Star appearing to move ping pong like rapidly

  • Context: Stargazing 
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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around an observation of a star-like object that appeared to move rapidly in a ping-pong manner over a short period. Participants explore potential explanations for this phenomenon, including atmospheric effects, reflections, and other objects, while seeking more details about the observation.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Debate/contested
  • Conceptual clarification

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants suggest that the observed object may not have been a star, possibly due to atmospheric turbulence or other factors.
  • One participant proposes that reflections of light through the atmosphere could explain the movement, although they express uncertainty about the nature of such reflections.
  • A drone is mentioned as a possible explanation for the observed behavior.
  • Another participant questions the clarity of the sky and the observer's location, asking for more details to better understand the phenomenon.
  • The Autokinetic effect is proposed by some participants as a potential explanation for the perceived movement of the object.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants do not reach a consensus on the cause of the observed movement, with multiple competing explanations and uncertainties remaining in the discussion.

Contextual Notes

Limitations include a lack of specific observational details, such as the exact location, time, and environmental conditions during the sighting, which may affect the interpretations of the phenomenon.

Bm23
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TL;DR
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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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
 
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.
 
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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