Can someone identify what this is in the sky below the moon.

[TheRanker]

http://s579.photobucket.com/albums/ss234/theranker24/Night%20Sky/

can someone look at them two photos i have linked on photobucket and tell me what it is that I am seeing.

and

 

[turbo]

It appears that you are seeing some really bad internal reflections/lens flare. Nothing special.

 

[TheRanker]

its not lens flare or anything to do with the lens. i can garentee you that.. i took about 40 photos that night.. and only two came out with that weird stuff showing up... and I've done research and i found out its caused by some sort atmospheric condition. I am trying to find the name of it.

 

[Jonathan Scott]

its not lens flare or anything to do with the lens. i can garentee you that.. i took about 40 photos that night.. and only two came out with that weird stuff showing up... and I've done research and i found out its caused by some sort atmospheric condition. I am trying to find the name of it.

It's obviously some sort of reflection, in that the three brightest lights in the lower left of the picture are opposite those white marks on the upper right, and a slightly less bright light with an orange tinge matches the more orange-coloured mark below the middle white one on the right. If you rotate the picture by a half turn (or flip it vertically then horizontally) those marks match the locations of the lights.

 

[onomatomanic]

Jonathan clearly called it. NB how lines connecting the lights and the flares cross right in the centre:

 

[phinds]

can someone look at them two photos i have linked on photobucket and tell me what it is that I am seeing.

So, you were expecting aliens, maybe ?

 

[TheRanker]

no wasnt aliens.. i was told by national geographic that's its atmospheric conditions that's doing it.. like an effect like northern lights. so was just trying to find out what it is

 

[turbo]

no wasnt aliens.. i was told by national geographic that's its atmospheric conditions that's doing it.. like an effect like northern lights. so was just trying to find out what it is

It is internal reflection your lens and some asymmetric flare. There is nothing in "atmospheric conditions" that can produce those arrow-head artifacts.

 

[Dotini]

i was told by national geographic that's its atmospheric conditions that's doing it.. like an effect like northern lights. so was just trying to find out what it is

It is internal reflection your lens and some asymmetric flare. There is nothing in "atmospheric conditions" that can produce those arrow-head artifacts.

"Top" or "spindle-shaped" or "upside-down ice cream cone" would be the more usual term applied to these objects. Terms often used to describe UFOs or unusual atmospheric effects. I hold electromagnetic effects in common between these phenomena, and cannot exclude that sort of explanation. Was the Nat Geo explanation given by their atmospheric folks, or their UFO Chasers comedy team?

Respectfully,
Steve

 

[rickylritter]

While this could be many things including a fake. It reminds me of the sort of atmospheric disturbance caused by intentionally tuned super heated gasses exahusted at extreme supersonic speeds.

 

[rickylritter]

It also reminds me of high speed re-entry shock waves. Did anyone see it form? For the guys that think that the things line up with the lights on the ground,,, A big NO there. I not only study physics and psychology; I am also an artist and have a very finely tuned eye for perspective (among otherthings) and these things do not line up even close on the ground. If you enlarge a picture the errors are magnified in any kind picture. If I can see that the lines are just slightly out of allignment at the scale seen on your monitor and you enlarge it the lines will become more and more out of line and loose perspective more and more as the image gets bigger. If you add to that that a picture looses definition with enlargment hopefully you will realize that the light lining up theory does not work. Also the lines postulated here do not line up with center or core of the objects.

 

[rickylritter]

Pics need higher definition also.

 

[OmCheeto]

Drats! I have a picture at home I took of my brother about 35 years ago with a similar lens flare above his head. I believe it was taken on Point Loma, facing a setting sun.

 

[OmCheeto]

its not lens flare or anything to do with the lens. i can garentee you that..

I've taken thousands of pictures, and have only had a single lens flare that caught my eye. What kind of camera/lens setup were you using to "guarantee us" that it's not?

 

[OmCheeto]

I am really bad with scanners/computers nowadays, so this is the best I can do for now:

Freakin' lens sprite landed right on his head.

How weird was that!

Or were aliens sucking the aura out of his brain that day...

Cannon A-1, with a 50 mm lens.

 

[OmCheeto]

Ok. For some reason my scanner/mac decided they would work...

~1979

 

[rickylritter]

That looks more like a problem with the film.

 

[rickylritter]

I used to work for the government and later with the government. We have many "things" that do amazing stuff. Not so amazing if you know what they are and what they do.

 

[rickylritter]

I don't believe in aliens; however, if one were to pop up and say hi I might believe then.

 

[Bobbywhy]

While this could be many things including a fake. It reminds me of the sort of atmospheric disturbance caused by intentionally tuned super heated gasses exahusted at extreme supersonic speeds.

Here on Physics Forums when we post statements like the above our rules say some source reference should be included. So, rickylritter, who has worked both for and with the "government", will you please explain why you are reminded of "intentionally tuned super heated gasses exahusted at extreme supersonic speeds"? Where have you seen these images before?

Regards,
Bobbywhy

 

[rickylritter]

Military aircraft of different sorts. It also reminds me of vapor trails of aircraft making sudden highspeed changes of direction. There are many things that these look like; however, I don't believe they would be natural. While symetry in nature is the norm I don't believe it is the norm for gases.

 

[Jonathan Scott]

its not lens flare or anything to do with the lens. i can garentee you that.. i took about 40 photos that night.. and only two came out with that weird stuff showing up... and I've done research and i found out its caused by some sort atmospheric condition. I am trying to find the name of it.

In this case, it's just within the camera. The shapes are known as "caustics" and are typical for reflections or refraction of light in a curved surface, for example sunlight reflected within a coffee cup.

There are some atmospheric conditions which can cause some interesting effects in the sky, especially "sun dogs" and "moon dogs", which are caused by ice crystals. Google those for more information. However, this particular case is clearly an internal reflection rather than anything atmospheric.

 

[and7barton]

definitely internal reflection or lens flare - Pick up a lens and switch on a bright light. Then slowly wave the lens around over a sheet of white paper with the lamp shining downwards. You can reproduce those same shapes and see them projected onto the paper.

 

[rickylritter]

If that's what it is I still think that it might have been added to the photo. If you enlarge the photo the images have shadows or some type of immage adjacently placed on the clouds. Lens issues by themselves don't work for me.

 

[KrisOhn]

I think everyone needs to take a step back and adjust their tinfoil hats here.

Its been made painfully clear how these are internal lens reflections. And, when you're using a modern lens, which typically have several lenses within them, it is very possible to have two lens flares of different intensity, very close together.

 

[Bobbywhy]

If that's what it is I still think that it might have been added to the photo. If you enlarge the photo the images have shadows or some type of immage adjacently placed on the clouds. Lens issues by themselves don't work for me.

You have claimed the artifacts in the photo remind you of “intentionally tuned super heated gasses exahusted (sic) at extreme supersonic speeds” and “Military aircraft of different sorts. It also reminds me of vapor trails of aircraft making sudden high speed changes of direction.”

In post # 22 above Jonathan Scott has told us (correctly) that the artifacts in the photo are “caustics”. Yet you continue with your thesis with “the images have shadows or some type of immage (sic) adjacently placed on the clouds. Lens issues by themselves don't (sic) work for me.”

Now, rickylritter, if you had bothered to visit the Wikipedia page for “caustics” you would have seen exactly those same shapes and forms of light artifacts on images given as examples there. They are “the envelopes of light rays reflected or refracted by a curved surface or object.” If you are ready and willing to accept the observational evidence, then you would cease claiming some fictional imaginary dream to explain what we see in the photo. Please see:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caustic_(optics )

Just in case you are not yet convinced, see “images of caustics” where there are over sixteen pages of thumbnail images with hundreds of examples for you to examine:
http://www.google.com/search?q=caus...1BKn_gKgK&sqi=2&ved=0CFkQsAQ&biw=1341&bih=644

 

[davenn]

Couple of good links Bobbywhy

I really can't believe this thread went on for so long when the answer was given within the first few posts

Dave

 

[GarageDweller]

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