What Is This Object? (5.5 MB Image Included)

[dotancohen]

Does anybody know what this object could be? I can post the original tiff of it, but beware that it's 5.5 MB.

 

[Choppy]

Do you have some context for us?

 

[clm321]

Does anybody know what this object could be? I can post the original tiff of it, but beware that it's 5.5 MB.

well there's a few things it could be its most likely a meteorite burning up in the Earth's atmusfere. sorry about the horrible spelling. it could also be a comet.

 

[S.Vasojevic]

Mercury?

 

[dotancohen]

I only have context from an unreliable source, that's why I'm asking here. I'd actually rather not provide context as to not influence what possibilities the physicsforum community can come up with.

 

[S.Vasojevic]

Better post a link to tiff.

 

[DavidSnider]

That's no moon...

 

[Ich]

Looks like something microscopic, like a small glass sphere on some dusty surface.

 

[clm321]

ya but why would it have the black tail behind it?
i believe its a meteorite in the night sky

 

[S.Vasojevic]

In that case it is going directly towards sun, because trail is at the same angle as light that is shining on it. I think that trail is due to the incident light from the source being blocked. And it is pretty much spherical. As Ich said it could be anything, even microscopic.

 

[clm321]

yes i believe your right now. because looking at the bottom left of the sphere is sticking out of the black trail. it could be just about anything. does look almost like a meteorite tho.

 

[S.Vasojevic]

Edit: if you mean meteorite in Earth's atmosphere, then it would have fire trail, plus image would have to be exposed very shortly in order to get sharp image of meteorite, and then there would be no stars in the background.

 

[clm321]

well no it doesn't have to be in Earth's atmosphere it could be flying anywhere

 

[S.Vasojevic]

I agree, but then it is illuminated by the sun, not by it's own radiation. And again it is spherical. With little imagination you can produce image like this in your room. Until OP provide us with better resolution, or some info, we can't tell. Maybe someone else have seen this image and knows exactly what it is?

 

[clm321]

exacly some one should try to find a picture of this in google

 

[russ_watters]

I only have context from an unreliable source, that's why I'm asking here. I'd actually rather not provide context as to not influence what possibilities the physicsforum community can come up with.

Context is critical. We can't be of much help without it plus we can help judge the accuracy of the contextual information.

 

[russ_watters]

Very unlikely to be a meteor: a meteor has to be huge or close to not show up as a point source in a photo.

 

[clm321]

Very unlikely to be a meteor: a meteor has to be huge or close to not show up as a point source in a photo.

true i never thought of that

 

[Jonathan Scott]

The background looks like a surface or possibly a liquid; the marks on it are grouped into lines and patches. Note in particular that in the top left there appears to be a line shaped like a shallow ">" coming down from a prominent white dot.

If it is a photograph on film, I suppose some of these marks could be from damage or dirt on the film.

If it is a surface, the object casting the shadow is not spherical, as the shadow near to it does not show much light able to pass underneath, although there are one or two light points. I think it looks as if it's probably very small.

 

[Jonathan Scott]

I think a higher resolution picture would help.

 

[KrisOhn]

That's no moon...

It's a space station!

I'm sorry, I had to.

 

[S.Vasojevic]

That is not space station unless they radically changed the design recently.
Anyway that image is not appearing to be of astronomical origin. To me it looks like light match being fired. But it could be anything.

 

[DaveC426913]

Could just as easily be a BB on a dusty table at sunset.

If this is "Guess What You're Looking At" then all bets are off. If it is supposedly some celestial body that we're trying to verify then we need context.

 

[russ_watters]

Could just as easily be a BB on a dusty table at sunset.

Sure - maybe it's a match that just burned-out!

This thread is useless without context.

 

[dotancohen]

Here is the .tif:
http://www.2shared.com/file/11496855/8bc3a796/what-is-this.html

 

[dotancohen]

Does anyone know a better file upload service? The only one that is uploading the file is 2shared and now that I'm testing I cannot see how to download the file again! What service should I be using?

 

[S.Vasojevic]

There are few things that are wrong with this picture. First black tail has almost parallel edges, and looks like it is solid. Second, tip appears to be self illuminated with unequal temperature across its surface. Third, 'stars' don't look quite right.

Dotancohen, I think that it would be best if you give us context in which are you interested in this image, whatever it is.

 

[sEsposito]

It looks like a styrofoam ball on a spotted surface if you ask me. I think there's a hoax going on here. That just doesn't look like an astronomical object.

 

[dotancohen]

No hoax, and I never presented it as an astronomical object. The only content that I have is that it came from my university's Chemical Engineering building. I agree with Ich's guess that it looks microscopic, but I did not want to mention my own personal opinion when I am soliciting the opinion of others!

 

[sEsposito]

No hoax, and I never presented it as an astronomical object. The only content that I have is that it came from my university's Chemical Engineering building. I agree with Ich's guess that it looks microscopic, but I did not want to mention my own personal opinion when I am soliciting the opinion of others!

Well, come on, let's be frank... You did post it in the astronomy forum. But, good luck trying to figure this out.

 

[dotancohen]

> Well, come on, let's be frank... You did post it in
> the astronomy forum. But, good luck trying to
> figure this out.

