check this link out. i would really like to hear more about these photographs...

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?...02/MN221641.DTL

The photographs may not be all that unusual, due to what occurs when the shuttle reenters the earth's atmosphere. Here is a brief description;

"Lineberry described what happens next as a function of the speed of the spacecraft and the increasing density of the atmosphere, which translates the kinetic energy of the shuttle into heat.

Early in the descent most of the heat energy is generated by speed of the vehicle dropping through rarefied air. At lower altitude, however, the spacecraft slows down but the air becomes denser, increasing friction -- and heat.

It is not a one-to-one tradeoff, Lineberry emphasized, and the heat load rises dramatically until it peaks, usually around an altitude of 230,000 feet, with the shuttle traveling about 15,000 miles per hour.

By that time, the heat and friction are so great that the air immediately in front of the shuttle becomes ionized, Lineberry said. "This is not air at all, but a plasm that's electrically charged. Radio signals cannot be heard through it."

Link to full article; CLICK HERE

The photographer's description from the article you linked;

"The pictures, taken with a Nikon 8 camera on a tripod, reveal what appear to be bright electrical phenomena flashing around the track of the shuttle's passage....."

More disturbingly, however, are the dubious reports that are beginning to pop up around the net describing a bright object seen close to the shuttle just before it began to break up, and of at least one amateur video that shows a 'rod' like object following the shuttle.

Magikman

ive heard of other photos that are out there that the owners are not releasing at this time. makes you wonder what they show?

id like to see the 'rod' video too

I just came across this article, it gives some new info.
http://www.cnn.com/2003/TECH/space/02/03/s...ttle/index.html

ya, i read that one too. i saw a pic today on an italian website that claimed to show a crack in the wing. too bad i lost the link, even though the picture was grainy and hard to see.

anyone else see that pic and have a link?

I did see an image on BBC News taken in orbit from the shuttle itself, supposedly showing what looks like a large dent in one of the wings, but I don't think it's the same one that you're describing.

There is further development on this story with quite a bit more information, although still no public release of the photograph's.

CLICK HERE