My dad and I were sitting on the patio last night. While we were talking to each he gasped and told me to look up at the sky. We saw this light that looked like a big bright star. It seemed still for a moment. After we looked at it for a couple of seconds the light faded as it quickly moved out of view. What did we see?
2007-07-05 14:45:34 · 12 answers · asked by Bob 3 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Astronomy & Space
I saw plenty of satellites and planes too. This object didn't seem like a satellite.
2007-07-05 14:49:58 · update #1
I wasn't telling a firework joke but its easy to see why one would think that.
2007-07-05 14:57:11 · update #2
Ray, I called it a UFO because I couldn't identify it. : Regardless, I just want to know what it is. I wasn't thinking it was aliens either.
2007-07-05 16:00:54 · update #3
Pardon my grammar.
2007-07-05 16:02:16 · update #4
It sounds like an Iridium flare. These are the reflections from the Iridium communications satellites, and are especially bright and slow-moving. One of these will flare up quickly, attain a high brightness, and then slowly fade as it moves away.
You can check this using my source. As long as you saw this object within the past 48 hours, you can enter your location and check to see if there were any Iridium flares visible from your site at that time.
2007-07-05 16:12:00 · answer #1 · answered by clitt1234 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
It was likely an aircraft. Remember, it was dark. You had nothing else in your field of view that could have served as a reference point to indicate to you the true size of what you saw, it's speed or it's height. In fact, it probably was a plane with it's landing lights on, at a good distance from you, and turning from a course headed towards you onto a course angling away from you - in which case the light you see would of course fade rapidly, and as it angled away from it's prior course, it would naturally appear to speed up - though it was in all likelihood maintaining a steady velocity. No, ya didn't see no alien spaceship - sorry 'bout that ;^)
2007-07-05 15:02:19 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
To identify a UFO would be practicing an oxymoron. Nobody can properly identify a UFO because UFO's by definition cannot be identified. That is why UFO's are called "Unidentified". Instead, they should be called
" T D T 's" ( Them Dang Things). Then there would be no problem because when you ask, "What's That Dang Thng up thar ?" everybody will tell you right -off what Them Dang Things are and not be embarrassed about it neither because there would be no more oxymorons .
2007-07-05 15:51:47 · answer #3 · answered by Bomba 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
debris burning up in the atmosphere...
a fighter jet training possibly using afterburners...
jet aircraft entering a cloud bank...
if it didn't actually move it might be a star dimming, all stars have a cycle of hot, medium, cool which corrolates with bright, medium, dim...
a firework that didn't detonate properly...
might be a shuttle re-entering the atmosphere...
there's a lot of variables man ^_^ lol
(none of which include aliens... but as we can't identify exactly what it was it is literally an "Unidentified Flying Object" if it was flying... >_> if we knew it was aliens it would be an "Identified Flying Object" >_>... because aliens wouldn't have comunications equiptment the same design as humans [if aliens existed] any control tower will call any aircraft a UFO if it doesn't respond to their requests to identify itself lol)
2007-07-05 14:59:02 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Large satellites will reflect sunlight from orbit and appear extremely bright for a few minutes, then as the angle changes or the satellite moves into Earth's shadow they fade.
And they don't have to move very fast from our perspective, higher-orbit satellites can actually seem to move very slowly (if at all) from our perspective on the ground.
Lower-altitude satellites will seem to move more quickly (one, because they are moving faster to maintain orbit, and two they are closer and so appear to move faster).
2007-07-05 15:18:29 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Perhaps you saw a satellite. Sometimes we can actually see them.
2007-07-05 14:47:50 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
it could be a meteor that was falling at an angle at which when you saw it, was burning up while falling straight down (in your perception) and then stops and darkens when theres nothing left to burn
2007-07-05 15:05:01 · answer #7 · answered by diburning 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I bet you saw fireworks. It may have been my spaceship going by. ha ha ha
2007-07-05 14:53:43 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
an aeroplane heading into a cloud
2007-07-05 14:50:09 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
a firework...lol
2007-07-05 14:47:49 · answer #10 · answered by _~^*^~_ Ninja Fighter_~^*^~_ 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