Friends & I saw a zig-zagging star

In summary: I've never heard of a meteor taking several minutes to cross the sky. Could have been high altitude and grazing our atmosphere, or it could have been large and slow moving (hence the tumbling).Also, our friend here seems to be in the wrong location to have seen the meteor reported last night.He could have seen the original meteor prior to the fireball it created.
  • #1
khz
16
0
I was sitting with friends on the street, and we saw what appeared to be a star that was zigzagging. Of course, it wasn't a star. The zig-zagging wasn't in straight lines or anything, it was just moving, faster than any plane, it was very far away (just appeared as a pinpoint of light), and wasn't moving in a straight line. It moved across perhaps 1/3 of the visible skyline in a few minutes. We weren't drinking or on any drugs.
 
Physics news on Phys.org
  • #2
If it was last night, it was a meteor.
 
  • #3
Evo said:
If it was last night, it was a meteor.

Yup, there are many of possible explanations for why some meteors appear to travel in a jagged or zigzag path. Most likely it's because it was traveling in a spiral or the meteor path split up, remember we only have one point of view down here of the incoming object.

Do you by any chance live in North/central USA... or around there? There was a pretty spectacular midair explosion last night from a meteor which had broken apart, maybe you didn't see the explosion for some reason but instead saw one of the pieces which broke off, or maybe you saw the original meteor tumbling?
 
Last edited:
  • #4
I've never heard of a meteor taking several minutes to cross the sky. Also, our friend here seems to be in the wrong location to have seen the meteor reported last night.
 
  • #5
Could have been the clouds moving around it. Clouds can make stars appear to move in sporadic patterns. When you look at venus at night, and the clouds are whipping by, it makes it look like it is moving around.
 
  • #6
Few years ago. Since this is the case, my memory of the actual visual image in my mind is no longer like a movie. What I do remember is being with 3 friends, looking at a star-like light dot in the sky not moving linearly, having sporadic motion, seemingly without regard to inertia (i.e. it wouldn't stop then go another direction, it would just be going in different directions). We were starting at it constantly for the time we were observing it (perhaps 10 minutes) - so it's not like we stopping looking then looked up and went "oh hey it moved from where it was".

I do not see how clouds could've produced the illusion, but who knows.

It did not seem to be controlled intelligently based on our knowledge of the various reasons of why crafts would change direction, but I cannot think of any alternative explanation. Although, even if it was an alien spacecraft , I see no reason why it would be emitting photons, unless it had something to do with a byproduct of their propulsion system. Then again, it seems strange, if it was an alien spacecraft , why it would have been traveling so slowly (if it could reach Earth you'd expect something much more competent)
 
Last edited:
  • #7
Ivan Seeking said:
I've never heard of a meteor taking several minutes to cross the sky.
Could have be high altitude and grazing our atmosphere, or it could have been large and slow moving (hence the tumbling).

Also, our friend here seems to be in the wrong location to have seen the meteor reported last night.
How do you know that? He could have seen debris in the sky from many places... he could have even seen the original meteor prior to the fireball it created.
 
  • #9
khz said:
Few years ago. Since this is the case, my memory of the actual visual image in my mind is no longer like a movie. What I do remember is being with 3 friends, looking at a star-like light dot in the sky not moving linearly, having sporadic motion, seemingly without regard to inertia (i.e. it wouldn't stop then go another direction, it would just be going in different directions). We were starting at it constantly for the time we were observing it.

Ohhh, I've seen these before. One time driving to New Brunswick on the TransCanada high way I looked out the car and saw a little speck of light moving around quite rapidly. It was day time mind you, couldn't have been a plane it changed directions too quickly and it would had to have been WAY too high (it only looked like a dot of light). I recall looking up an explanation and finding one but I can't seem to recall what it was exacty lol.
 
  • #10
zomgwtf said:
How do you know that? He could have seen debris in the sky from many places... he could have even seen the original meteor prior to the fireball it created.

Staff members can determine the location of a poster. In fact he was on the wrong side of the planet.
 
  • #11
khz, perhaps you could share your location and the [local] time that you saw this?
 
  • #12
Ivan Seeking said:
khz, perhaps you could share your location and the [local] time that you saw this?

3.5-4 years ago, Sydney, Australia. I cannot specify a date: even so, it's unlikely to be corroborated from other sources, this sighting required you to be actually staring at the night sky, it was very covert, but at the same time it wasn't hallucinatory as those who I was with saw it as well.
 
