2
$\begingroup$

I was enjoying a casual naked eye view of the summer sky last night around midnight in a new jersey beach town. The sky was pretty clear for around here.The Milkyway was just visible and there was no could cover or buildings higher than me so I saw from Cassiopeia to Sagittarius.

I was hoping for a meteor and I got one I have never seen before. I will try to describe it.

Appearance: .It appeared out of no where like any other meteor but it had no streak AT ALL. As it traveled it shimmered. It was blue colored and not particularly bright perhaps fuzzy. The shimmering was the best way I can describe it.

Trajectory: It began high in the sky slightly to the east around the "southern" part of the constellation Aquila. It traveled west. It was as fast as any other meteor but as I said had no tail. It lasted very long... say 4 or 5 seconds. It didn't have an arching trajectory like something lower. It traveled straight and as it disappeared, it seemed to travel off into vs down to the horizon.

I was so astonished that I practiced the speed it went with my finger after it finished. It moved from say Vega to Altair in less around a second.

It couldn't have been any kind of craft since it appeared and disappeared and traveled so quickly. I have seen 100's of meteors of many kinds but not any like this. What did i see?

I tried to be as detailed as possible. If I missed anything, I'll add it in the comments.

For the record, I am not a believer in visiting aliens or supernatural events. BUT you will laugh at this. Years ago,I had read about an Ozark superstition that if you say "Money" three times when a meteor appears, you will get rich. I liked that one and since I stargaze a lot, I figured I'd get the opportunity. Well I had my chance and then some but I was so astonished, I forgot to say it. Looks like I will have to keep working for a living :)

Improve this question
$\endgroup$
4
  • $\begingroup$ Could have been any number of satellites, the IIS, or an Iridium flare. Try this site to see if anything was above your location during that time ... heavens-above.com $\endgroup$
    – Carl
    Commented Jul 22, 2014 at 11:33
  • $\begingroup$ Difficult for it to be a satellite if it's moving that fast. $\endgroup$
    – Takku
    Commented Jul 23, 2014 at 8:03
  • $\begingroup$ Agreed Takku... It appeared very fast, high up and the line was tangent. $\endgroup$
    – Itumac
    Commented Jul 27, 2014 at 21:39
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ Might have been a fireball. $\endgroup$
    – JohannesD
    Commented Jul 29, 2014 at 17:05

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
2
$\begingroup$

It could have been an Iridium Satellite. Their solar panels are at an angle such that the sun reflects off them causing them to look like a bright flash that crosses the sky for a few seconds. I use a site called Heavens Above that allows you to enter your exact location so you can see what objects appear above, at what time and in what direction. Check that site out and see if any Iridium pass over there.

Improve this answer
$\endgroup$
2
  • $\begingroup$ Satellites should take several minutes to traverse the sky and wouldn't disappear, though. $\endgroup$
    – Jeff-Inventor ChromeOS
    Commented Aug 6, 2014 at 18:40
  • $\begingroup$ @Jeff-InventorChromeOS - they do take minutes, but they can disappear, if they enter the shadow. $\endgroup$
    – Florin Andrei
    Commented Aug 30, 2014 at 0:50

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .