Posted on 06/01/2009 8:53:13 AM PDT by JoeProBono
A bright and fast object seemingly "overtook" the International Space Station May 29, according to several witnesses observing from two different states, according to testimony from the Mutual UFO Network (MUFON) witness database.
The first case was reported from Texas, where a man and two other witnesses were out watching the International Space Station fly over, and then observed this second object - moving at between two and-a-half and three times the speed of the space station.
A second group is reporting in from the RMCC Observatory, Mounds, Oklahoma, who say they saw the same event.
The picture doesn’t show, Bonehead.
Oh, and since you brought up your ex-wife:
Seeing as how you can’t talk, I was wondering what your ex had to put up with. When the preacher asked you “do you take this woman” did you whip out the Blackberry and do an image search?
God only knows what happened when you were offered sex.
B) It's almost believable.
“Right now I have no idea what it was, but it was VERY unusual whatever the case.”
Nothing like unbiased reporting. If he has no idea what it was, how can he determine it was “VERY unusual.”
Several nights ago here in the pacific northwest, at about 10pm which is about 30 minutes after darkness falls, the sky was finally getting dark. I walked out of the airconditioning and outside into the driveway to feel the heat of the early evening in this hellish canyon. I looked up at the Black Locust tree which was abloom with its tiny white buds giving off their thick honey smell. Then I saw it. The bright white light was up high and coming in from the northwest moving on a straight line to the southeast. It would be right on line to the local regional airport’s landing flight path. Only it didnt land and it wasn’t a plane. There was no sound as it went over, no red/green markers, no strobes, just a SUPER BRIGHT light tracking across the sky. I immediately thought satellite, only this was like 10 times brighter than any satellite I had ever seen. Even brighter than Venus. It continued tracking to the southwest and finally as it slipped behind the limb shadow where the Sun light can no longer reach it, it winked out. Just like all the satellites do. So thats what I’m thinking right now, but whatever it was in Low Earth Orbit, it must have been HUGE. Ever since those nasty UFO incidents that occured around here back in ‘94 I have been a little skittery and watch the sky at night (sometimes)...
Jeez, having brain farts all day, it seems. Better get out there around 8:15 your time. 8:30 will be too late.
Sun will still be up for that pass. No way I can see it from here (work).
If I was at home, I might have a tool or two that would help.
There is one tomorrow at 8:45. And I’ll be home. I may try to video that pass.
I’ll get that program downloaded.
Sun will still be up for that pass. No way I can see it from here (work).
If I was at home, I might have a tool or two that would help.
There is one tomorrow at 8:45. And I’ll be home. I may try to video that pass.
I’ll get that program downloaded.
You’d likely see it, since it’ll be overhead, but it might not be too bright.
I know Iridium Flares are something different, they involve Iridium satellites, but check this out...
From spaceweather.com for May 27, 2009:
(SpaceWeather.com is a NASA-related website)
SPACE STATION FLARES: Lately, a growing number of observers are reporting intense "flares" coming from the International Space Station (ISS). A typical sighting begins with a normal, sedate flyby: The station soars overhead, cutting silently through the stars with no hint that something extraordinary is about to happen. Then, a startling explosion of light boosts the station's luminosity 10-fold or more. Some observers have witnessed flares of magnitude -8 or twenty-five times brighter than Venus.
On May 22nd, Dutch amateur astronomer Quintus Oostendorp watched a flare through his backyard telescope. A movie he recorded using his Canon 1000D shows what happened (Click to view a 0.7 MB Quicktime movie):
See spaceweather.com for May 27, 2009:
http://spaceweather.com/archive.php?view=1&day=27&month=05&year=2009
Article continues...
The bright flash is sunlight glinting off the station's enormous solar arrays. Earlier this year, on March 20th, astronauts unfurled a new pair of arrays on the space station's starboard side, adding 8000 sq. feet of light-catching surface area to the station's profile. The extra area increases both the chances and the luminosity of flares. "It is a spectacular sight!" says Oostendorp.
No one knows when they will happen or how bright they will be. That's what makes the hunt for "space station flares" so much fun. Check the Simple Satellite Tracker for flyby times--and let the hunt begin!
more flares: from Maximilian Teodorescu of Dumitrana, Romania; from Rafael Schmall of Hungary, Somogy, Kaposfo; from Kevin Kell of Yarker, Ontario, Canada; from Martin Gembec of Litice nad Orlici, Czech Republic; from Nicolas Biver of Versailles, France;
From spaceweather.com for May 27, 2009:
http://spaceweather.com/archive.php?view=1&day=27&month=05&year=2009
Overhead passes are as bright as they get. Could be a *minus* 2.5 or so in magnitude.
Russian Fisherman Catch Squeaking Alien and Eat it.
With video at link...
You can view "ground tracks" for space station and other satellite passes at heavens-above.com.
You first have to provide them your general viewing location. Then click "ISS" to pull up a schedule. Click on the *date* for any given viewable pass, then click "ground track":
Here is a heavens-above.com ground track for the pass I saw from Manhattan(NY) on Saturday night (May 30th, 2009):
That would be the one we saw. It went straight overhead.
From the beach we can usually passes until it is just above the ocean, the clouds stopped that.
We can also see nighttime launches from here. If the Shuttle is going to the Station, we can see from about 10 seconds after launch until it almost goes into the sea. We can actually see the glow of the ignition of the engines when it happens, and then see the Shuttle come up out of the ocean. It’s very cool.
A view of this can be found on my youtube page at:
http://www.youtube.com/waccooga
Scroll down past all the new stuff....
I knew they were possible but haven’t seen one yet. Then again, one (almost) overhead pass was so bright it might have been a flare the whole time, and then it abruptly faded.
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