Flashing Satellite?

I'm not a person to believe in aliens because I am a christian but last night I saw a weird flashing thing in the sky when I was laying in bed and looking out my window. I freaked out and went out to mum and asked her to look. But the reflection from inside our house (the light was on) prevented her from seeing outside. So she just watched her movie. By the time I went back to bed a cloud had covered the sky and I fell asleep. The flashing had a delay. Almost like a light on a light house. It didn't seem to be moving. It was pretty bright. I thought at first I had seen a star exlpode or something X) because I had only seen it with the corner of my eye the first time. Then I saw it again.

My question is...was it a satellite just reflecting the sun or something? Please tell me it wasn't an alien. -_-

More likely than not, it was a plane or helicopter, but heading towards you (so it didn't really seem to be moving....) Another possibility is a signal on a communications tower (the flashing light is for aviators to know it's there)...

What does being a Christian have to do with not believeing in other life forms?

Keesha,

I and others have seen what you describe. It is interesting, I would like to know where you are from. This could not be a plane as it has been observed for nearly 45 minutes on several occassions. During this period there is no movement in position. The "flash" it emits is generally between 90 and 110 seconds apart. It appears to be "mapping" or "imaging". Several have noticed the flash emission can range from circular to rectagonal. I must also rule out the communication tower theory as this object is extremely high in the south-western sky. Estimates would place the alttitude between 30,000 and 50,000 feet.

BC

What does being a Christian have to do with not believeing in other life forms?

Other "intelligent" life would be the key here... If Man was made in God's image, then in whose image were the aliens made? etc. etc. Since the "good book" makes no rules governing the heirarchy of such beings in the scheme of things, the simplest solution is to pretend they do not exist, thus preserving their view of their God's universe.

Becker: note that the object you observed may not be the same situation as the original poster's But, satellites can be seen with the naked eye under proper conditions it is said, and helicopters can perform such a maneuver as well (minus the "estimate" of altitude). Weather balloons are another possibility, as they move slowly enough that the movement may not be perceived. Just trying to state the mundane before leaping to the fantastic....

[edit on 4-10-2004 by Gazrok]

Though not Christian, I know the bible very well. where does it say there is no life elsewhere....it is a book supposedly set for man to live by, though it has been extremely fouled by man adding and subtracting from it. Does anyone actually believe that every bit of knowledge is there for man kind? There is no mention of Gravity, germs, and many other facts...but they exist.

And the Lord said unto him [Cain], Therefore whosoever slayeth Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold. And the Lord set a mark upon Cain, lest any finding him should kill him.
And Cain went out from the presence of the Lord, and dwelt in the land of Nod, on the east of Eden.
-- Genesis 4: 15-16 (KJV)

No one else existed at that time....supposedly only Adam, Eve, Cain and Abel....Cain killed Abel....where is "Nod" and who would of been around to kill Cain that a mark had to be placed on him?

[edit on 10/4/2004 by LadyV]

I'm in full agreement Lady V. I was merely pointing out WHY Christians would denounce alien existance. If I were a Christian...the easiest way to reconcile their existance, would be to assume that the term "Man" covered all sapient life. Most Christians however, are not likely to do so...

The idea of nobody else existing, at the time of Adam and Eve, is still hotly contested in theological circles. It only states Adam was the first. It never states whether or not God made others, that Adam and Eve did not. There are basically two schools of thought, as I understand it...

1. Adam and Eve were more gentically pure, thus their offspring did not suffer issues with incest and birth defects.

2. God created enough humans after Adam, to ensure the propogation of species.

Neither is refuted or claimed in the Bible.

As to Cain, it is assumed that the Lord knew more progeny would be forthcoming, so eventually others would encounter Cain.

Does anyone actually believe that every bit of knowledge is there for man kind?

Sadly, yes...millions in fact...

Sorry to get off topic...

Keesha, can you provide more details on your sighting? Becker's is such an example, might help us determine possibilities...

I agree with LadyV 100%, because, how can we even trust in something that has an unknown origin or proof - Some do not believe in Aliens because of no proof, explaining that their religion does not accept or include beings from another planet. But what are religions? There is no proof of them either. Its hard to compare, but it is the same point - believing in aliens and following a religion. Dont you think?

Hi I'm new, first post. There are thousands of pieces of rockets and old satellites etc. that are currently orbiting earth, space junk. They range in size from tiny bits to large chunks. Many of these pieces slowly tumble through space and reflect the sun's light towards us at certain points during their revolutions. So the end result is something that looks very much like a satellite in behavior but it fades in and out like a lighthouse. The 'flashing' can vary depending on spin and the different parts of the individual pieces of space junk can cause different types of 'flashes'. Go out stargazing one night and your bound to see this along with normal satellites.

Like others have said, there are a lot of things up there, that can reflect sunlight
from over the horizon..The Iridium Satelllites, which there are dozens of, can cause some spectacular "flares"..
One of which I've captured with my Digital camera for you to enjoy.



In the above image, the exposure time was about 30 seconds..the Flare lasted about 5 or 6 seconds. And was VERY bright..They tend to dim down slowly, then, flash less and less briliantly, until POOF!, they are gone.

I have noticed ANOTHER satellite , every now and then, that seems to have a polar orbit...It flashes about once every 3 seconds, ramping up in brightness, then dimming down....Anyone know which Bird that might be?


Regards,
Spacedoubt

PS.

I forgot to mention, if you go to the heavens-above website, you can
input your coordinates, latitude and longitude, and print out a schedule of exactly when, and in what part of the sky, that a Iridium flash will occur.
To get your local coordinates, go here lat n long

[edit on 4-10-2004 by spacedoubt]

I don't have time to reply to the comments about christianity. That is off topic anyway.

But more about what I saw: It flashed every 10-15 seconds. It was flashing like a lighthouse does. It wasn't a plane or helicopter. I know what they look like in the dark and it didn't look like that. I live in a small state in Australia called Tasmania. Check out this site: satobs.org...

Originally posted by Keesha
I don't have time to reply to the comments about christianity. That is off topic anyway.

I'm not a person to believe in aliens because I am a christian

Off topic? You started the thread with that line. Perhaps you should be more careful with your words.

Originally posted by Keesha
Check out this site: satobs.org...

Looks like you've answered your own question!
You might find the one you saw here:
SatFlash

Originally posted by Lucid Lunacy

Originally posted by Keesha
I don't have time to reply to the comments about christianity. That is off topic anyway.

I'm not a person to believe in aliens because I am a christian

Off topic? You started the thread with that line. Perhaps you should be more careful with your words.

Hehe, I was thinking the same thing. A few posts away is the post, "Are aliens associated with Jesus' birth?" (Pages: Not 1, not 2, not 3, but 5 pages and counting) Maybe you meant to say something like, you really hope it wasn�t aliens because you don�t think there are any. It�s ok Keesha, I think most everyone understood that because of your religious beliefs, you feel uncomfortable with "aliens."

Anyway, if it makes you feel any better, Keesha it wasn�t an alien. You did say please, so there you go. It also could have been a weather balloon dependant on how long the sun had been set it could have still been catching sunlight in the upper atmosphere.

You should be aware though, that most people that are active on these boards feel that there is a high probability that alien life exists. If you could take a little time and objectively look at how big the universe is you might come to understand a little better how improbable it is that God created the entire universe just for mankind.
(How big is the universe?) The universe is big, huge, and immense to such a degree it�s hard to imagine. But such religious discussion as relating to aliens is common here so don�t be afraid to debate it. You may have a different viewpoint that someone had never thought of before. There is even a religious conspiracy forum if you want to take it to that level.

[edit on 5-10-2004 by Seth76]