What Are the Mysterious Zig Zagging 'Stars' in the Night Sky?

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The forum discussion centers on a user's observations of unusual zigzagging lights in the night sky, described as "imitating stars" that do not twinkle and move rapidly in formations. The user, a wild camper in North East England, recounts experiences from August 2015 and recent sightings, suggesting these phenomena are not aircraft but possibly related to atmospheric effects or the Northern Lights. Other participants propose explanations including the possibility of drones, atmospheric distortion, or even the alignment of stars like Orion's Belt. The discussion emphasizes the need for photographic evidence to substantiate claims.

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All year camper
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Ok all you bright boffins and I don’t mean an insult , I want to run this by you all so be tolerant and don’t turn off my blog until you have read through it please ,

I am wild camper in uk north east England mainly Teeside area for your expertise on what I have seen in the sky at night . No I am not on illegal smoke or intoxicated before any doubting Thomas’s start on me . I see imitating stars on a regular basis light up like them but don’t twinkle ✨ the same and are dull zig zag across the sky at a rate of incredible speed sometimes in fleets of 3 4 5 ,one time ther were 8 over tees barrage stockton in August 2015 .

They are not planes , as fly at a style I would describe as a tag pole in water flickering in zig zag style . Ok here is the madness theory you all be thinking but I’m going to tell you what I see and I can show you boffins for yourself on a clear wkend if I’m camping ⛺️ one night in April over Barth Farn North Yorkshire they were zipping all over the sky so I was flashing my led very bright torch at them in my sort of code so they new it was me as I’ve done this in the past in my pattern of code ,waving it slowly and then rapidly then flash on off very fast ,

there was so much activity that night with them zipping across sky i stayed up sat outside just constantly flashing them , went inside for a pee and when I came out of the awning ther were 3 huge moons all on my horizon very low in a straight line exact same distance apart staring at me like 3 Lancaster bombers coming at me , I ran back in with fright as new my flashing all night has brought attention to myself and I had crossed the line and did not know what I was dealing with.

But I forced myself back out , scared sat on my chair did not flash light at them I just stared st them they were huge moons and I was thinking ther are 3 stars in the sky that line up the same but don’t know ther names but it was not them as so low to Earth and massive so I thought they were imitating them so people wouldn’t get inquisitive. So what happened next was unreal to my eyes they shot up one by one straight up like a nassa rocket and we’re gone never to be seen again.

Please explain what I see ?? No photo or camera within a mile of we’re i camp so not reflecting light. Please I got lots of sightings of these zig zag stars in sky . This weekend in wynyard I was flashing them as usual And ther so dull they just want to get we’re were going discretely and very fast but they only turned up lights so bright like a 10000 times ther brightness for a few seconds to all I can say is acnologe me as crazy as it seams but they know who I am and I think to stop me flashing all night at them they don’t want the attention so they flash back with mutual respect ✊ So Russian spy plains ruled out for sure.

I’m not nutts just a camper who sits under the stars more than most ! Help please come watch with me see for your selfs . It not happen lot at wynyard as they know it had an observation room but tees barrage as regular as clockwork. Other campers are blind or drunk or stupid as see nothing past the barbaque or the wine
 
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All year camper said:
... I can show you boffins for yourself on a clear wkend if I’m camping ⛺️ ...

You can get a video and post it. At least a photo. It would be very disappointing to have spent 7 hours in an airplane each way and then not see the lights. Would ruin a whole weekend and I can go camping on the Appalachian trial an hour from here.

All year camper said:
... Other campers are blind or drunk or stupid as see nothing past the barbaque or the wine

Do any of the campers play with drones or fireworks?

All year camper said:
sometimes in fleets of 3 4 5 ,one time ther were 8 over tees barrage stockton in August 2015 . They are not planes , as fly at a style I would describe as a tag pole in water flickering in zig zag style .

Could it be bicycles on the footbridge? As people peddle the headlight sweeps back and forth.

All year camper said:
I was thinking ther are 3 stars in the sky that line up the same but don’t know ther names but it was not them as so low to Earth and massive so I thought they were imitating them so people wouldn’t get inquisitive.

Orion's belt? What do you mean by "low to earth"? Orion would be close to the horizon in April. Earth's atmosphere distorts light. The sun and moon look abnormally large right before setting or rising. In pictures of the setting sun the distortion makes the edge look non-circular. You get phenomena like a green flash. The edge seams to flicker before setting.
 
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Did the zig zagging '''stars' look like this?
 
jedishrfu said:
Perhaps, you are seeing the northern lights.
Afaik, there are no 'bright dots' in an aurora.

Did the OP use a tripod for that movie?
I'd suggest taking a sequence of still pictures and compare the spacing of the two dots, using the star as reference.
 
Over many nights, one might observe the retrograde motion of planets depending on their position relative to the Earth.

On a single night, it could be the shimmering light show of the Aurora Borealis or Aurora Australis or maybe even a meteor shower.

Beyond that, it's likely manmade.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aurora
 
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