Has anyone seen the flashing star ?

i have seen this star since 2007.

reply to post by Heartisblack


been noticing it since mid july, i live in southern nevada and it rises to the south west at about 9:30, oddest thing and funny you would notice it too, its the coolest star ive ever seen, fire engine red to sky blue like a christmas light!

Why is this still being discussed? Did you guys miss my post?

The flicker that stars appear to have is caused by atmospheric fluctuations.

No conspiracy here guys, just a natural phenomenon.

reply to post by TupacShakur


if you're previous post explains why it is flickering red & blue, then why isn't the atmosphere making all other stars flicker this same way ? . . .your logic just doesn't seem logical to me

What direction is the star? North east south west? What time zone do you live in? What time can you see the star?

reply to post by lurker007

if you're previous post explains why it is flickering red & blue, then why isn't the atmosphere making all other stars flicker this same way ? . . .your logic just doesn't seem logical to me

All stars do flicker that way, some do it more severely though.

Its location near the horizon also means that in order to see it we are looking through more atmosphere than when we look at stars that are overhead. In the winter, as Capella moves higher into the sky, strange sightings of this flickering light will be reduced. Other stars fall prey to this same twinkling effect when near the horizon, but Capella's brightness and time of year, being up as the sky grows dark early again for winter, makes it especially noticeable

Does this sound like the star?

A technical word for "twinkling" is scintillation. Another ten dollar term for this effect is atmospheric prismatic dispersion. This simply means that the atmosphere is acting like a giant prism, separating it into the colors that you see in the twinkling. This effect is not very strong when looking straight up through 100 kilometers of atmosphere.

Case closed

My fiancee would argue with me that it was in fact a bright star or planet that only appeared to be flashing due to gases in our atmosphere causing an illusion.

I see it every night it's clear, and it is stationary, and only noticed it at the beginning of the summer months. I watch it closely, not sure why. It seems very distant, but is obviously illuminating colours

I am glad someone posted about this, I was beginning to get annoyed with this thing not knowing what it is. I hope someone can conclude.

reply to post by TupacShakur


Thank you for the much needed elaborated explanation.
So based on this explanation, as the star raises high into the night sky, the twinkling will appear the same as other stars?

I've not witnessed it IRL, just youtube vids.

Anyone seen this other than on the horizon? If it's only occurring on the horizon then this has been debunked.

ETA: I'm no astronomer so please correct me if this star travels across the night sky or remains on the horizon this time of year

reply to post by lurker007

Thank you for the much needed elaborated explanation.
So based on this explanation, as the star raises high into the night sky, the twinkling will appear the same as other stars?

Correctamundo, the flickering increases as the star approaches the horizon, and declines as the star approaches directly overhead.

Anyone seen this other than on the horizon? If it's only occurring on the horizon then this has been debunked.

No it still happens directly overhead, it's just not as profound and noticeable.

Originally posted by TupacShakur
reply to post by lurker007

 

Thank you for the much needed elaborated explanation.
So based on this explanation, as the star raises high into the night sky, the twinkling will appear the same as other stars?

Correctamundo, the flickering increases as the star approaches the horizon, and declines as the star approaches directly overhead.

Anyone seen this other than on the horizon? If it's only occurring on the horizon then this has been debunked.

No it still happens directly overhead, it's just not as profound and noticeable.

I guess im confused as to how we are explaining twinkling and literal color change...using the same theory..

twinkling is just how you explained it, atmospheric conditions will not make a star pulsate colors...

It's all due to the fact we are killing this planet and the Intergalactic Police are coming.

Seriously though. I`m noticing two of these stars flashing the colors One is towards the west and one
towards the East. I`m satisfied with this post I read.

www.abovetopsecret.com...

As TupacShakur has already stated, the flicker is a lensing effect in the atmosphere. The different colours you are seeing is the same as light passing through a prism.

The star you are seeing is Sirius. It is actually a binary star, not just one. It is the brightest star in the sky, and has got me scratching my head a few times in the past as well.

Enjoy and don't be afraid

As another poster said, use stellarium or google sky on a smart phone.

Sirius

reply to post by TupacShakur


Tupac is right on the money. I live in a rural area and the night sky is a splendor! Those stars closer to the horizon flicker from red to green to blue due to atmospheric scintillation. The reason you all are seing this one is because it so particularly bright this time of year and is more visible through light pollution. Go out into the country and you will literally see hundreds of them close to the horizon doing the same thing.

reply to post by Heartisblack


Without more specific information such as time and seeing conditions (ie, what is the dimmest star you can see) I would venture a guess that what you're seeing is Arcturus:

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/5a0359986a60.jpg[/atsimg]

skychart.skyandtelescope.com...

reply to post by Krystian


It's the same idea as the Sun setting in the evening and the colors of our sky changing all different colors of the rainbow before finally turning black.
The more atmosphere the light has to pass through, the more the light is dispersed which causes the different colors similar to a prism.

Please correct me if I'm wrong!

Originally posted by Heartisblack
.

Know what it might be? Is it Elenin ? A planet?

It is definitely not either one of those, as it's been mentioned it is a star. If you could provide more details as to time and direction we can fairly safely identify the star for you.
It is not Elenin as it is not at a visible magnitude yet and it is not a planet as planets do not have the twinkling effect.

edit: To add it is highly unlikely that it is a satellite as well as another poster mentioned.

Originally posted by TupacShakur
Why is this still being discussed? Did you guys miss my post?

The flicker that stars appear to have is caused by atmospheric fluctuations.

No conspiracy here guys, just a natural phenomenon.

So? We already know that the atmosphere makes the starlight flicker. Why is that reason to stop the discussion on this particular star? No one said the flicker was the curious part. They are talking about it changing colors and appearing to be closer. Thanks for your little bit of science here. Much appreciated. Now dont talk with your mouth full.

reply to post by karen61057


Please give the coordinates (R.A. and declination) of this star

reply to post by karen61057

So? We already know that the atmosphere makes the starlight flicker. Why is that reason to stop the discussion on this particular star? No one said the flicker was the curious part. [color=limegreen]They are talking about it changing colors and appearing to be closer. Thanks for your little bit of science here. Much appreciated. Now dont talk with your mouth full.

A technical word for "twinkling" is scintillation. Another ten dollar term for this effect is atmospheric prismatic dispersion. This simply means that the atmosphere is acting like a giant prism, [color=limegreen]separating it into the colors that you see in the twinkling. This effect is not very strong when looking straight up through 100 kilometers of atmosphere.

Explained in this post.

reply to post by Heartisblack


Elenin is too small to see with the naked eye