Star appearing to move ping pong like rapidly

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In summary, the conversation revolved around a strange sighting of a star-like object that was rapidly moving and changing location in the sky. The cause of this phenomenon was unclear, with some possibilities including reflections, drones, or the Autokinetic effect. More details about the experience were requested in order to narrow down the potential explanations.
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Bm23
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Read a thread similar to this my self and 3 others watched what looked like a star move rapidly ping-pong like what could have caused that illusion?
My self and others are curios what could have caused what look as if it was a star suddenly and multiple times with in a 5 min period to ping-pong around rapidly and what looked like it had to be over vast areas of space i read a thread where some one asked the same question but it was several years old and now closed
 
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  • #2
Hard to say without knowing the details of when and where you were, where you were looking, etc.
To take a guess, I'd say it either wasn't a star, or you were looking through severe atmospheric turbulence.
 
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There was very light clouds none seemed to be in the area of what we were seeing i had thought it might be some kind of reflection of light through the atmosphere but it was like any i have seen before though i can't think of anything that could move that far that fast if it was a star it would have had to move millions if not billions of miles under a second really only make sense it was something curving the light just wonder if anyone else has seen it happen
 
  • #4
A drone perhaps?
 
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Bm23 said:
There was very light clouds none seemed to be in the area of what we were seeing i had thought it might be some kind of reflection of light through the atmosphere but it was like any i have seen before though i can't think of anything that could move that far that fast if it was a star it would have had to move millions if not billions of miles under a second really only make sense it was something curving the light just wonder if anyone else has seen it happen
It's almost certainly not a star that you were viewing. Possibilities include reflections off of something in your line of sight, such as glass if you were viewing things from inside a building, drones, and probably a lot of things that I can't even think of at the moment. It's nearly impossible to narrow things down without having been there and seeing it for myself.
 
  • #6
Can you describe the experience in more detail?

How dark was the sky?
How time of day/night was it?
How far from the horizon was the sun?
Were other stars visible?
Where were you standing? Inside? Outside? In a park?
How clear was the horizon? Clear all the way? Houses/trees?
What direction were you facing?
How high in the sky?

How bright was this object?
Was it just the one?
Was it a point like a star? Or a disc like a planet?
How long was it still before moving?
How many times did it jump about before stopping?
How far did it jump across the sky (measured in hand-widths or finger widths)?
Anything else about the pattern of movement (time/distance/angle/frequency etc.) would be helpful.
 
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  • #8

1. Why does the star appear to move ping pong like rapidly?

The star appears to move ping pong like rapidly due to a phenomenon called twinkling. This is caused by the Earth's atmosphere refracting and distorting the light from the star as it passes through.

2. Does this mean the star is actually moving?

No, the star is not actually moving. The twinkling effect is only an illusion caused by the Earth's atmosphere.

3. Can all stars appear to move ping pong like rapidly?

Yes, all stars can appear to twinkle, but some may be more noticeable than others depending on their brightness and the conditions of the Earth's atmosphere.

4. Is there a way to prevent stars from twinkling?

No, there is no way to prevent stars from twinkling as it is a natural occurrence caused by the Earth's atmosphere.

5. How does this affect our ability to study stars?

The twinkling effect can make it difficult to accurately observe and study stars, especially for ground-based telescopes. However, astronomers have developed techniques and technologies to minimize the impact of twinkling on their observations.

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