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

  • Context: High School 
  • Thread starter Thread starter All year camper
  • Start date Start date
  • Tags Tags
    Explain
Click For Summary

Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the observation of unusual light phenomena in the night sky, described by a participant as "zig zagging stars." The scope includes personal sightings, potential explanations, and comparisons to known atmospheric phenomena, with a focus on observational experiences rather than established scientific conclusions.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Debate/contested
  • Conceptual clarification

Main Points Raised

  • One participant describes seeing lights in the sky that move in a zig zag pattern, asserting they are not airplanes and suggesting they may be a form of communication.
  • Another participant proposes that the observed phenomena could be the northern lights, referencing a specific type known as STEVE.
  • Some participants suggest the possibility of manmade sources, such as drones or fireworks, as alternative explanations for the zig zagging lights.
  • There is a mention of the retrograde motion of planets and the potential for meteor showers as other celestial phenomena that could be observed.
  • Questions are raised about the visibility of the lights and whether they could be distorted views of known constellations, such as Orion's belt.
  • Concerns are expressed about the lack of photographic evidence to support the claims made by the original poster.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants do not reach a consensus on the nature of the observed lights, with multiple competing explanations offered, including natural phenomena and manmade sources. The discussion remains unresolved regarding the true identity of the zig zagging lights.

Contextual Notes

Limitations include the absence of photographic evidence and the reliance on personal observations, which may be influenced by environmental factors and individual interpretations of the phenomena.

All year camper
Messages
1
Reaction score
1
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
 
Last edited by a moderator:
  • Like
Likes   Reactions: Kierjohn
Astronomy news on Phys.org
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.
 
  • Like
Likes   Reactions: russ_watters
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
 
Last edited:

Similar threads

  • · Replies 15 ·
Replies
15
Views
4K
  • · Replies 6 ·
Replies
6
Views
5K
  • · Replies 1 ·
Replies
1
Views
2K
  • · Replies 24 ·
Replies
24
Views
14K
  • · Replies 16 ·
Replies
16
Views
8K
  • · Replies 12 ·
Replies
12
Views
5K
  • · Replies 49 ·
2
Replies
49
Views
12K
  • · Replies 26 ·
Replies
26
Views
6K
  • · Replies 12 ·
Replies
12
Views
4K
  • · Replies 25 ·
Replies
25
Views
5K