the horizon is quit a lot of light. If it was from
a distant source, a lot of energy was required to create it.

Or, it could have been from a much closer source, such as a
photographer's strobe.



--
Cheers,
Larry G.
  #3  
Old June 5th 06, 05:08 AM posted to sci.astro.amateur,melb.general
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Bright blue light observed in night sky

Frackshat wrote:
Hi there,
Here is a description of a very stange phenomenon I observed last
night. I have no idea what caused this. If anyone has any good ideas
please let me know. (A web search only reveals a couple of similar
experiences, but most of them seem to be posted on "UFO" type forums,
and hence the conversations tend to become a bit... muddy.)

I was in Cheltenham, Victoria (Australia), outside looking at the
stars. It was about 10:30 pm, Sunday June 4th. Conditions were clear;
there was no cloud and the stars were as bright as ever. The moon was
almost exactly half, and was towards the West - probably WNW about 40
degrees above the horizon.

My first observation was of the sky actually dimming. (This could have
been because I had just blinked and opened my eyes at the time that an
initial flash was fading. However, it left me with the impression that
the the light in the sky had been sucked away, and then emitted in the
flash that as to follow. In fact the more I think about, this initial
impression is also my considered lasting impression - it was as though
the light was being sucked into a single point and then released in a
huge silent explosion of light. Stupid as that sounds, read on...)

The flash followed almost immediately. I would estimate that between
the time I saw the sky start to fade until the blue flash began was
about half a second. The blue light flash was very bright, and it
filled probably 40 degrees of the horizon and to a height of about 40
degrees. It seemed to have a point source, but that was obscured by a
building so I can't say what was at the middle of it. I heard no
noise, but I was not in an entirely silent environment; I think I would
have heard a loud noise such as thunder, but not a quieter one such as
the sound of a distant flare. The glow seemed to come from ground
level or not much above, from a direction roughly SSE. It was more a
pulse than a flash, lasting less than a second.

The colour of the flash I would describe as not a natural colour. That
is not to say that this was not a natural phenomenon, but the colour
was not like any other you usually associate with the sky - it was not
the blue of the sky, lightning or stars. It was darkish, yet very
bright. Not dark blue, but tending more towards dark than light blue.
Perhaps a bit like a luminescent ocean blue.

Someone I was with also saw the light, although she had her eyes
half-closed so did not get a good look at it - she described it as
whitish. Perhaps she had seen the initial flash that I had missed?

My intial thoughts were that it might have been:
- a flare, but the spread was too wide and I saw no moving object.
- an explosion, possibly of an electrical station, but there was no
noise, the colour was wrong and the house lights stayed on!
- lightning, but it did not come from above and it did not flicker.

Perhaps it was some sort of "Aurora"? I have never seen anything like
it and I can't explain it.

-- ff


Space Weather News for June 3, 2006
http://spaceweather.com

STRANGE CLOUDS; Last night, sky watchers in Northern Ireland
witnessed a vivid display of electric-blue noctilucent clouds. Also
known as "NLCs," these clouds float through the outer reaches of
Earth's atmosphere at the very edge of space. They are most often
seen from far-northern places such as Scandinavia or Canada, but in
recent years they have been spotted as far south as Colorado and
Utah. Last night's display marks the beginning of the 2006
noctilucent cloud season. Visit http://spaceweather.com for
observing tips and a gallery of recent sightings.

  #4  
Old June 5th 06, 05:33 AM posted to sci.astro.amateur,melb.general
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Bright blue light observed in night sky

On 4 Jun 2006 19:42:08 -0700, "Frackshat" wrote:

Hi there,
Here is a description of a very stange phenomenon I observed last
night...


Possibly a fireball. If the meteor was traveling generally towards you,
it would not be seen to move. Bright meteors can be many times brighter
than the Moon- quite dazzling. They can last from a fraction of a second
to several seconds, and are sometimes reported as blue or blue-green.

_________________________________________________

Chris L Peterson
Cloudbait Observatory
http://www.cloudbait.com
  #5  
Old June 5th 06, 06:43 AM posted to sci.astro.amateur,melb.general
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Bright blue light observed in night sky


Frackshat skrev:

Snip

The colour of the flash I would describe as not a natural colour. That
is not to say that this was not a natural phenomenon, but the colour
was not like any other you usually associate with the sky - it was not
the blue of the sky, lightning or stars. It was darkish, yet very
bright. Not dark blue, but tending more towards dark than light blue.
Perhaps a bit like a luminescent ocean blue.


There is a fenomenon that pilots sometimes see. I can't recall the
name, but it is blue, and a related fenomenon to red spites.

It is occuring in the high atmosphere, and has to do with thunderstorms
underneath..

