45 replies to this topic

[bouncer]

And for once, a steady cam on a tripod recording the sky... this does look a bit strange..

A mysterious, flashing UFO was caught on video by UK Skywatch. What is it?

The unidentified flying object, when lit, looks like any other star in the background of a time-lapse video of the night sky over the UK. But, unlike any other object nearby, this one flashes on and off at roughly one-minute intervals.

Such behavior is commonly caught on tape by known aircraft making its way through the sky. But this UFO blinks on and off, flashing brilliantly for just a second at a time.

News and vid here:

http://news.gather.c...281474981205786


My only thought is the mention of 'time-lapse', could this be a real reason it 'seems' to flash?  hhmmmm

[Sky Scanner]

I don't quite get that footage...it's obviously on a fixed tripod, and slightly out of focus, but the star drift is pulled back between flashes, that suggests to me they are looping the same flash over and over.......could be wrong, hope I am...

[bouncer]

The Sky Scanner, on 22 March 2012 - 08:34 PM, said:

I don't quite get that footage...it's obviously on a fixed tripod, and slightly out of focus, but the star drift is pulled back between flashes, that suggests to me they are looping the same flash over and over.......could be wrong, hope I am...

Interesting observation, I shall watch again...

[bouncer]

The Sky Scanner, on 22 March 2012 - 08:34 PM, said:

I don't quite get that footage...it's obviously on a fixed tripod, and slightly out of focus, but the star drift is pulled back between flashes, that suggests to me they are looping the same flash over and over.......could be wrong, hope I am...

SkyScanner, I've sussed it, watch the vid again, as soon as you see a genuine star... about mid-right of screen, place your mouse pointer on it and leave it alone while you watch....the stars do indeed continue moving, so not looped

[Sky Scanner]

bouncer, on 22 March 2012 - 08:48 PM, said:

SkyScanner, I've sussed it, watch the vid again, as soon as you see a genuine star... about mid-right of screen, place your mouse pointer on it and leave it alone while you watch....the stars do indeed continue moving, so not looped

Just tried it and yep you're dead right, the drift is consistent

[bouncer]

The Sky Scanner, on 22 March 2012 - 08:52 PM, said:

Just tried it and yep you're dead right, the drift is consistent

so now the plot CAN thicken...wonder what the co-ords were? And wonder if skywatch will watch for it again? I know I would!!

[Sky Scanner]

bouncer, on 22 March 2012 - 08:58 PM, said:

so now the plot CAN thicken...wonder what the co-ords were? And wonder if skywatch will watch for it again? I know I would!!

I don't recognise the patch of sky off the top of my head...but I can check in the morning...I wouldn't be surprised to hear they were looking South/West though, since it's a nice view at the moment. I think the flash is more to do with a combination of out-of-focus and passing cloud cover....it looks a little more spectacular on film when it's slightly out of focus...

If no one's sussed it by morning i'll look the co-ordinates up and see what star it is!

[Sky Scanner]

I should add that when I said cloud cover, I obviously don't mean thick cloud or even particularly visible cloud. If you look South/west at the moment during the evening you'll see a nice bright object in our skies, watch it dim and flash brighter as the faintest of cloud passes it!

[bouncer]

The Sky Scanner, on 22 March 2012 - 09:15 PM, said:

I should add that when I said cloud cover, I obviously don't mean thick cloud or even particularly visible cloud. If you look South/west at the moment during the evening you'll see a nice bright object in our skies, watch it dim and flash brighter as the faintest of cloud passes it!

tell me if you see something else please? if you watch from approx 0.12 to about 0.16..after the wotsit flashes, what looks like a meteor speeds down and to the left, extremely quick. But can that be so on time lapse? or am I bloody see things? try viewing full screen and run that time frame again and again

[Sky Scanner]

bouncer, on 22 March 2012 - 09:45 PM, said:

tell me if you see something else please? if you watch from approx 0.12 to about 0.16..after the wotsit flashes, what looks like a meteor speeds down and to the left, extremely quick. But can that be so on time lapse? or am I bloody see things? try viewing full screen and run that time frame again and again

