The Sky just went bright for a flash...9-25-11 1:23 am

I live in S. Illinois and a HUGE sudden torrential downpour suddenly started about 2 hours ago which would put it at around 1.20 am. Not sure if that coincides with the flash; I was inside on pc and didn't notice anything odd - but that sudden hard downpour for a short 10 seconds or so was strange. Fast as it came it was gone. had one like that last night too around the same time, give or take a half hour.

Just saw a thread on here regarding the Sunspots and CME's I'm pretty sure that is what caused the interference and so called Power outages over parts of the world. But I can't be 100% sure all I know is that we were expecting some CME's and there are still huge Sunspots spotted on the sun at the moment. Hopefully this might answer your question. But then again you're posting on here so really I'm not sure haha.

Ok, I've got a probable explanation (assuming the OP is telling the truth).

Perhaps it was a nuclear blast high up in the atmosphere.
Am I correct by saying that would release an EMP?
It's at a distance and would create a visible flash in the sky.
Seems to fit.

EDIT: It would probably interfere with some satellite communications more than anything though. That fits too.

reply to post by AllUrChips

pics of a quick flash ??????

reply to post by THEDUDE86


For what its worth, My sky also flashed bright about the same time yours did. Only once, no thunder and I saw no physical lightning.

odd.

reply to post by THEDUDE86

For what it’s worth, I have the following qualitative information to share regarding the Illinois flash and this morning’s meteor activity.

I have used radios to monitor meteor activity over the Western United States for many years. The method is simple; a radio detects meteors by monitoring a distant (usually over-the-horizon) radio transmitter that is normally unheard. When a meteor burns up between the receiver and transmitter, the ionization trail it leaves behind briefly reflects the transmitters signal to the receiver. More information about this method is found in the links below.

After reading this posting I tuned my meteor monitoring equipment to 67.251 MHz** LSB***, a television station in Mexico some 2400 km from my location in North-Central Colorado. This separation distance limits detection to larger meteors that leave a high altitude ionization trail above 100 km. For the 1 hour period between 2:30 AM to 3:30 AM CDT this morning (1 hour after the flash) I heard the typical sounds from 2 abrupt reflection events (mostly likely small meteor ionization events) and 1 diffuse reflection event (most likely a very tiny meteor). This is atypical for this time of night (meteor events usual peak in the hour before and after sunrise). More activity that is atypical was heard during the subsequent 1 hour window from 3:30 AM to 4:30 CST.

Three events within a 1-hour window may not sound impressive, but the unfavorable time of day, the unfavorable 2400 km separation geometry****, and the unfavorable time of year during the very low intensity Aquarids meteor shower makes these events significant. These results support the POSSIBILITY, among many others, that the Illinois flash was a meteor entry event.

Best regards,
Z


**67.251 MHz = 1 kHz above the video carrier frequency for analog TV channel 4

***LSB = Lower Side Band

****At 2400 km separation between the receive and transmit antennas their respective patterns will overlap 115 km above earth, much higher than the typical meteor ionization trail range between 75 km and 100 km above earth

Introduction to Forward Scattering Radio Techniques

An Introduction to Meteor Radio Scatter

Radio Meteor Observing

Observing Meteors by Radio

EMP perhaps?

Then OP is exactly correct- the flash occurred 1:23am CDT. My wife and I were awake on our 2nd story balcony when it occurred. It was unusually bright- we figured either lightning or a transformer shorting out.

Since there are others who saw it, I now wonder if we did indeed see a fragment in the atmosphere explode. There are no lightning strikes on record in this area overnight, and we are some distance from the initial report of this. We're only 60 miles SW of Chicago.

I will ask some of my neighbors I am friends with. If I hear anything out of the ordinary, I'll update, but I don't think it's anything more than a fragment flash-explosion high in atmosphere.

Probably, it was just a large bolide burning up high up in the atmosphere.

Originally posted by DrZrD
reply to post by THEDUDE86

 

For what it’s worth, I have the following qualitative information to share regarding the Illinois flash and this morning’s meteor activity.

I have used radios to monitor meteor activity over the Western United States for many years. The method is simple; a radio detects meteors by monitoring a distant (usually over-the-horizon) radio transmitter that is normally unheard. When a meteor burns up between the receiver and transmitter, the ionization trail it leaves behind briefly reflects the transmitters signal to the receiver. More information about this method is found in the links below.

