What's the absolute coolest thing you've seen in the sky?

Question

I once saw a shooting star in daylight split into two and watched as both pieces fizzled out. Can anyone top that?

Answer 1

I saw a meteor in the late afternoon once so bright it was about the same magnitude as the sun. It made the mountains several miles to the south of me cast shadows as it drifted across the sky from east to west.

Answer 2

Coolest thigns I've seen...

#1) A meteor or possibly a piece of space-junk that entered the atmosphere. It created bright flashes of red, blue, and green, and lit up the whole sky.

#2) A ufo, possibly some kind of ball-lightening. It was about the size of the full moon and very bright. It had a slight bluish hue, and it also moved very quickly. It appeared three times in one night, sailing around or just below the tree tops.

#3) This one I cannot account for. It's possible that it was a laser display of some kind, but based on the location (middle of nowhere), I doubt it. I saw two dim red lgihts converging on each other from opposite directions. When they met, each turned instantly 90 degrees and they went off in opposite directions. I followed their path to near the horizon, and never saw them again.

the spell checker seems to not be responding right now, so sorry.

Answer 3

1) A comet....... think it was Hale-Bopp (C1995 01)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comet_Hale-Bopp

2) a meteor shower

3) The 1999 Solar Eclipse (though only a partial one in my location).

4) Jupiters moons..... though only through my 10x50 binoculars (one side of which is broken), so Jupiter looked like 1 big star with 4 little stars round it..... funny thing is I've hardly had chance to look at the damn thing ever since I finally bought my first telescope back in June 2004

5) The RAF Red Arrows aerobatics team at the 2001 Whitby Regatta, doing a full display despite the fact there was a bit of a Thunderstorm going on.

Answer 4

The most amazing thing I've ever seen has been the Northern Lights directly overhead covering the sky. It was like being in a gigantic light show as the light strobed and moved from horizon to horizon. I've never seen anything like it that made me feel so small and humble before the majesty of the sky.

Answer 5

A sliver of moon, and the rest of the moon visible in reflected Earthlight. Dim, but very clear.

I was in the desert away from city lights on a very clear night. Also saw the Milky Way for the first time during that period of about four months living in the desert.

Answer 6

Through my (cheap) telescope, I decided to focus on a star. I increased the magnification and looked. What I saw was a bright light with a human shaped shadow dancing in it. It was beautiful. I guess it was bad optics, but I wrote a poem about it.

Answer 7

interpreting hte solutions you have already won is disheartening to me. I stay in Seoul and my husband travels to ShangHai as quickly as a month, on primary, for company. We in many situations bypass with him because of the fact we take exhilaration in ShangHai plenty. on a similar time because it is real that ShangHai is a great city existence style, (assume skyscrapers and lots of cement), it additionally has shape like no different huge city interior the worldwide. Stnad on the Pudong portion of the river and purely seem around: Pearl Tower, Jin Mao, and so on. it is out of the difficulty-free. and you could bypass to the previous-style chinese language place like Yuyuan Garben or Quibao and spot the quite chinese language finding homes and gardens. The museum is amazing on a wet day... The neon-lit Bund tunnel is a freaky vacationer draw to no longer be overlooked. (i can't even clarify it.. there is not any longer something like it everywhere.. very chinese language attempt at tourism) you should bypass to people's sq. and NAnjing street East subwat stops on a weekend to sit down down and have a drink and individuals watch.. or save.. very well-liked. bypass up into the Jin Mao and have lunch interior the Hyatt. (lodge starts on teh fifty fifth floor!) Lunch is extra fairly much less high priced then dinner and the perspectives are amazing. pass the ShangHai acrobat instruct and pass going ot the the excellent option of the Pearl Tower. the two have too many vacationers/crowded and are over-rated. For a undeniable nighttime out to have fun ShangHai, eat at "M on the Bund".. so astounding.. great perspectives.. remarkable nutrition.. very stylish. Ecclectic nutrition. that's the Ex-Pat capital of China, so in that way, it is way less chinese language and extra western. many people come to ShangHai to sell issues.. extremely to the western vacationer. yet i think of it is exciting. i like to save for purses and garments.. the bargains are purely eclipsed in Hong Kong. have a stable time!

Answer 8

I once lay on my back and saw the entire sky filled with aurora, horizon to horizon, converging at the zenith. The rays were crossed with chevrons, all of which pulsed slowly *upward* toward the convergence -- about one second per pulse. It was like the entire sky was alive and breathing.

Answer 9

this may be a weird answer, but my son. Last summer he was three and he found the high schoolers' rope swing with some of our friends at the lake. I'm laying down to tan at water's edge and I look up to see my son swooshing about 10 feet over my head fast and landing in the water. Until my friends told me what happened it looked like he flew over me. One of those times you wish you weren't sober.

Answer 10

with my telescope i was looking at a corner of the moon that was mostly in shadow, and in that shadow i saw a tiny speck of light. for a time i wondered what the heck that light was. eventually i realized that it was the top of a lunar mountain lit up by the sun while the area around it was still in shadows.