Yeah I noticed that first time around...I think what might be happening is the term 'time lapse' has been used a little loosely here. You can see even when you leave the mouse marker fixed on a star that the drift is constant, then jumps slightly, then constant again...it's constant enough for me to think now it's not looped (after you pointed it out)..but what they might have done is be playing 1-2 seconds pre and post flash, with the time inbetween flashes time lapsed...so it's not time lapsed really, it's edited more then anything to do away with the gaps between flashes....that's my initial thought anyway...

[bouncer]

The Sky Scanner, on 22 March 2012 - 09:52 PM, said:

Yeah I noticed that first time around...I think what might be happening is the term 'time lapse' has been used a little loosely here. You can see even when you leave the mouse marker fixed on a star that the drift is constant, then jumps slightly, then constant again...it's constant enough for me to think now it's not looped (after you pointed it out)..but what they might have done is be playing 1-2 seconds pre and post flash, with the time inbetween flashes time lapsed...so it's not time lapsed really, it's edited more then anything to do away with the gaps between flashes....that's my initial thought anyway...

Cool and you may be right. With a name like SkyScanner you'd have a better idea than a middle aged bouncer!!

[thewonderman]

The footage isnt the best but it does look like their could be something to it dont know what though it could be anything.

check out this video also a nightwatch.

[DONTEATUS]

I like it ! so therfore its a Real UFO !

[Chrlzs]

A couple of quick observations:

'UK Skywatch' seems to be being presented as if it was some sort of offically organised skywatch program, yet it appears to just be the youtuber's moniker - there does not appear to be any such thing as UK Skywatch.  What's more, his channel is locked so you can't find out what/who he is, or anything about what he is doing, with what equipment.
There is not a shred of useful information with the video - no equipment details, no settings, no time and location, no direction, etc.  He has been asked for that info in the comments, but no reply.  Also, the video obviously 'skips' - if it's only a minute between ob's, WHY?

I have a couple of possibilities *if it is genuine*, but frankly, given the way this was presented by the youtuber and his obvious (deliberate?) disinterest, I shall just call it FAKE.    That's UK Skywatcher video FAKE (for the search engines...).

Actually, it doesn't look obviously fake (still could be), but it might as well be without any provenance or information.  If UKS wants to answer the questions, come here, or do anything to help out, I'll gleefully apologise for my accusation.

By the way, the virtually unknown science of astrometry could be used to quite easily identify the starfield, but I can't be bothered given the video owner's apparent disinterest.

[bouncer]

Chrlzs, on 23 March 2012 - 09:09 AM, said:

A couple of quick observations:

'UK Skywatch' seems to be being presented as if it was some sort of offically organised skywatch program, yet it appears to just be the youtuber's moniker - there does not appear to be any such thing as UK Skywatch.  What's more, his channel is locked so you can't find out what/who he is, or anything about what he is doing, with what equipment.
There is not a shred of useful information with the video - no equipment details, no settings, no time and location, no direction, etc.  He has been asked for that info in the comments, but no reply.  Also, the video obviously 'skips' - if it's only a minute between ob's, WHY?

I have a couple of possibilities *if it is genuine*, but frankly, given the way this was presented by the youtuber and his obvious (deliberate?) disinterest, I shall just call it FAKE.    That's UK Skywatcher video FAKE (for the search engines...).

Actually, it doesn't look obviously fake (still could be), but it might as well be without any provenance or information.  If UKS wants to answer the questions, come here, or do anything to help out, I'll gleefully apologise for my accusation.

By the way, the virtually unknown science of astrometry could be used to quite easily identify the starfield, but I can't be bothered given the video owner's apparent disinterest.

Youre spot on, I thought with a name like skywatch it'd be some club/organization that does the watching but could find no website or assoc by that name either...