  • #13
Ivan Seeking said:
Staff members can determine the location of a poster. In fact he was on the wrong side of the planet.
You could have just said you did an IP trace, kind of creeeeepy.
 
  • #14
zomgwtf said:
I recall looking up an explanation and finding one but I can't seem to recall what it was exacty lol.

Was it plausible? Did it require staring at the sun?
 
  • #15
zomgwtf said:
You could have just said you did an IP trace, kind of creeeeepy.

PF has satellites, drones and agents EVERYWHERE, mauahahaha
 
  • #16
khz, also, it would be helpful to know the direction of travel.
 
  • #17
khz said:
3.5-4 years ago, Sydney, Australia. I cannot specify a date: even so, it's unlikely to be corroborated from other sources, this sighting required you to be actually staring at the night sky, it was very covert, but at the same time it wasn't hallucinatory as those who I was with saw it as well.

Most likely, it seems to me, it was a satellite that appeared to be zigzagging due to the ideomotor effect.

Was the zigzagging subtle, or was the motion distinctive?
 
  • #18
khz said:
3.5-4 years ago, Sydney, Australia. I cannot specify a date: even so, it's unlikely to be corroborated from other sources, this sighting required you to be actually staring at the night sky, it was very covert, but at the same time it wasn't hallucinatory as those who I was with saw it as well.

I was going to suggest "Scheerer's phenomenon" but can't be it if multiple people saw it, as well you were looking at the night sky which was presumably dark. So that rules that out... unless you were all having the phenomenon happen at the same time :tongue:
Maybe it was a satellite... I'm pretty sure there's an phenomena associated with a 'zigzag' appearance of satellites.

EDIT: ++Ivan beat me to it and he got the name of the effect.
 
  • #19
khz said:
Was it plausible? Did it require staring at the sun?

Yeah, it was plausible, in fact you can see it yourself. I had forgot the name but in my last post here I referred to it: 'Scheerer's phenomenon'.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_field_entoptic_phenomenon

It doesn't fit what you've described though I am quite certain what you saw was a satellite.

If you want to see the dot(s) I am talking about just look up at the day time sky :smile:. You might see many, I recall just seeing one but it's most likely just because I was focusing only on that particular cell, kinda creeped me out at the time.
 
  • #20
Greg Bernhardt said:
PF has satellites, drones and agents EVERYWHERE, mauahahaha

True. Greg, you just spilled some coffee on your shirt.
 
  • #21
Ivan Seeking said:
khz, also, it would be helpful to know the direction of travel.

Hmm.. I would say North, but then this is meaningless because the Earth is always spinning

Ivan Seeking said:
"Most likely, it seems to me, it was a satellite that appeared to be zigzagging due to the ideomotor effect.

Was the zigzagging subtle, or was the motion distinctive? "
.

It wasn't like when you stare at a star and it appears to be vibrating. It was very defined movement across the sky, non-linear. This is a 4 year old memory, but I also remember my friend's reactions which reconfirms it as a non-false memory that it actually was as non linear as I remember it.


I forgive you all for assigning a higher probability to it being a satellite than an alien spacecraft , because to accept the inverse you would be required to give unjust weighting to an anecdote of a memory. Although, (whilst I'm not saying I personally accept the satellite explanation), do satellites give off photons? If so, why?
 
Last edited:
  • #22
khz said:
I forgive you all for assigning a higher probability to it being a satellite than an alien spacecraft , because to accept the inverse you would be required to give unjust weighting to an anecdote of a memory. Although, (whilst I'm not saying I personally accept the satellite explanation), do satellites give off photons? If so, why?

The reflect light from the sun of course. They are actually quite bright and they move relatively quickly through the sky. You can see them all the time if you actively watch the night sky.
 
  • #23
zomgwtf said:
The reflect light from the sun of course. They are actually quite bright and they move relatively quickly through the sky. You can see them all the time if you actively watch the night sky.

Ohhh of course.
 
  • #24
khz said:
Hmm.. I would say North, but then this is meaningless because the Earth is always spinning



It wasn't like when you stare at a star and it appears to be vibrating. It was very defined movement across the sky, non-linear. This is a 4 year old memory, but I also remember my friend's reactions which reconfirms it as a non-false memory that it actually was as non linear as I remember it.


