Help me identify this UFO

[Kaylee]

No I don’t think it belonged to ET. :)

Last Friday night I went to an outdoor performance (http://www.yelp.com/events/new-york-the-metropolitan-opera-summer-hd-festival---free-aug-29---sept-7) with some friends. Not being particularly interested in opera, I spent more time looking at the sky than the screen.

I saw an extremely bright light and I thought it might be one of the planets. My friend didn’t think so because it was flickering. Well, turned out he was probably right – the next time I looked for it, about 15 minutes later, it was gone.

This has been bugging me, and I’ve been trying to figure out what it was. Is there a web site that can help people identify UFOs? My second guess is perhaps it was a helicopter hovering in one place.

Thanks!

[dbalsdon]

Before anyone else says it: you've probably most likely not given enough detail to determine what it was... were there any clouds at all in the sky? What direction were you looking? After looking at Stellarium, for that night, Jupiter seems to have been the only really bright celestial object easily visible in the night sky(besides the moon). If there were clouds, they could've maybe blocked it out when you next looked up...

Or, as you said, it could maybe have been a helicopter. If it was a large outdoor event, maybe a local news channel had one up in the air?

[Kaylee]

Yeah, I know I didn't give a lot of information. There really isn't that much to tell and I didn't have a camera with me.

From where I was sitting it was in the lower part of the sky and in the SW.

There were clouds -- but they were moving in and out. But when that area of the sky cleared up again, the strong flickering light was gone -- so I don't think it was a planet because it was in it's position for such a brief amount of time.

I wasn't sure if it could be a helicopter, because I didn't know that it could hover in one position for so long, and that at night it might look just like a flickering light. Some planes were also flying by, and their outlines were more visible. But perhaps because it was a helicopter its outline wasn't as visible as the planes because it's smaller and it's light was stronger or it's outline was too close to its light to be visible???? (There probably is a better way to express that.) It's still my best guess for now and since that idea didn't get shot down, I guess its a realistic possibility. :) The event didn't get a lot of coverage so I don't think it was a helicopter from a local news channel. But the organization behind it has big bucks and it makes sense in hindsight that they would want photos of the crowd.

I took a look at Stellarium's web site. Looks interesting. Would you happen to know if the download is spyware free? :p

[dbalsdon]

I took a look at Stellarium's web site. Looks interesting. Would you happen to know if the download is spyware free? :xtongue

As far as I can tell, it is. I've been using it for a fair while, and had no problems.

[Kaylee]

Cool. Thanks! :)

[Stray Cat]

JFK is South of that location... It is possible when a plane is coming directly at you at a far enough distance for it to look like it's hovering. And they do tend to land at a very low altitude :D

Not saying it was, but it can't be ruled out.

[Caustic Logic]

Glowing spot that disappeared in an unseen way. If directions work out, could be Jupiter covered by invisible high-level clouds, unless stars were clearly visible as well. Could be a helicopter, or plane on a rough line towards Kaylee would indeed appear almost motionless (tho growing slightly in brightness). A UFO in the loosest sense, and I can't say it was not a genuine UFO, but no reason to believe it was either (so far). Probably a dead end?

[Marduk]

No I don’t think it belonged to ET. :)

Last Friday night I went to an outdoor performance (http://www.yelp.com/events/new-york-the-metropolitan-opera-summer-hd-festival---free-aug-29---sept-7) with some friends. Not being particularly interested in opera, I spent more time looking at the sky than the screen.

I saw an extremely bright light and I thought it might be one of the planets. My friend didn’t think so because it was flickering. Well, turned out he was probably right – the next time I looked for it, about 15 minutes later, it was gone.

This has been bugging me, and I’ve been trying to figure out what it was. Is there a web site that can help people identify UFOs? My second guess is perhaps it was a helicopter hovering in one place.

Thanks!
if it was low on the horizon it could have been a satellite
it could also have been jupiter
a helicopter
an aircraft
a balloon
a chinese lantern
or the mother ship from Alpha Centauri,

not enough details bud,

[Kaylee]

JFK is South of that location... It is possible when a plane is coming directly at you at a far enough distance for it to look like it's hovering. And they do tend to land at a very low altitude :D

Not saying it was, but it can't be ruled out.

Very cool -- I didn't know that. So -- we have another possibility! :)

[Kaylee]

Glowing spot that disappeared in an unseen way. If directions work out, could be Jupiter covered by invisible high-level clouds, unless stars were clearly visible as well. Could be a helicopter, or plane on a rough line towards Kaylee would indeed appear almost motionless (tho growing slightly in brightness). A UFO in the loosest sense, and I can't say it was not a genuine UFO, but no reason to believe it was either (so far). Probably a dead end?

