Well... That was odd!

Hi everyone,

Before I go into this I would like to say I have no pictures or video evidence of what I saw, but I will try and be as detailed as I can and would appreciate feedback on what it could have been instead of "I think it was..."

I wanted to get this out of the way so the ones who scream "Pics or it didn't happen" don't have a chance to send this in the opposite direction I want this to go. I'm trying to understand and process what I saw so I would be appreciative if anyone who knows astro physics, orbital patterns of anything manmade as well as those who could point me in the right direction. In fact it would be brilliant

Anyway, this occurred last night 22:55 (Wed 5th 2012) in Northern Ireland as I took my pups outside for their late evening house training regime. I was outside for about 5mins before my other half asked for one of the dogs in for their daily grooming (We have Bicons), so since Kirby did what he had to do he was elected.

So myself and Lucy were strolling around the garden and walked alongside our garden shed when she decided to sit herself down. Next thing, she looks up. Her head cocks from side to side as she spots something. So I looked up and saw nothing but the odd bat flying over as well as the blanket of stars overhead (Very beautiful last night. The sky was filled even through the moon rays). I looked back at her to see what she doing and Lucy was completely transfixed on something. I looked up to the gable end of the house as we have a bird which has taken up residence within that area and believed she may have spotted poking its head out. I noticed nothing.

So I looked up towards the sky again trying to get a trail of her vision when I spotted it. Basically, it was like a star moving from SE to a NW direction. Once again I looked down at the dog and she was following its trajectory so I looked up again to see where it was headed when it suddenly brightened! It was almost like a pulse at first and as the intensity grew it became brighter and brighter. The colour of this light was pure white with a tinge of blue along the edges. But I noticed that there was a shape surrounding this light in which I couldn't describe. I did see a few straight edges on the right hand side of the light but that is about it.

At first I thought it was a missile heading down (It was the impression I got) and I was literally bracing myself for the impact when it suddenly dimmed down to an orange dot in the sky and took off like a bullet! It was almost as if someone switched a light off it was that sudden. I stood there in shock not knowing what the hell to make of it and I looked down to Lucy who already was heading towards the back door, completely freaking out.

As I went back into the house I stood in the kitchen trying to process what it was I saw as Lucy made her way to the lounge. My other half called out to me what was wrong with her as she was acting odd. I never told her. Kinda brushed it off as a dog thing but as I stood there I got this huge sense of fear. I literally pulled the kitchen blinds, pulled the lounge curtains as well as every blind and curtain in the bedroom and upstairs hallway. I literally freaked out while trying to act normal in front of my other half (She is a natural born skeptic).

I tried to rationalise what I saw by pulling up the usual suspects on Google such as the ISS whose last flyover my region was 06:22am on Tuesday 4th 2012 as well as satellite trajectories but was stunned to learn we cannot see these things from the ground. There were no known asteroid or meteorite activity either and I have drew a complete blank. I found it strange that Lucy noticed it before I did and more so with her reaction.

So, ATS I need your help. Any ideas?

Could this have been one of those top secret hypersonic planes getting dropped from a large plane and then taking off or whatever? Might explain the drop and sudden launch...?

Prolonged detailed story or it didn't happen!


You are in Ireland right?
Maybe Bono's ego is now manifesting in the physical realm?

reply to post by powerdrone


I've never heard of anything like that before. Has it been covered on this site?

reply to post by tvtexan


Lets hope for the sake of mankind that, that is not true

reply to post by Xcellante


Did it look anything like these?

www.abovetopsecret.com...

reply to post by Xcellante


Did it look anything like this ?

reply to post by Char-Lee


The light intensity is almost the same, not quite though. This started off like a star then it pulsed bright and then brighter before decipating into an orange dot and then speeding off.

Pretty cool vid on that link though. Thanks for the heads up though.

reply to post by gortex


BINGO!

Thats it! That is exactly it! I knew there would be a reasonable explanation. Going with how bright the moon was last night it matches it perfectly so would explain the reflective theory I had running through my head. So it was a satellite. I freaked out for nothing.