No I didn't, it was probably moved here. Actually, I did not even realize that it was moved until you mentioned it. In my opinion, it shouldn't be here because the object might not be an astronomical object. I am rather surprised that a mod would make such an assumption and thus move the thread.

Can a mod please move this back to the General forum?

 

[MotoH]

It's a space station!

I'm sorry, I had to.

"That's a fully operational battle station!"

Come on man!

 

[DaveC426913]

"That's a fully operational battle station!"

Come on man!

Sorry, David Synder did it https://www.physicsforums.com/showpost.php?p=2586403&postcount=7" and did it better.

 

[russ_watters]

> Well, come on, let's be frank... You did post it in
> the astronomy forum. But, good luck trying to
> figure this out.

No I didn't, it was probably moved here. Actually, I did not even realize that it was moved until you mentioned it. In my opinion, it shouldn't be here because the object might not be an astronomical object. I am rather surprised that a mod would make such an assumption and thus move the thread.

Can a mod please move this back to the General forum?

Sorry, the thread was mistakenly moved, and then that threw everyone off...moving back to GD.

 

[russ_watters]

Here is is, cropped to maintain full resolution. I also tried a histogram stretch to bring out dim details and there is nothing else there. The photo is greyscale - there is no color in it, but that doesn't mean the object photographed is black and white. What people assumed to be stars in the background appear to just be ccd read noise from a long exposure.

One possibility I see: a lit cigarette.

 

[Evo]

It looks like a matchstick to me.

 

[MotoH]

Sorry, David Synder did it https://www.physicsforums.com/showpost.php?p=2586403&postcount=7" and did it better.

The person I quoted misquoted star wars, and I was correcting him. which is one of the 7 deadly sins.

 

[Newai]

dotancohen, did you retrieve this as an image from a website? If so, the original file name might help.

 

[SpicVir]

It looks to me like a cotton ball on a black and dusty surface photographed with a flash fired from the right side (causing the 'black trail').

 

[dotancohen]

No, I got the photo from the original photographer. I think but am not sure that it was shot in raw and converted to tif. If that's important I can ask.

 

[rhody]

I know, it is some kind of science or abnormal psychology experiment, right ? And we are your experimental audience.

I will sit back then with my popcorn and watch, good luck, everyone...

Rhody...

 

[dotancohen]

Pretty much, rhody!

It is some sciencey thing, and when I couldn't figure out what it is I said that I know a community who _could_ figure it out. I have faith that someone here might be familiar with this or something like it.

 

[Dembadon]

Here is is, cropped to maintain full resolution. I also tried a histogram stretch to bring out dim details and there is nothing else there. The photo is greyscale - there is no color in it, but that doesn't mean the object photographed is black and white. What people assumed to be stars in the background appear to just be ccd read noise from a long exposure.

One possibility I see: a lit cigarette.

Lit cigarettes aren't usually rounded on the end. Depending on how fast the person is smoking the cigarette, they often burn to a point on the lit end.

It's hard to tell whether or not the object is under magnification. Its imperfections seem to be exaggerated (which may indicate magnification). It could be a piece of felt on the end of something. Felt has a similar texture to the object in the picture.

Is it a swab of some sort? It almost looks like a type of q-tip.

 

[Proton Soup]

my guess is some kind of microscopy of a probe tip. the probe is elevated slightly at the tip wrt to the base, and the illumination is from the right.

 

[physixlover]

post any reference!

 

[dotancohen]

It is some drop in a PIV experiment. The supposed "stars" are glass tracer particles.

 

[KrisOhn]

"That's a fully operational battle station!"

Come on man!

The person I quoted misquoted star wars, and I was correcting him. which is one of the 7 deadly sins.

Man! What Star Wars did you watch?! The proper quote is the one I said, 'That's no moon, it's a space station.' - Said by Obi Wan

Time and movie:
Star Wars Episode IV (A New Hope) - 1:01:49

 

[Kronos5253]

Here is is, cropped to maintain full resolution. I also tried a histogram stretch to bring out dim details and there is nothing else there. The photo is greyscale - there is no color in it, but that doesn't mean the object photographed is black and white. What people assumed to be stars in the background appear to just be ccd read noise from a long exposure.

One possibility I see: a lit cigarette.

Yeah I see that as a possibility.

It can't be a match, because a match has a bulb at the end of it. This is cylindrical the whole way up, then the top is rounded. A cigarette is the closet thing I can think of that looks like that. The ratios look right. The only problem I have is what someone else mentioned, that a cigarette doesn't usually burn that evenly, and will usually have flakes, so I don't think it would look that smooth. Not to mention you'd have the smoke trail coming off of it.

It definitely has it's own light source, and it's a smooth cylinder all the way to the top with a rounded tip... Maybe a light diode? Like those things you can get at a carnival with all of the acrylic pieces coming out of it... Kind of like a fiber optic wire with lights inside of it. Can't remember what they're called... Looks like one of those in black and white and photographed up close, with the contrast and brightness exaggerated in the pic (which you can do on the camera itself. So even if it's the original pic, they can still edit that stuff in the camera itself before the picture is even taken).

 

[KrisOhn]

Hmmm, a possibility that just came into my head is a chalked pool cue tip, with chalk dust around it.