Hmm, I think actually it was a UFO in the strictist sense. It was a flying object and we couldn't identify it. :)

I think a better acronym for ET's spacecraft would be AFO -- alien flying object. :p But as the saying goes, my opinion and a metrocard will get me on the subway. :)

Re Jupiter, I think this time of year it's in the SE part of the sky. (vs SW where I saw the "UFO".) And in NYC, the only stars that are visible are the human kind. :(

[Astrophotographer]

Jupiter was in the SE after sunset. It would have to be late in the evening/early morning for it to be in the Southwest. The only bright star in the SW is Antares. Arcturus is in the western sky. Both are pretty bright and can scintillate well under the right conditions. It is possible that in the time between seeing it, enough time elapsed to where the diurnal motion caused it to set or be too low to be seen. However, I tend to think it may be something else like a plane landing light or something like that.

[Kaylee]

if it was low on the horizon it could have been a satellite
it could also have been jupiter
a helicopter
an aircraft
a balloon
a chinese lantern
or the mother ship from Alpha Centauri,

not enough details bud,

I know you posted in jest -- but I'm glad you did anyway. :) I had suggested a satellite -- but then we thought a satellite would be too small to see with the unaided eye. But thanks to your post I looked it up here:
http://www.satobs.org/beginner.html

It probably wasn't a satellite -- but only because it was too late after sunset.

Wow, satellites are actually visible to the unaided eye. Amazing.

Its unlikely that I'll ever know with certainty what it was -- but less than a dozen posts and I already learned a few things I didn't know before.

I almost didn't post my question because I knew I didn't have a lot of the details -- but I'm glad I did.

[Kaylee]

Jupiter was in the SE after sunset. It would have to be late in the evening/early morning for it to be in the Southwest. The only bright star in the SW is Antares. Arcturus is in the western sky. Both are pretty bright and can scintillate well under the right conditions. It is possible that in the time between seeing it, enough time elapsed to where the diurnal motion caused it to set or be too low to be seen. However, I tend to think it may be something else like a plane landing light or something like that.

Thanks Astrophotographer -- more interesting facts for me to ponder! If I lived in the suburbs I'd probably get a telescope -- this is all very interesting.

[icerat]

I live not far from an airport and often see something like this. In my case it's as mentioned earlier - a plane landing or (usually) having taken off and now flying straight out from my field of vision so it looks like it's stationary. I suspect at dusk the light can actually be a sunlight reflection, which disappears the instant the plan turns.

[Marduk]

I know you posted in jest
Not true, the satellite I mentioned because I have been stunned by them myself, its easy to see if its a satellite if you have observed it for a long time, it will often cross the vault of the sky in a couple of hours, they are also easily blocked by Noctilucent clouds which can't be seen when its dark

It probably wasn't a satellite -- but only because it was too late after sunset.

from your link

Regardless how bright the satellite may be, you need clear, and relatively dark skies to observe them. If because of light pollution you can only see the brightest stars and planets, then you will only be able to see the brightest satellites and there aren’t many of those.
so you are more likely to see high orbit satellites long after sunset and theres thousands of them up there all queuing up to be misidentified

[Kaylee]

Not true, the satellite I mentioned because I have been stunned by them myself, its easy to see if its a satellite if you have observed it for a long time, it will often cross the vault of the sky in a couple of hours, they are also easily blocked by Noctilucent clouds which can't be seen when its dark


from your link

so you are more likely to see high orbit satellites long after sunset and theres thousands of them up there all queuing up to be misidentified

You're right, I had misread the web site. I'll try to walk by there again on a clearer night when I'm in the area and see if I can see it again.

[Kaylee]

I live not far from an airport and often see something like this. In my case it's as mentioned earlier - a plane landing or (usually) having taken off and now flying straight out from my field of vision so it looks like it's stationary. I suspect at dusk the light can actually be a sunlight reflection, which disappears the instant the plan turns.

Hmm, if it was a plane then that would explain why the light simply didn't get larger as it came closer to the airport. Thanks! :)

[Unlike a Bull]

I would guess it's a kladerian cruiser. I hear they've been having trouble with their cloaking devices. Actually, I believe they've recently received a citation from the galactic law enforcement agency for just such an occurrence. They really should keep their interstellar vehicles compliant with regulation. But, you know what they say: "If you wanted it to work, you shouldn't have bought Kladerian."

You may want to report this to the proper authorities. Of course, you may have already reported it and had your memory swiped.

[kittynh]

Haha! I'd go with the plane landing at an angle you aren't used to. heck, even during daylight hours that's fooled me. I was driving by the airport near Hartford CT the other week, and a plane landing at just the right (or wrong) angle to me appeared to be a perfect UFO shape. There were 3 people in the car and everyone "saw" the perfect shape, and we all wished we had a camera. It was a military aircraft (landing at the reserve center there), and when the sun was hitting it at just the right angle.... best IFO that looks like a UFO I've ever seen.