I forgive you all for assigning a higher probability to it being a satellite than an alien spacecraft , because to accept the inverse you would be required to give unjust weighting to an anecdote of a memory. Although, (whilst I'm not saying I personally accept the satellite explanation), do satellites give off photons? If so, why?

Satellites can be seen reflecting light from the sun, even at night, due to their high altitude. They look like a star and appear to move relatively slowly; crossing the sky in a few minutes at most. Some do travel along a north-south trajectory.

There are plenty of explanations for strange things in the sky before looking to highly exotic explanations. High-altitude refueling operations are another one that can appear to be something very strange.
 
Last edited:
  • #25
Ivan Seeking said:
There are plenty of explanations for strange things in the sky before looking to highly exotic explanations. High-altitude refueling operations are another one that can appear to be something very strange.

Yes of course. While I don't have access to a film like memory anymore, I do clearly remember spending a month proceeding the incident and deducing that "Okay, what I saw was this light that performed macro zig zags, of which I DID clearly remember THEN, and it was observed doing so for 10 minutes, and 3 other people apparantely saw it". What do I do with this? Am I epistemically sound in making a spacecraft conclusion within the confines of my own brain based on this data, or is this stretching it in your opinion?

I guess there could always be an explanation in potentia that you won't think of no matter how much you struggle with a sighting.
 
Last edited:
  • #26
khz said:
Yes of course. While I don't have access to a film like memory anymore, I do clearly remember spending a month proceeding the incident and deducing that "Okay, what I saw was this light that performed macro zig zags, of which I DID clearly remember THEN, and it was observed doing so for 10 minutes, and 3 other people apparantely saw it". What do I do with this? Am I epistemically sound in making a spacecraft conclusion within the confines of my own brain based on this data, or is this stretching it in your opinion?

We can only offer potential explantions. Another possibility is that you saw space debris reentering the atmosphere. I don't know how pronounced any zigzagging would be, but objects can tumble, causing chaotic motions.

It also could have been a pilot flying at high altitude and performing maneuvers, say for example in a test aircraft.
 
  • #27
Ivan Seeking said:
We can only offer potential explantions. Another possibility is that you saw space debris reentering the atmosphere. I don't know how pronounced any zigzagging would be, but objects can tumble, causing chaotic motions.

It also could have been a pilot flying at high altitude and performing maneuvers, say for example in a test aircraft.

Those are some very good explanations. It couldn't have been a pilot, as I'd estimate it was 20x higher, up to 100-1000x higher than a commercial plane. It could've been space debris, a large piece, with pockets of gases that were exploding in a chain like reaction resulting from another piece of debris colliding with it, causing it to not only emit photons but change directions.
 
  • #28
khz said:
Those are some very good explanations. It couldn't have been a pilot, as I'd estimate it was 20x higher, up to 100-1000x higher than a commercial plane. It could've been space debris, a large piece, with pockets of gases that were exploding in a chain like reaction resulting from another piece of debris colliding with it, causing it to not only emit photons but change directions.

The trouble with altitude is that one cannot judge against a night sky. A low altitude, dim light, might appear the same as a bright light at a high altitude. The only way to know is if a reference can be used; say for example if a commercial jet crosses the path of the object and obscures the view momentarily. Also, some military jets can go to very high altitudes; far above commercial routes.
 
  • #29
I have missed out one detail. This sighting was straight up, or off to a <10 degree angle. Wouldn't this invalidate the pilot explanation(no sound)?

I'm still fully open to the chain-exploding space junk explanation as plausible.
 
  • #30
I feel like you've come here with the preconceived nothion that you've seen some unexplainable by natural reasons UFO.
 
  • #31
I don't get that impression from him at all zomgwtf. It just that when you see something so out of place, it really is exciting, and often scary. In other words, the image is going to stay with you...for your life time.

I have been a sky watcher, most of my life. Many things can be explained away, but their is always a few that deify any explanation. One thing to keep in mind, that Unidentified Flying Objects{UFO}, simply means we don't know what they are. Not that they come from another planet.
 
  • #32
khz said:
...faster than any plane, it was very far away (just appeared as a pinpoint of light)...
While not necessarily germane to the issue, the above mistake is made in the vast majority of night light sighting reports I've seen and I think it is important to correct it. The human vision system is not capable of judging the distance to a point source of light that is more than a few feet away without other references to use to determine distance. A Christmas tree light 100' away and a star 100 light years away would be virtually indistinguishable if they were the same color/brightness.

