I photographed fire in the sky

Hi all, my name is Tamara and I currently live in a remote small town in the mountains of Algeria. For about the past month, I have been watching the sky pulsate orange and have pointed it out numerous times to my husband wondering what it was. It is to the east of us, we are located on the coast of the Mediteranean sea not far from the Tunisian border. Then 2 nights ago I was out watching in the same direction and I saw these 2 vertical lines of fire in the sky, they almost looked like 2 people dancing and they would intensify in brilliance but they did not look like they were moving, they appeared in the same spot in the sky. I watched this for several hours on and off and made my husband take a look. It was almost like a fire portal or door or I don't know but anyway I did take a photo with a sony average camera and the only modification to this photo was to crop it so I could upload it to ats. If anyone knows how to enhance color cause truly the photo I have posted is nowhere near the brilliance of the photo on my cam of this fire coming from a beam of something. To the left is the neighbours house and where the fire stops is my brick wall but it is clearly in the sky. If anyone has any idea what this is, it would be much appreciated info. One other note, I looked outside last night, and saw the same thing briefly but not as intense, and it was gone in a few minutes though the sky was pulsating again. Here is the photo:

img.abovetopsecret.com...

reply to post by CottonwoodStormy


Hey there!

Your link is malfunctioning.

Nevermind!

reply to post by CottonwoodStormy


Could it be that you might be seeing Mt.Etna ?
Lots of action there in the last 7 eays and nights. Have a look at:
www.abovetopsecret.com...
but go to the last two pages.

Considering your location I would think this is what you may be viewing.
Maybe?

Hi,

Although I can't view the image properly, I am betting almost certainly that it is the glow from Mount Etna you are seeing. In the dark night sky, I imagine this could be illuminating aerosols in the atmosphere and giving off quite a light show away from the glare of the lava itself. I think Etna is still erupting anyway, maybe someone can confirm?

This would match the direction (to the East of Algeria) and only a few hundred miles from the Algeria/Tunisia border.

EDIT - beaten by the poster above

There you go

reply to post by azureskys


I don't think so, mount etna is on the other side of the med, and this was in the sky above the mountains nearby. I have to go for a little while but I will be back to see what people think in awhile, my description is the God's honest truth, it was in the sky. I have never seen anything like it before and I have no idea what it is as you can see it just ends in the sky, crazy!

reply to post by andypb


OMG, thank you so much now you can see, what the hell is this?????

And here's the close-up:



And here's the picture with high-pass sharpening.

A quick enhancement:



Is the left part a house? Could you provide please a daylight shoot taken with the same camera from the same place? The whole (non-cropped) shoot would be interesting to look at as well.

Also, is it possible to locate on a map your position and the direction of the shoot?

Do you think that it could be some sort of sky-tracker? What was the color?

Just an afternote: As you see in the pic this fire doesn't emit light normal. It is coming from a beam of light, if it was a fire fire like mount etna why is the light from the fire not being emitted in all directions? it is coming from a beam of light, and when I was watching I saw 2 of these as I say dancing, and they were above clouds. I am truly puzzled.

reply to post by elevenaugust


Yes, and then its open sky and where the fire stops is cut off by our patio wall, and when I saw it it appeared above the mountains around me.

Originally posted by elevenaugust
A quick enhancement:

Is the left part a house? Could you provide please a daylight shoot taken with the same camera from the same place?

edit on 10-4-2013 by elevenaugust because: (no reason given)

I will do later today, I have to go now but I will take the pic as I'm leaving and post it later. Thank you everyone I will be back!

i'm not exactly sure what to see here... so far all I see are grainy pics and some really bright contrast on that house... looks like zelda fire from old snes platforms.

reply to post by elevenaugust


Looks like there may be a malfunctioning furnace or hot water heater on the house next door. Possibly a plugged or leaky stack.

www.youtube.com...

I know you don't think I could be Mt. Etna but please look at the ATS thread and the above video,
posted by same. The youtube one is at night.

I believe you are seeing, Ash plume with the orange glow from the flames
and hot spewing lava showing through it. Especially since you said you are looking East.

Etna is not on the other side of the Med., it is in the Med., not that far from you.
You are only about 600 to 700 km away from Etna (as the crow flys)

Can you upload the original un-cropped version of the photo? Directly from the camera would be better to rule out any exif manipulation, modifications etc.

Its looks to me like a unfocused photo of a broom stick or the like, perhaps even a toothpick been illuminated by a soft glow of a reflection. I cant seem to get a accurate scale of things.

Firstly, thanks for sharing your experience and the picture. Secondly, because the bottom is brighter, visibly stronger than the rest of the column, it definitely originated from the ground, going upwards. The enhanced images do indicate flames rather than a constant beam of light, and it could very well be Mt. Etna.

Originally posted by blackspirit
Can you upload the original un-cropped version of the photo? Directly from the camera would be better to rule out any exif manipulation, modifications etc.

Its looks to me like a unfocused photo of a broom stick or the like, perhaps even a toothpick been illuminated by a soft glow of a reflection. I cant seem to get a accurate scale of things.

Really? You're going to apply skepticism to something this simple, cut, and dry? If you don't know what it is, you simply don't know. It doesn't have to be someone else's fault.

reply to post by CottonwoodStormy


Hi there, OP! Very interesting experience you have there. I'm not sure what you are seeing, but I just wanted to offer some advice to try to help you get a better photo if you experience this again. It may help someone on here to better explain or figure out what you are seeing.

Are you able to change the shutter speed on your camera at all? Many digital cameras, even some simple ones, have a shutter speed setting on them, these days. You may have to have a look at your camera's instruction manual. If you see the beam in the sky again, set the shutter speed for at least five seconds. Secure it so that it doesn't move at all. If you have a tripod, that would be great, but if not, you can put the camera on your wall outside, a table or anything, just as long as it doesn't move. After you set the shutter speed, set the timer and take a pic. The timer will keep the camera from moving at all when the shutter opens to prevent motion blur. Experiment with different shutter speeds. Start with 5 seconds then try 10 seconds and so on. Just make sure not to move the camera while the shutter is open. This should help us see what you are seeing better.

If you aren't able to change camera settings and you do see it again, take as many pics as possible. I'm really interested in what you have going on here and would love for someone on here to figure it out. Best of luck to ya! I hope someone is able to solve the mystery.