After reading this posting I tuned my meteor monitoring equipment to 67.251 MHz** LSB***, a television station in Mexico some 2400 km from my location in North-Central Colorado. This separation distance limits detection to larger meteors that leave a high altitude ionization trail above 100 km. For the 1 hour period between 2:30 AM to 3:30 AM CDT this morning (1 hour after the flash) I heard the typical sounds from 2 abrupt reflection events (mostly likely small meteor ionization events) and 1 diffuse reflection event (most likely a very tiny meteor). This is atypical for this time of night (meteor events usual peak in the hour before and after sunrise). More activity that is atypical was heard during the subsequent 1 hour window from 3:30 AM to 4:30 CST.

Three events within a 1-hour window may not sound impressive, but the unfavorable time of day, the unfavorable 2400 km separation geometry****, and the unfavorable time of year during the very low intensity Aquarids meteor shower makes these events significant. These results support the POSSIBILITY, among many others, that the Illinois flash was a meteor entry event.

Best regards,
Z


**67.251 MHz = 1 kHz above the video carrier frequency for analog TV channel 4

***LSB = Lower Side Band

****At 2400 km separation between the receive and transmit antennas their respective patterns will overlap 115 km above earth, much higher than the typical meteor ionization trail range between 75 km and 100 km above earth

Introduction to Forward Scattering Radio Techniques

An Introduction to Meteor Radio Scatter

Radio Meteor Observing

Observing Meteors by Radio

wow,.
the first real good answer.. ^^^
AN EMP???? really those of you that actually thought that are truly clueless

I live in Crown Point, Indiana @ 20 minutes from Chicago. I saw flashes last night, but it's been raining like this for 2 days. It was lighting-I'm pretty sure.
The ground is soaked here, and I watched the lightning until 2:00 A.M-while I watched the Simpson's Treehouse of Horror XV last night...Bart and Milhouse had the watch that stops time.
Link:www.wtso.net... I always watch the Videoobb one's-but you can only watch like 70min a day for free...

I saw the flash last night too. And I saw it through my blinds and curtains. Whoah, what was that?

Whatever it was, it was VERY bright because some lightning cannot penetrate the curtains.

My Uncle is in Mattoon, and I am going to give him a call and see if he saw it. But, I would like to know the general area you are so that we could rule out other possibilities. Lot's of factories, and other things in central Illinois. You really got my curiosity going though because I grew up there and am wondering what is going on. My Dad swears to this day he saw Northern Lights out on a late night country drive in central Illinois.

cme thread , todays

spaceweather site

Originally posted by Rkoje18

Just saw a thread on here regarding the Sunspots and CME's I'm pretty sure that is what caused the interference and so called Power outages over parts of the world. But I can't be 100% sure all I know is that we were expecting some CME's and there are still huge Sunspots spotted on the sun at the moment. Hopefully this might answer your question. But then again you're posting on here so really I'm not sure haha.

STRONG SOLAR ACTIVITY: On Saturday morning, Sept. 24th, behemoth sunspot 1302 unleashed another strong flare--an X1.9-category blast at 0940 UT. NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory recorded the extreme ultraviolet flash:

< from source

To me, it sounds like heat lightning. We see it all the time down here. The whole sky flashes all at once (no lightning bolt or thunder),,,don't know if it can affect cell phoneen.wikipedia.org... though..

reply to post by THEDUDE86


The most likeley suspects in order of probability: exploding electrical transformer, solar flare, cme, emp blast, upper atmospherical nuclear test. These arent the answers people are looking for so...ALIEN INVASION followed by elenin then nibiru and wormwood on the side, oh a big giant triangle spaceship behind each one! At the same "tptb" will set off project blue beam and fake an alien invasion and make earthquakes and tidal waves in every major coastal city. Then the fema camp nazi's will come and take us all away Sadly some moron will buy all that.

Would love to see pics and or video footage! Lets hope someone managed to catch this on camera

reply to post by maryhinge


And I'd also like AllUrChips to explain how you could use a camera to document the electronics problems that have been reported. A pic of a blank screen is pretty meaningless!

reply to post by THEDUDE86




I've been reading posts about other strange things going on in Illinois, but I agree with what most people are saying about it being most likely an EMP. I have also heard several times in the last couple weeks that there have been large solar flares, so that could explain an EMP, if that's the case....

reply to post by fah0436


good point!