...And as distance can't be estimated, neither can speed (only angular speed).
 
Last edited:
  • #33
zomgwtf said:
I feel like you've come here with the preconceived nothion that you've seen some unexplainable by natural reasons UFO.

I'm not judging anyone's motives or beliefs, but even if true, that's okay. Our job is to present the best information available.
 
  • #34
zomgwtf said:
I feel like you've come here with the preconceived nothion that you've seen some unexplainable by natural reasons UFO.

Based on which post? I feel I've been open to every suggestion thus far. I was only critical of the pilot explanation because I thought you'd hear a plane if it was pretty much above your head.

I'm fully open to the explanatory model of a large piece of space debris with pockets of gas exploding in a chain reaction. That seems to fit the data sufficiently.

If it seemed I was teetering towards a spacecraft explanation, that's only because I've been battling with the sighting for over 3 years in my head and couldn't come up with any explanations until talking to you guys. A natural human response to perplexion I guess.
 
Last edited:
  • #35
Some other possibilities might include, an internally lit blimp or balloon, or a candle lantern:

aboutimg.jpg

http://www.joylanterns.com/

Objects drifting in the wind can follow highly irregular paths.
 
<h2>1. What could cause a star to zig-zag in the sky?</h2><p>The most likely explanation for a star appearing to zig-zag in the sky is atmospheric turbulence. This can be caused by temperature differences in the air, which can cause light to bend and appear to move in a zig-zag pattern.</p><h2>2. Is it possible that the star was actually a UFO?</h2><p>While it is always possible that a sighting could be a UFO, it is highly unlikely. Most sightings of unidentified flying objects can be explained by natural or man-made phenomena, such as weather balloons or aircraft.</p><h2>3. Could it have been a shooting star?</h2><p>No, shooting stars (also known as meteors) typically appear as a quick streak of light in the sky, not a zig-zagging pattern. It is more likely that the object you saw was a star or planet that appeared to be moving due to atmospheric conditions.</p><h2>4. Is it common to see stars zig-zagging in the sky?</h2><p>No, it is not common to see stars zig-zagging in the sky. Most stars appear to be stationary due to their distance from Earth. However, atmospheric conditions and other factors can cause stars to appear to move or twinkle.</p><h2>5. Could it have been a satellite or other man-made object?</h2><p>It is possible that the object you saw was a satellite or other man-made object in orbit. However, satellites typically move in a straight line and do not zig-zag in the sky. It is more likely that the object was a star or planet that appeared to be moving due to atmospheric conditions.</p>

1. What could cause a star to zig-zag in the sky?

The most likely explanation for a star appearing to zig-zag in the sky is atmospheric turbulence. This can be caused by temperature differences in the air, which can cause light to bend and appear to move in a zig-zag pattern.

2. Is it possible that the star was actually a UFO?

While it is always possible that a sighting could be a UFO, it is highly unlikely. Most sightings of unidentified flying objects can be explained by natural or man-made phenomena, such as weather balloons or aircraft.

3. Could it have been a shooting star?

No, shooting stars (also known as meteors) typically appear as a quick streak of light in the sky, not a zig-zagging pattern. It is more likely that the object you saw was a star or planet that appeared to be moving due to atmospheric conditions.

4. Is it common to see stars zig-zagging in the sky?

No, it is not common to see stars zig-zagging in the sky. Most stars appear to be stationary due to their distance from Earth. However, atmospheric conditions and other factors can cause stars to appear to move or twinkle.

5. Could it have been a satellite or other man-made object?

It is possible that the object you saw was a satellite or other man-made object in orbit. However, satellites typically move in a straight line and do not zig-zag in the sky. It is more likely that the object was a star or planet that appeared to be moving due to atmospheric conditions.

Similar threads

Replies
16
Views
3K
Replies
4
Views
3K
  • General Discussion
Replies
7
Views
13K
Replies
21
Views
9K
  • Astronomy and Astrophysics
Replies
3
Views
1K
  • Quantum Physics
Replies
1
Views
1K
  • Astronomy and Astrophysics
Replies
24
Views
12K
  • Astronomy and Astrophysics
Replies
6
Views
2K
  • Astronomy and Astrophysics
Replies
1
Views
855
  • General Discussion
Replies
5
Views
17K
Back
Top