[Just thinking]

Wow, satellites are actually visible to the unaided eye. Amazing.

Yes ... most look like ordinary stars, not all that unusual. Not too long ago I posted a sighting of mine that turned out (most likely) to be the ISS. Damn, that thing is brighter than Venus. It took about two minutes to cross the sky, and it was just after dusk --- early evening. Might that have been what you saw?

[Skeptic Ginger]

Natural Identifed Flying Objects (http://www.unmuseum.org/ifonat.htm)The natural object most commonly mistaken for a UFO is the planet Venus. ...Venus is usually seen in the early evening or predawn hours near the horizon. It is the brightest natural object in the sky short of the sun and moon. Because it spends much of its time near the horizon, Venus is often blocked from the view of casual observers of the sky. When they do see it, they may be startled by its brilliance,... there are special conditions that will make this planet appear to move more rapidly.

If a layer of cold air is trapped under a layer of warm air, light rays can be refracted or reflected so that objects that have set below the horizon may suddenly again become visible as a mirage. As the air layers move, the object may also suddenly appear to shift position, giving the illusion of high speed movement. This effect can also magnify the object so that a planet, like Venus, doesn't appear as a point, but a ball. Finally, the same shimmering effect that causes stars to twinkle can also make the image of the planet change color and/or blink. I myself was once fooled for a few minutes as Venus came slowly over the horizon. It moved fast enough to seem like a UFO but slower than an aircraft. After about 10 minutes I figured out it was Venus.

[MRC_Hans]

JFK is South of that location... It is possible when a plane is coming directly at you at a far enough distance for it to look like it's hovering. And they do tend to land at a very low altitude :D

Not saying it was, but it can't be ruled out.

Plane taking off. The floodlights often seem to flicker. Thisi s because it is a very concentrated beam, so if you are in the edges of it, even small vibrations in the plane (the floodlights are usually situated quite far out on the wings) makes the perceived intensity vary. Once it was at altitude, the floodlights were switched off.

Distance and sharp angle to your position made the light seem stationary.

Hans

[TjW]

Saturday night in SoCal we watched a pass of the ISS. Around 20:05 PDT. It was very bright, took a couple of minutes to cross the sky, then abruptly went dim as it reached the terminator for its altitude.
My nephew looked it up a little later: it was predicted to be magnitude -4.

[Kaylee]

Haha! I'd go with the plane landing at an angle you aren't used to.

Yep - based on all the posts and what I actually saw -- this is probably the best bet.

heck, even during daylight hours that's fooled me. I was driving by the airport near Hartford CT the other week, and a plane landing at just the right (or wrong) angle to me appeared to be a perfect UFO shape. There were 3 people in the car and everyone "saw" the perfect shape, and we all wished we had a camera. It was a military aircraft (landing at the reserve center there), and when the sun was hitting it at just the right angle.... best IFO that looks like a UFO I've ever seen.

Cool! I wish you had had a camera also! :)

Saturday night in SoCal we watched a pass of the ISS. Around 20:05 PDT. It was very bright, took a couple of minutes to cross the sky, then abruptly went dim as it reached the terminator for its altitude.
My nephew looked it up a little later: it was predicted to be magnitude -4.

Yes ... most look like ordinary stars, not all that unusual. Not too long ago I posted a sighting of mine that turned out (most likely) to be the ISS. Damn, that thing is brighter than Venus. It took about two minutes to cross the sky, and it was just after dusk --- early evening. Might that have been what you saw?

The light was very stationary -- until it disappeared. So I think the people who have said it was probably a plane directly perpendicular to my viewpoint until it made a sharp turn are probably right.

Natural Identifed Flying Objects (http://www.unmuseum.org/ifonat.htm)I myself was once fooled for a few minutes as Venus came slowly over the horizon. It moved fast enough to seem like a UFO but slower than an aircraft. After about 10 minutes I figured out it was Venus.

Thanks for the link skeptigirl -- that is the type of link I was looking for!

Plane taking off. The floodlights often seem to flicker. Thisi s because it is a very concentrated beam, so if you are in the edges of it, even small vibrations in the plane (the floodlights are usually situated quite far out on the wings) makes the perceived intensity vary. Once it was at altitude, the floodlights were switched off.

Distance and sharp angle to your position made the light seem stationary.

Hans

I think the plane was coming in to land -- but I guess that any plane that has started to drop in altitude would put on its flood lights at that point? They wouldn't wait until they were closer to the airport?

Per mapquest.com, I was about 17 miles away from the JFK airport and about 10 miles away from La Guardia airport. La Guardia is actually NE of where I was, but the pilot may have been directed to approach from the south.