What In Hell's Name Was This?

[Mintaka]

I'm no fantsasist, I like facts and that's why I like this forum. People who know their stuff.

 

Tonight I was looking at a clear night sky, cloudless, above Gibraltar.

 

You have the three stars of orion's belt and above them Betelgeuse, reddish and shimmering.

 

I was staring at this part of the sky for several minutes and saw something flash.

 

Then , again, at ten second intervals, in the same part of the sky, in the dark patch of sky between the 3 stars of Orion's belt and Betelgeuse.

 

I expected to see the object had moved in between the 10 second intervals, but it did not.

 

Movement, any kind, would have meant a plane perhaps, or a satellite.

 

I stared at this object for 10 minutes, flashing at 10 second intervals, but it did not move AT ALL in that space of time.

 

Then, it suddenly started to get fainter, after 10 minutes, still flashing at 10 second intervals, but now moving as if up towards betelgeuse, fainter and fainter with each flash.

 

No steady constant movement as with a satellite and definitely not a plane.

 

What could this have been?

[CraigD]

Weird!

 

A regularly blinking light certainly sounds artificial.

 

My first guess would be, despite your certainty it was not, that this was an aircraft, either an airplane traveling nearly directly toward you or away from you, or a stationary helicopter.

 

My next would be an unusual meteor shower where the swarm struck the atmosphere at such an angle that they appeared stationary during their brightest moment.

 

If Gibraltar were near an observatory with one, I'd wonder if you'd witnessed some unusual switching of a laser guide star being tested, but though I've not found a list of all their locations, I suspect there's not one thereabouts.

 

It could be a some sort of research, or even a prank, involving an illuminated balloon.

 

It seem nearly impossible to me that you saw is star, because a variable star simply can't change brightness anywhere near as quickly as you describe.

 

I can't entirely rule out a spacecraft, but for one to be brightly visible as you describe, it would have to be either gigantic (and reflecting the sun), or a very bright light emitter. This pretty much rules out, I think, anything but something very secret, or of extraterrestrial origin. There are many reasons to doubt that either exist, so while I can't rule the possibility out entirely, I consider it unlikely.

 

A solar sail spacecraft like IKAROS might, if behaving abnormally, be able to produce an effect like you describe, but none should be in the sky at this time, so again, it'd have to be either a secret mission or ETs, IMHO unlikely and unlikely-er.

 

Well, those are my guesses. Perhaps one will strike you as a good explanation of what you saw.

 

Keep an eye out for this to happen again. If it does, the best images you can capture, from a phone camera to one attached to a telescope, would be great.

[sanctus]

Or just Iridium flare? The cool thing about this hypothesis is that you can easily check it online. There are some iridium flare prediction programs on the net, so you should be able to check if it was the case...

 

But then I do not know if you get many flares...

[LaurieAG]

Hi Sanctus,

 

But then I do not know if you get many flares...

 

You can get them from feedback loops with 2 mirrors as well, but they only represent what you see from a loop with three angles of rotation and a couple of mirrors.

 

[Mintaka]

Thank you for your hypotheses.

 

I'm kind've persuaded by the flash caused by a rotating satellite, because it was at regular 10 second intervals, but not being an expert I can't be sure.

 

I'm so used to planes and satellites crossing, and what they look like.

 

I will watch out for it and keep my new camera handy....thanks again! :)

[Mintaka]

Or just Iridium flare? The cool thing about this hypothesis is that you can easily check it online. There are some iridium flare prediction programs on the net, so you should be able to check if it was the case...

 

But then I do not know if you get many flares...

 

i like it. :)

[joekgamer]

Stars have been observed that turn on/off every fraction of a second, so why not one every ten seconds? Or it could be a normal star that is being obscured by something, maybe a planet, over and over. The movement could be accounted for by some change in refraction.

 

Did it start moving with or against the Earth's orbit/roation? The Greek used the term planet (or its origin at least; I don't remember) because it meant 'wanderer', and the planets would seem to change directions when the Earth would pass them. Maybe this is a variation of that? It ccould be different because of the change in scale. Of course, this is pretty much just speculation.