Regards

Carsten Nielsen
Denmark

  #6  
Old June 5th 06, 06:44 AM posted to sci.astro.amateur,melb.general
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Bright blue light observed in night sky


Frackshat skrev:

Snip

The colour of the flash I would describe as not a natural colour. That
is not to say that this was not a natural phenomenon, but the colour
was not like any other you usually associate with the sky - it was not
the blue of the sky, lightning or stars. It was darkish, yet very
bright. Not dark blue, but tending more towards dark than light blue.
Perhaps a bit like a luminescent ocean blue.


There is a fenomenon that pilots sometimes see. I can't recall the
name, but it is blue, and a related fenomenon to red spites.

It is occuring in the high atmosphere, and has to do with thunderstorms
underneath..

Regards

Carsten Nielsen
Denmark

  #7  
Old June 5th 06, 10:53 AM posted to sci.astro.amateur,melb.general
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Bright blue light observed in night sky


"Chris L Peterson" wrote in message
...
On 4 Jun 2006 19:42:08 -0700, "Frackshat" wrote:

Hi there,
Here is a description of a very stange phenomenon I observed last
night...


Possibly a fireball. If the meteor was traveling generally towards you,
it would not be seen to move. Bright meteors can be many times brighter
than the Moon- quite dazzling. They can last from a fraction of a second
to several seconds, and are sometimes reported as blue or blue-green.

_________________________________________________

Chris L Peterson
Cloudbait Observatory
http://www.cloudbait.com


I was thinking maybe it was an Iridium flare. Here is a chart of the
iridium flares that were possible to see over victoria over the last 48
hours If nothing else, this should rule it in or out one way or another:

Date Local Time Intensity Alt. Azimuth Distance to Intensity
Satellite
(Mag) flare centre (flare centre)
(Mag.)
04 Jun 07:15:46 -3 70° 205°SSW 13.7 km (W) -8
Iridium31
04 Jun 18:42:22 -1 31° 9°N 28.2 km (E) -8
Iridium95
04 Jun 18:44:36 -3 30° 6°N 16.9 km (W) -7
Iridium59
05 Jun 07:09:45 -6 69° 201°SSW 5.5 km (E) -8
Iridium 33
05 Jun 07:09:22 -1 68° 207°SSW 21.5 km (W) -9
Iridium 94
05 Jun 18:03:18 -5 12° 260°W 41.9 km (W) -5
Iridium 49
05 Jun 18:38:32 -3 30° 6°N 16.3 km (E) -7
Iridium 28

George


  #8  
Old June 5th 06, 02:36 PM posted to sci.astro.amateur,melb.general
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Bright blue light observed in night sky

On Mon, 5 Jun 2006 05:53:58 -0400, "George"
wrote:

I was thinking maybe it was an Iridium flare. Here is a chart of the
iridium flares that were possible to see over victoria over the last 48
hours If nothing else, this should rule it in or out one way or another:


The maximum intensity of an Iridium flare is only about -8, and the
description provided by the OP made it sound as if the event was much
brighter than that. Personally, I've never seen an Iridium flare as
anything other than white. But people's perception of both color and
intensity is quite variable, and as you note, the possibility of an
Iridium flare is very testable.

_________________________________________________

Chris L Peterson
Cloudbait Observatory
http://www.cloudbait.com
  #9  
Old June 5th 06, 03:11 PM posted to sci.astro.amateur,melb.general
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Posts: n/a
Default Bright blue light observed in night sky

On 5 Jun 2006 06:43:10 -0700, "CNJ999" wrote:

The description is precisely what might be expected from seeing a
distant but intense electric transformer or major powerline arc...


That's a good observation. I recall during a large earthquake (and while
living on a hill overlooking L.A.) seeing many such arcs, and they are
bright enough to light up a region of the sky very much like the OP
described.

Transformer explosions and power line arcs don't go unnoticed by power
companies. It should be possible to check on.

_________________________________________________

Chris L Peterson
Cloudbait Observatory
http://www.cloudbait.com
  #10  
Old June 5th 06, 04:09 PM posted to sci.astro.amateur,melb.general
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Bright blue light observed in night sky

"CNJ999" wrote in message
ups.com...
The description is precisely what might be expected from seeing a
distant but intense electric transformer or major powerline arc. Since
the actual source was hidden by a nearby building, it would be
impossible to tell if the source was situated low in the sky or simply
at the horizon. Likewise, the writer says the flash was 40-degrees wide
and high, impying a source very close to zero elevation...or simply at
groundlevel. An electric arc can be extremely bright and intense even
at a distance beyond which sound will carry. It is intensely bluish and
will also tend to momentarily blind your night vision ("...the light
being sucked out of the sky"). Likewise, such an event often will have
a duration of a second or two. Considering the description, I see no
reason to believe this was a celestial phenomena.

CNJ999


Here in Phoenix, AZ, the city sits on a large, flat valley floor. Intense
t-storms often produce such events. I refer to them as "blown transformers".
On rare occasions two "go off" side by side in quick succession. These
produce a double flash not unlike the OP's observation. At the right
distance these can easily fill a large portion of the sky with a beautiful
blue-green hue lasting 1-3 seconds.


 




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