Strange light in the sky

[David]

I had set out a camera set to take timelapse captures at an area near Tharwa where there was a yowie report on Australia Day 2017. The camera was set to take a single photograph and 30 seconds of video and reset every 10 minutes.

On one capture and 30 second sequence a bright light appears for at least 30 seconds out of a 10 minute timeframe and is in neither the video before or the video after. It does not appear to move so I have discounted aircraft.

I made a short video with a comparison daytime shot and a brief explanation but used low resolution files that I had emailed myself. The second video below is the 30 second raw file uploaded to youtube.

Apologies the date stamp is wrong it should read Tuesday 18th September.. I think the timestamp is correct.

[media]https://youtu.be/ZEoGViYvMNM[/media]

[media]https://youtu.be/b6iekf0BcD0[/media]

Thoughts?

[rowbe]

Did you look at previous day video at the same time of day? Its not a reflection of sun from something on the ground, e.g., reflection into camera?

You can rule out the usual excuse, a weather balloon - because it is not moving.

[David]

Thanks Rowbe. No it only appears the once. I've thought satellite maybe?

[rowbe]

Did you look at previous day video at the same time of day? Its not a reflection of sun from something on the ground, e.g., reflection into camera?

You can rule out the usual excuse, a weather balloon - because it is not moving.

Sorry I only concentrated on the daytime shots There is a bright light/section in the top right of the screen (daytime).
Re the light at night from the light point itself you can see rays (for lack of a better word) coming out from the source. Looks like that could be moon reflection off the object. I'm guessing satellite as well - but do satellites move as well. Plus it is only in the picture for 30 seconds, interesting!

[Searcher]

That's quite an intriguing bit of footage. Using the computer mouse as a reference and assuming the camera position is absolutely rigid, the point of light is very close to the side of that dominant tree top of the LHS of screen. Of course that doesn't prove or disprove anything!

It's definitely not the ISS as that moves along at around 8 kilometers per second or 28,000 Km/h. The 30 seconds of video shows your light is standing still. Doesn't look like any of the many thousands of satellites either.

I regularly watch the ISS (International Space Station) fly overhead. It's easy to check the times for your area. Just go to https://spotthestation.nasa.gov/ and type in your location. Best to wait until it comes over early evening... unless you like getting up early.

Unfortunately, your video will go down as just one of the countless unknown bright lights seen in the night sky. Be good if you can get a repeat observation. UFO's have been known to regularly show up in the same spots over time. Thanks for sharing!

[Yowie bait]

Well this is all very interesting. For what its worth heres a brightened and enlarged version of the light i made for a closer look. Thanks Dave for sharing your image!

[David]

Thanks guys.. I'll have to put this one, along with a few others I've collected along the way, in the unexplained basket I think. First time I've ever captured something like this. I have to admit it has piqued my interest.. I'll be looking up a lot more from now on.

[David]

Well this is all very interesting. For what its worth heres a brightened and enlarged version of the light i made for a closer look. Thanks Dave for sharing your image!

Thanks for that Yowie Bait.. how strange.

[Searcher]

Good work Yowie Bait! It's clear there is light radiating from around the source. It's possible a shape could be revealed.
Perhaps we could get AustralopithecineOz to use the raw file to do a similar blow up.
There should be more detail available than what we see taken from a compressed YouTube file.

[David]

This is the still capture preceding the video. Unfortunately I do not have the capabilty to enlarge the photo at present. Maybe someone can?

[David]

I was able to enlarge on my phone.. not sure of the loss of quality though.

[Yowie bait]

I have no idea what it is but its doing something. This is six screenshots at two speeds if helpful...

[rowbe]

Yowie bait, the images look great. Would be great to see the enlarged image over the six screenshots (sorry, I don't have the capacity). Its looking really interesting.

[David]

I have no idea what it is but its doing something. This is six screenshots at two speeds if helpful...

Thanks again Yowie Bait. Great work well beyond my capability.

It has left me wondering though if the still frame and the video match in dimensions? Is the light eminating from behind the tallest tree branches in the capture. Is it tree branches blowing in the wind?

[Yowie bait]

Yowie bait, the images look great. Would be great to see the enlarged image over the six screenshots (sorry, I don't have the capacity). Its looking really interesting.

I will try to something better when i get home to the wifi if no one else comes up with something.

[Yowie bait]

I have no idea what it is but its doing something. This is six screenshots at two speeds if helpful...

Thanks again Yowie Bait. Great work well beyond my capability.

It has left me wondering though if the still frame and the video match in dimensions? Is the light eminating from behind the tallest tree branches in the capture. Is it tree branches blowing in the wind?

No worries Dave. I only have the galaxy s6 video editor. Im useless with the modern computers!

I think theres trees and cloud cover possibly exposing the light more making it appear brighter but cant be sure? Those are screenshots of last part of the raw video file.

[Searcher]

IMHO, one of the best resources to keep up to date with sightings from all over the world is the good 'ol weekly review, Filer's Files.
Major George Filer, USAF (RET) has been publishing these reports for many, many years. I don't always agree with everything on these web pages, but I have yet to find anything more up to date. MUFON is also good for current sightings information.

