Posted on 05/01/2021 7:48:13 PM PDT by Hatteras
Okay, so I am back on the coast and and sitting in my backyard under a blanket of stars. Heaven on Earth. From my lounge chair, I can see a satellite pretty much every 5 minutes or so. But then something caught my eye...
Trying to figure the timing and I know there is a lighthouse in that general direction. Is it possible it could be an atmospheric reflection of some sort? Not a cloud in this beautiful night sky and no alcohol involved.
Any stargazers or astronomy hobbyists with thoughts or suggestions would be appreciated.
Thanks!
Point of clarification...
The sky didn’t light up like you might see with a lighthouse beacon. It was just a pinpoint flash of a “star”.
Could it be the Lyrid meteor shower?
https://www.amsmeteors.org/meteor-showers/meteor-shower-calendar/#Lyrids
Word is that there’s an asteroid the size of Delaware heading toward us. That’s probably what you saw.
Beer would help your perception of what you observed in the sky.
*The spacing of what you saw are Flash Messages for the Boomers in stealth mode and high orbit above Earth.
The main battle group is in standby on the backside of the Moon.
Haha, unless that tower is somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean, probably something else... :-)
some satellites are stationary
But why is the rum gone?
Yes. The ones in geosynrchronous orbit,.Shouldn’t be flashing though
Although there are geosynch satellites, which appear to remain stationary in the sky (they orbit at the same speed as the Earth rotates, so they appear fixed relative to the Earth rotating frame), those are 20,000 miles away, so it seems unlikely they would reflect enough sunlight to be visible. But lower satellites in a highly elliptical orbit puts a craft way far away, and therefore moving very slowly, for a significant length of time. If such a satellite rotated and had a shiny solar panel, from time to time the panel would reflect sunlight to you, making it appear to blink.
That’s my guess.
There are apps such as Heavens Above which show which satellites are visible at any given time, where they would appear in the sky, and what apparent visual magnitude they appear at.
Without a telescope, the satellite theory is probably best. Stars do flicker and I’ve seen ones that appear to flash due to atmospheric effects. Your question is one which tickles my desire to have a decent telescope someday.
I hope this helps. I’m curious if one of these in the eastern sky was your flasher. Adjust the time slider for your observation window. Based upon azimuth and elevation, you may find one which fits.
https://in-the-sky.org/satmap_worldmap.php
And try this. Unfortunately I believe it selects your night sky based upon IP location, so I cannot see Libra; perhaps you can.
https://www.heavens-above.com/skyview/?lat=0&lng=0&cul=en#/livesky
Well, too late now, I suppose, but we’d need to know if the light appeared to be stationary relative to the horizon, or stationary relative to stars seen near it.
Awesome links. Saving for tonight. Thanks!
Over the course of about 20 to 30 minutes, I did not see any movement in relation to the stars. I checked back later as the stars were higher in the sky, and did not see it in relation to the stars nor where I first observed it.
Thanks, will check out that site.
bfl
But it could be the Q Invasion Force preparing to land while making White Power signs with their hands mistaken for "okay".
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