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Anyone with a Good Eye Know What This Object Near the Moon Is?

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Grifynne

Grifynne

Paranormal Adept
I took a series of photos of the moon a few weeks back and I noticed as I was going through them that 3 have a strange bar of light on them. It starts near the moon and seems to move across the frame, arcing down slightly. It only recently got warm enough for insects to come out so during this time there wasn't anything flying around (in fact in PA it was still dropping to winter temps at night). My initial thought was it must be a satellite I just happened to catch, but I can't really tell if it's up in the sky or closer to the ground.

This is really just out of curiosity. I don't think that this is anything exciting or unexplainable at this point. Just wondering what I may be looking at. Someone better versed in sky viewing may have more insight into what it is and what caused it.

Here is the first image. The object is very small (looks like a bar of light). It's approximately 1 pinky width below the moon and a little to the left:

http://cdn-3-service.phanfare.com/i...WebLarge_0_2572465cae4709137fdb49a28709a54d_1

Here is the second image. The object has moved further to the left (just follow a horizontal path to the left and you'll find it again):

http://cdn-3-service.phanfare.com/i...WebLarge_0_fd5caa26eddba86dac0a9d91f76d73a0_1

And the last image. It is again further to the left and down a little, closer to the edge of the photo:

http://cdn-3-service.phanfare.com/i...85-2-Web_0_906d26b650c0dd50a162bca2ef1c58c4_1

I took photos of the moon before and after those 3 and saw nothing unusual in them. I also did not see anything pass by while I was outside taking the photos. It wasn't until I looked at them on my computer that I noticed the small object. And they appeared in order just as I have listed them here.

Anyone have any idea what this could be or how to tell if it's something up in the sky or closer to the ground?

Thanks in advance. :D
 
I have no skills at all here but to me it does look like a distant object at least, not small and close up. It could be a plane? Do you have any idea of the time scale between first and last shot? If you did, a very rough calculation could be done (assuming it an aircraft) to see if the speed is about what you'd expect. I suppose Chris would request an uncompressed copy to enlarge were he to take a look, I don't know but I presume images lose something when posted here?
That is the extent of my 'skills' but thanks for posting Gryf, I am always interested in things in the sky.
 
Goggs Mackay said:
I have no skills at all here but to me it does look like a distant object at least, not small and close up. It could be a plane? Do you have any idea of the time scale between first and last shot? If you did, a very rough calculation could be done (assuming it an aircraft) to see if the speed is about what you'd expect. I suppose Chris would request an uncompressed copy to enlarge were he to take a look, I don't know but I presume images lose something when posted here?
That is the extent of my 'skills' but thanks for posting Gryf, I am always interested in things in the sky.
Click to expand...

There should have been no more than seconds between each photo. Unfortunately I don't have an exact time frame. I uploaded them to my PC then added them to my Phanfare account (which is supposed to not change the resolution, not sure if it makes any other changes to the image beyond that). I linked them instead of uploading them to the post so they wouldn't be altered/compressed in any way by the forums.

At the time, I just wanted to experiment with taking photos of the moon for fun. Photography is a bit of a budding hobby of mine (so there's a LOT I don't know about the technical side of it). At the time I wasn't thinking much beyond capturing some photos when the moon was nice and bright, wasn't really in evidence gathering mode. :)

Maybe it was an aircraft and I was just too focused on the moon to notice. We often see planes flying around overhead - of course I guess that's pretty much everywhere in the U.S. these days. :p Usually I see them but maybe I was moonstruck! :eek:

I also noticed a common pattern, at least in the first 2 where the object is most visible. It looks like there is a faint shaded area almost at the halfway point, as if it is 2 segments (or maybe something in its shape blocks the light in that area). It appears smaller in the 3rd one, maybe part of it isn't reflecting light anymore or maybe it's turning or something.

Just curious. I need to pay more attention while I'm outside taking pictures. Thanks for the input! :D
 
Very cool photos, whatever that object is. Did you see the eclipse last week? It was gorgeous!
So nice to see photos of a real Unidentified Flying Object!
 
Rizla said:
Very cool photos, whatever that object is. Did you see the eclipse last week? It was gorgeous!
So nice to see photos of a real Unidentified Flying Object!
Click to expand...

Thanks Rizla! I was really disappointed because we had overcast skies that night. :( My husband and I tried to go outside to snap a few photos, but it didn't work out. I saw other people's photos and it looked like it was spectacular in some regions!

To add insult to injury, the following night was gorgeous with clear skies. :p
 
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