The Filer's Files archives can be viewed at https://nationalufocenter.com/category/filers-files/

The point I am making here is there have been more reports and photos of lights in the sky over the years than you could possibly shake a stick at... Also, I have read MUFON gets around 500 to 1000 UFO reports every month!

AustralopithecineOz , welcome to the club.

[David]

IMHO, one of the best resources to keep up to date with sightings from all over the world is the good 'ol weekly review, Filer's Files.
Major George Filer, USAF (RET) has been publishing these reports for many, many years. I don't always agree with everything on these web pages, but I have yet to find anything more up to date. MUFON is also good for current sightings information.

The Filer's Files archives can be viewed at https://nationalufocenter.com/category/filers-files/

The point I am making here is there have been more reports and photos of lights in the sky over the years than you could possibly shake a stick at... Also, I have read MUFON gets around 500 to 1000 UFO reports every month!

AustralopithecineOz , welcome to the club.

Amazing Searcher. This is the first experience I have had with the phenomenon. It is intriguing. I have to admit to watching a few ufo documentaries these past few days.. interesting club to be in.

[rowdy]

Remember there is a full 10 minutes between video sequences so there is 9:30 for the light to come into the frame and 9:30 for it to move out again. It does appear to remain quite still however during those 30 secs. One possibility is an aircraft flying directly towards the camera and then changing course. Its also possible that patchy cloud cover only exposed the slow moving light during one of the 30 sec video sequences. Thought I'd mention these things even though it might not exactly match what is seen in the video.

[David]

Remember there is a full 10 minutes between video sequences so there is 9:30 for the light to come into the frame and 9:30 for it to move out again. It does appear to remain quite still however during those 30 secs. One possibility is an aircraft flying directly towards the camera and then changing course. Its also possible that patchy cloud cover only exposed the slow moving light during one of the 30 sec video sequences. Thought I'd mention these things even though it might not exactly match what is seen in the video.

Thanks Rowdy.. yes the plane flying directly towards the camera crossed my mind but I'm still unsure about that. It is a valid possible explanation I agree.

[Searcher]

Amazing Searcher. This is the first experience I have had with the phenomenon. It is intriguing. I have to admit to watching a few ufo documentaries these past few days.. interesting club to be in.

I'd like to think I've managed to view most of the 'good' UFO docos out there, but if you see something you reckon is a bit special, please don't hesitate to share. Thanks!

[David]

Will do Searcher. Thanks again.

[Yowie bait]

I couldnt get the gif much better without losing a heap of picture quality but this shot is interesting.

Doesnt seem to be obscured by anything and whatever it is looks like a bell shaped ufo.

Would be nice to see the video enlarged if anyone knows how?

[David]

Thanks Yowie Bait. Yes.. if anyone can do magic with their computer skills it would be great.

Bell shaped UFO... interesting. Below is the enlargement of the photograph as best as I can manage..

[Yowie bait]

Thanks Yowie Bait. Yes.. if anyone can do magic with their computer skills it would be great.

Bell shaped UFO... interesting. Below is the enlargement of the photograph as best as I can manage..

Do you think they are trees branches in the picture or the affect of enlarging? It would be interesting to see ithe light superimposed on the daylight photo.

[David]

Thanks Yowie Bait. Yes.. if anyone can do magic with their computer skills it would be great.

Bell shaped UFO... interesting. Below is the enlargement of the photograph as best as I can manage..

Do you think they are trees branches in the picture or the affect of enlarging? It would be interesting to see ithe light superimposed on the daylight photo.

Agreed. Unfortunately I don't have the skills to do that. Maybe another member might help.

I'll post the daytime and nightime shots below..

DSCF0156.JPG

DSCF0030.JPG

[rowbe]

Don't have the know how to superimpose electronically, but if you print the pictures and superimpose, the light would be just right of the tree trunk and about 6 or 7 mm from the mountain top (nearly at the peak). So tree limbs and wind may cause the distortion, especially noticeable in the enlargements. Not sure what the light would be though. Also, not knowing the area, is there a tower on the mountain at all (e.g., telecommunications tower, etc)?

[David]

Don't have the know how to superimpose electronically, but if you print the pictures and superimpose, the light would be just right of the tree trunk and about 6 or 7 mm from the mountain top (nearly at the peak). So tree limbs and wind may cause the distortion, especially noticeable in the enlargements. Not sure what the light would be though. Also, not knowing the area, is there a tower on the mountain at all (e.g., telecommunications tower, etc)?

No. No lights on the mountain as far as I'm aware. The mountains name is Mount Tennant.

[rowbe]

There are a couple of structures at the summit of Mt Tennent (Namadgi National Park), ACT, including a tower. From other street views of the besser brick structure there are visible cables (possibly electricity) at the base (not in this picture). One of these structures could have provided the light.

Capture 2.png

[rowbe]

Forgot to mention, I used Google Earth Pro to check the summit e.g., location of structures.