Thanks. Case closed I believe.

reply to post by Xcellante


Video title says its a flare not a satellite actually. They are not similar things.

reply to post by sputniksteve


No, it's a satellite flare.

An iridium satellite flare

reply to post by Xcellante


You say it 'took off like a bullet'. Did it change direction? Do you think any apparent change of speed could have been an illusion created by perspective. I'm just trying to marry up that description with your conclusion that this was a satellite. Let us know your thoughts

I'm a little perplexed by the reaction of Lucy. Do dogs get excited by iridium flares?

Sounds like something emitting sound outside of the human hearing range.

en.wikipedia.org...

saw the same last night.. showed a friend. this one funny enough was heading southwest way high in the upper atmosphere and moving REALLY fast. fast enough to go around the world while im watching.. in say maybe 15-20 minutes tops by my estimate. a flying golden dot.

problem is he couldnt see it. it was too faint for him not being experienced watching the sky. it moved SW and then i lost track of it. i was determined to let him see it however so i kept on watching. and this must have been the funniest thing ive ever seen an iridium flare do. all of a sudden.. it appeared once more.. this time heading in a northeasterly direction.. curved around a star and continued heading N-N-W.. then it made a double S swerve heading straight past the horizon and i lost track of it again.

my friend saw the return trip as it took a while for me to get him to figure out what to look for in the sky and where i was pointing.. but he saw it.

do iridium flares do 180s? do they curve and dance in the sky and move as tho they have an objective.

final piece i will ad... is that as i watched it reappear and heading NW lightning started cracking across a cloudless sky from the southwest area the object was at. the lightning grew a bit more intense over the space of 10 mins. no rain tho.. no clouds

coincidence?? maybe

reply to post by MarrsAttax


TO be honest the more I think about it maybe it was the way my eyes adjusted after the initial brightening and when it disipated into a pin point of orange light... If that makes sense. Now the speed could be the initial trick of how I was looking at it as well as the size of the flare itself.

Its difficult to say, but like I said it did freak me a bit as I never seen anything like it before. I may be just fooling myself with the satellite scenario but so far its the only thing that makes sense.

Thats a point which came to me last night when I was in bed. These flares when they are seen, what colour is the light?

reply to post by 0mage


Where was this?

reply to post by stiver


Thats the other thing which has had me scratching my head. I'm not too well versed in orbital interference but Lucy was definitely spooked. She also tracked it as it passed over. My other half also told me earlier this evening that before I came in from work, Lucy had no interest going outside as it was getting dark but Kirby had no worries doing what he was told. So maybe there is more to this... I just don't know.

I haven't even asked anyone in work if perhaps they may have seen something but due to the nature of some of the people I work with, ridicule isn't high up on my wish list.

Would have been interesting if Kirby was around at the time, just for a comparison. But I have to admit, it has had me watching the skies the last few nights... Just in case.

reply to post by Xcellante


It certainly could be mundane but I've seen plenty of satellites here in the UK and they usually look like tiny white fast-moving dots - I've never seen the flare phenomenon though so it could well be that.

The things that pique my interest in your account are that you said you could could make out a shape and the reaction of your dog. Again in my experience satellites are points of light, any discernible shape would mean either a very large satellite or a very low one! Of course it could be your eyes playing tricks - I'm sure you know our brains have a tendency to impose patterns even when none exist.

Likewise, I find it unusual that a dog would take an interest in a satellite. Dogs hearing and sense of smell are much more important senses to them than than their vision - I've never known either of my dogs to look at things in the sky. They don't even notice low flying planes, although as I live near an airport maybe they just tune them out. I'd be interested to hear from other dog owners if their pets react to things in the sky (identified or otherwise).

reply to post by MarrsAttax


Plenty of Iridium flares over the UK, there is a website that tells you the times and dates and which way to look. I don't have time to find it now, but a quick Google search should help.

EDIT: Here you go www.heavens-above.com...

Just remember to set your location first.

reply to post by woogleuk

Nice one! Will give this a go. Just have to wait for it to stop raining