ccm Posted July 28, 2006 Share Posted July 28, 2006 Just stood in my garden looking at the stars when I saw something flying across the Island from west to east. Quite high up, no flashing lights, no noise, travelling around 15 times quicker than a transatlantic jet if not quicker. I'm not a believer in UFOs so discounting that theory. Can military craft fly that quick? Saw it bang on 1 a.m. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
haX0red_Account Posted July 28, 2006 Share Posted July 28, 2006 commercial satellite perhaps? hang around at the same time and see if it comes back. Chances are if it was a military craft capable of that, then it wouldn't be that easy to see Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albert Tatlock Posted July 28, 2006 Share Posted July 28, 2006 I'd put a tenner on a satellite - or even the International Space Station (which I have seen from the island a few times. You can look on the Nasa site to see what areas it's orbit covers - as it changes). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
THRILLER Posted July 28, 2006 Share Posted July 28, 2006 Yesturday morning at about 3.00/4.00am I saw a search light in the sky over Baldrine and thought it was a Chopper looking for someone as i had seen police a few times in Onchan. So i openend the door of my vehicle to have a listen and there was no noise, so i drove round to the Baldrine clock for a better view and it had gone, It was really misty at the time so i couldnt make out what it was, it had no flashing lights only a search light. I got home and checked the news to see if anyone was missing and found nothing...it was really strange Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
x-in-man Posted July 28, 2006 Share Posted July 28, 2006 The ISS moves very fast and due to its orbit and the sun reflections it traces a well defined arc in the sky. Its appears as if form nowhere and dissapears in the same manner a few minutes later. Its a large chunk of mechanno and reflects a lot of sun from its solar panels and even to the naked eye seems very very bright. Normal sats. do not display the 'arc' as that of the ISS - on a bright night (which last night was) they can be mistaken for high alt. jets at first sight, but their speed, no strobes, jet noise or con-trail confirms them as a sat. Unless that blasted Euro Fighter has been playing about again, but then I heard no sonic booms last night! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xbones Posted July 28, 2006 Share Posted July 28, 2006 Its a large chunk of mechanno and reflects a lot of sun from its solar panels Surely solar panels try their best to absorb the light, not relfect it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GD4ELI Posted July 28, 2006 Share Posted July 28, 2006 I'd put a tenner on a satellite - or even the International Space Station (which I have seen from the island a few times. You can look on the Nasa site to see what areas it's orbit covers - as it changes). ISS was my guess, but I've just checked the location at 1 AM Manx time - it wasn't remotely visible. Maybe an Owl ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
x-in-man Posted July 28, 2006 Share Posted July 28, 2006 Its a large chunk of mechanno and reflects a lot of sun from its solar panels Surely solar panels try their best to absorb the light, not relfect it? Absord the energy from the photons, the 'white light' bit of the spectrum is of little use to them. They have a non reflecting cover(s) to reduce reflection to about 5-10% - these allow the panels to work at around 60-70% but the sun is BIG, very BIG, and viewed against a dark sky even the 5-10% reflected will show as bright white light. The moon is only visable due to reflected light from the sun and there are no panels up there. (Although there could be - as no one has ever been there we still have to find out - but thats another longer running subject!) If these non-reflectors were not fitted the cells would only work at about 20% and the white light reflected would quite possibly be seen during the daylight hours during a pass, the same way as the windows of houses and cars can be seen reflecting the sun for several 10s of miles even in our polluted atmosphere. Space (like a bad party) has no atmosphere to defract this light. Only the visable part of this reflected white light makes it through the atmosphere from the panels to earth. As the earths atmosphere is only about 20 miles 'thick' this white light has little chance to be refracted and so appears as bright - almost perfect white light. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chinahand Posted July 28, 2006 Share Posted July 28, 2006 I was also out last night looking at the stars ... saw loads of satellites zooming by. Your description is exactly what I was seeing ... a standard commercial satellite is sufficient, you don't need the ISS. For those who want to know about solar panels in space, and especially Iridium flares which are great fun to watch check out: HERE. Enjoy looking at those stars ... Andromeda was lovely and clear last night ... two and a bit million light years away ... now that's a long way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deejay Denzel Posted July 28, 2006 Share Posted July 28, 2006 I have seen satelites go past on a few occasions, always better tobe out of lit town areas as the glare of street lighting can often shroud the depth of starfield and faint light reflecting sources of satelites. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ccm Posted July 28, 2006 Author Share Posted July 28, 2006 Thanks everyone for your input but I'd be surprised if it was a satellite. I've been watching them for years and I've never seen one like this before. It took about ten seconds to cross the sky nowhere near as slow moving as a satellite. I've watched satellites cross the sky, bounce in and out of the atmosphere on occasion etc, and this looked to be closer to the ground, not by much but still on what I saw it was unlike any satellite I've seen before. It was lit but nothing flashing and as I said before far too quick for a commercial airliner - maybe someone in the NW of England saw it too Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OneArmedScissor Posted July 28, 2006 Share Posted July 28, 2006 I remember back around the summer of '99 maybe myself and a couple of friends were out at derbyhaven in the early hours and we saw something very similar. A small solid light crossed the entire sky from west to east in about 10 seconds without a sound. We actually all thought that it was quite high in the sky though. I'm no expert and maybe it was a satellite but I've never seen anything move that quick before or since. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.