Help Identifying Unclear Object Seen Through Telescope

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An amateur astronomer reported seeing an unclear object through a low-cost telescope near Jupiter, describing it as a curved white line that appeared larger than Jupiter but was blurry and unfocused. The observer sought help for identification, providing specific coordinates and the time of the sighting. Forum participants suggested the possibility of lens flare or atmospheric interference, advising the user to check again for clarity. They recommended sketching the sighting and providing details about the telescope used for better analysis. Ultimately, the user confirmed that after further observation, the object was likely lens flare and thanked the community for their input.
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Hi, I'm pretty new at this amateur astronomy thing, and I saw something through my telescope that I could not focus clearly enough on (as to be expected from a telescope I picked up from craigslist for $10). I would like help identifying it.
Latitude: 40° 15' 36" N
Longitude: 74° 16' 27" W (note: these are slightly approximated, should be within a 10 second margin though)
Time: Wed 2011 Aug 24 3:50 -ish UTC, and persisted afterward
Object location: In the vicinity of Jupiter (aim point RA: 2h 56m 54s)
Object description: I saw a curved white line. I was unable to focus on it, so it was blurry and I can't give you much more than that. It might have been a disk shape, and I was seeing the edge? I think it was larger than the image of Jupiter - I could focus on Jupiter, yet the image of the line would still be large and unfocused.
If this is the wrong place for this question I apologize.
 
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The possibilites are endless - sounds like a lens flare to me. The human eye is very easily deceived.
 
I was just looking at Jupiter a few days ago, and I didn't see anything near it. Check again tonight if you can and make sure it isn't lens flare, or a cloud, or something else.
 
a7d07c8114 said:
Object description: I saw a curved white line. I was unable to focus on it, so it was blurry and I can't give you much more than that.

Sure you can. Sketch it.

Use a pencil on paper (not a computer) so you can Draw all the fuzzy bits.
Reverse black for white (or you'll go through your pencil in a hurry).
Draw in the scope artifacts (such as field of view).
Take a pic with your cellphone and attach.

Also, what kind of scope? Newt? Dob? Refrac?
Diameter? Mag? Eyepiece?
 
Tried again the night after, seems you guys are right: it's gone. Appears to be lens flare. Thanks though!
 
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