Night Sky Live Mystery

Palomar · 2005-02-08 06:23:29

http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/image/ … gif]CONCAM Image

*I'll post the image in a link; might be too large otherwise. It replays 3 times then must be reset. It's at today's Astropix, so I'm separating the image from the caption.

Explanation: What in heavens-above was that? Not everything seen on the night sky is understood. The Night Sky Live (NSL) project keeps its global array of continuously updating web cameras (CONCAMs) always watching the night sky. On the night of 2004 December 17, the fisheye CONCAM perched on top of an active volcano in Haleakala, Hawaii, saw something moving across the night sky that remains mysterious. The NSL team might have disregarded the above streak as unconfirmed, but the Mauna Kea CONCAM on the next Hawaiian island recorded the same thing. The NSL team might then have disregarded the streak as a satellite, but no record of it was found in the heavens-above.com site that usually documents bright satellite events. If you think you have a reasonable explanation for the streak, please contribute to the on-line discussion. Current candidates include a known satellite that was somehow missed by heavens-above, a recently launched rocket, and a passing space rock. Volunteers are solicited by the NSL project to help monitor the operability of each NSL CONCAM, including looking for interesting anomalies such as this. Disclosure: Robert Nemiroff collaborates on both the NSL and APOD projects.

*It says the CONCAM is situated atop an active volcano? Well then, could it be a bit of debris spewed from it? ???

That's my guess.

--Cindy

P.S.: I don't know -- and the caption doesn't state -- how far this CONCAM is from the Mauna Kea CONCAM. Maybe volcanic debris (even if just a tiny bit) can't travel that far, even if somewhat energetically propelled outward? ::shrug::

ERRORIST · 2005-02-09 02:08:14

Looks like an asteroid that is tumbling as it goes by to me.

Dook · 2005-02-09 04:27:04

I just returned from a trip to the Seychelles below the equator. I'd never seen the stars over the southern hemisphere before. I can recognize many of the stars and constellations in the northern hemisphere so when I looked up it really seemed like I was on another planet. There are many more stars over the southern hemisphere. There was very little light refraction.

Palomar · 2005-02-09 08:01:12

ERRORIST: Looks like an asteroid that is tumbling as it goes by to me.

*Well, the stars (particularly the major stars which are named and encased in yellow-green squares at the end of each "play") in the CONCAM image don't appear any brighter nor bigger than what they do with the unaided eye. Thus, it seems the CONCAM doesn't have much -- if any -- magnification. Based on that, if it were an asteroid I seriously doubt CONCAM could see it (much less a tumbling effect -- which, sorry, I myself don't see). I also doubt it's a meteor because it seems to be on just too-steady a course; at least, it doesn't move like meteors I've seen (plenty).

Dook: I just returned from a trip to the Seychelles below the equator. I'd never seen the stars over the southern hemisphere before. I can recognize many of the stars and constellations in the northern hemisphere so when I looked up it really seemed like I was on another planet. There are many more stars over the southern hemisphere. There was very little light refraction.

Sounds nice, Dook. Did you happen to see the Small and Large Magellanic Clouds? I've always wanted to see them. Would be strange, being far below the celestial and Earthly equators, stepping outdoors and looking at an unfamiliar sky. I'm always oriented to the night sky, so again...that'd be a blast. :up: Disorienting...but a blast.

--Cindy

Dook · 2005-02-09 08:18:24

I never got a clear view of the whole sky, too many clouds passing over. The patches of night sky I did see were full of stars so to me it seemed like the whole thing was like looking at the Pleades.

"It's full of stars!"

Grypd · 2005-02-09 18:20:37

It could be an asteroid pulled out of its normal orbit by a gravity well or even an extinct comet type neo. Then again it could be something really ridiculous like a drop of moisture slowly moving down the lens. Note its trail was getting smaller.

Mark Friedenbach · 2005-02-10 11:28:13

It could be an asteroid pulled out of its normal orbit by a gravity well or even an extinct comet type neo. Then again it could be something really ridiculous like a drop of moisture slowly moving down the lens. Note its trail was getting smaller.

Well they said it was confirmed by a second webcam on a different island.

If that's the case, shouldn't they compare the timing of the two images to see how far away it is? The resolution isn't all that great, but they should be able to identify if its in the atmosphere or not.

My guess is a high-flying plane of some sort.

Palomar · 2005-02-14 11:13:32

I never got a clear view of the whole sky, too many clouds passing over. The patches of night sky I did see were full of stars so to me it seemed like the whole thing was like looking at the Pleades.
"It's full of stars!"

*Hmmmm. I can't help wondering if perhaps it was a portion of the Large or Small Magellanic Cloud you saw through the clouds.

Based on what I've read -- and the star charts pertaining to the southern hemisphere I've seen -- that region of the sky is not nearly as well populated with bright (alpha or beta) stars as is the northern hemisphere. But I suppose (and that's all I can do, basically...never having "been there" myself) a lot of that depends upon how further south of both the terrestrial and celestial equators one goes. Folks "just" south of the celestial equator can still see a lot of the alpha stars in many of the major constellations we associate as belonging to the northern hemisphere. But I've read/heard that the further south one goes, the less bright stars there are (except for the Clouds); in fact, some sources seem to indicate the deep southern skies are relatively "devoid" by comparison to its northerly counterpart.

But I've speculated enough on this hear/say, I guess.

I tried to find a current star chart (or "sky map" -- today's preferred term apparently) for that region of the world, but the closest I can find is for New Zealand skies. I tried sleuthing a bit more, but I can't pinpoint anything definitely. Can't find a current sky map for the region you just visited, etc.

--Cindy

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#1 2005-02-08 06:23:29

Re: Night Sky Live Mystery

#2 2005-02-09 02:08:14

Re: Night Sky Live Mystery

#3 2005-02-09 04:27:04

Re: Night Sky Live Mystery

#4 2005-02-09 08:01:12

Re: Night Sky Live Mystery

#5 2005-02-09 08:18:24

Re: Night Sky Live Mystery

#6 2005-02-09 18:20:37

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#7 2005-02-10 11:28:13

Re: Night Sky Live Mystery

#8 2005-02-14 11:13:32

Re: Night Sky Live Mystery

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