What Is This Object? (5.5 MB Image Included)

[Evo]

It looks like a matchstick to me.

 

[MotoH]

Sorry, David Synder did it https://www.physicsforums.com/showpost.php?p=2586403&postcount=7" and did it better.

The person I quoted misquoted star wars, and I was correcting him. which is one of the 7 deadly sins.

 

[Newai]

dotancohen, did you retrieve this as an image from a website? If so, the original file name might help.

 

[SpicVir]

It looks to me like a cotton ball on a black and dusty surface photographed with a flash fired from the right side (causing the 'black trail').

 

[dotancohen]

No, I got the photo from the original photographer. I think but am not sure that it was shot in raw and converted to tif. If that's important I can ask.

 

[rhody]

I know, it is some kind of science or abnormal psychology experiment, right ? And we are your experimental audience.

I will sit back then with my popcorn and watch, good luck, everyone...

Rhody...

 

[dotancohen]

Pretty much, rhody!

It is some sciencey thing, and when I couldn't figure out what it is I said that I know a community who _could_ figure it out. I have faith that someone here might be familiar with this or something like it.

 

[Dembadon]

Here is is, cropped to maintain full resolution. I also tried a histogram stretch to bring out dim details and there is nothing else there. The photo is greyscale - there is no color in it, but that doesn't mean the object photographed is black and white. What people assumed to be stars in the background appear to just be ccd read noise from a long exposure.

One possibility I see: a lit cigarette.

Lit cigarettes aren't usually rounded on the end. Depending on how fast the person is smoking the cigarette, they often burn to a point on the lit end.

It's hard to tell whether or not the object is under magnification. Its imperfections seem to be exaggerated (which may indicate magnification). It could be a piece of felt on the end of something. Felt has a similar texture to the object in the picture.

Is it a swab of some sort? It almost looks like a type of q-tip.

 

[Proton Soup]

my guess is some kind of microscopy of a probe tip. the probe is elevated slightly at the tip wrt to the base, and the illumination is from the right.

 

[physixlover]

post any reference!

 

[dotancohen]

It is some drop in a PIV experiment. The supposed "stars" are glass tracer particles.

 

[KrisOhn]

"That's a fully operational battle station!"

Come on man!

The person I quoted misquoted star wars, and I was correcting him. which is one of the 7 deadly sins.

Man! What Star Wars did you watch?! The proper quote is the one I said, 'That's no moon, it's a space station.' - Said by Obi Wan

Time and movie:
Star Wars Episode IV (A New Hope) - 1:01:49

 

[Kronos5253]

Here is is, cropped to maintain full resolution. I also tried a histogram stretch to bring out dim details and there is nothing else there. The photo is greyscale - there is no color in it, but that doesn't mean the object photographed is black and white. What people assumed to be stars in the background appear to just be ccd read noise from a long exposure.

One possibility I see: a lit cigarette.

Yeah I see that as a possibility.

It can't be a match, because a match has a bulb at the end of it. This is cylindrical the whole way up, then the top is rounded. A cigarette is the closet thing I can think of that looks like that. The ratios look right. The only problem I have is what someone else mentioned, that a cigarette doesn't usually burn that evenly, and will usually have flakes, so I don't think it would look that smooth. Not to mention you'd have the smoke trail coming off of it.

It definitely has it's own light source, and it's a smooth cylinder all the way to the top with a rounded tip... Maybe a light diode? Like those things you can get at a carnival with all of the acrylic pieces coming out of it... Kind of like a fiber optic wire with lights inside of it. Can't remember what they're called... Looks like one of those in black and white and photographed up close, with the contrast and brightness exaggerated in the pic (which you can do on the camera itself. So even if it's the original pic, they can still edit that stuff in the camera itself before the picture is even taken).

 

[KrisOhn]

Hmmm, a possibility that just came into my head is a chalked pool cue tip, with chalk dust around it.