Dancing Star In Night Sky

[ChrLzs]

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As I said before, I don't have anything to prove.

Is that why you keep posting, with nothing new to add, while refusing to do anything (even though it's quite easy) to document your claim?

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I really don't care if you believe me or not.

I feel much better about not believing you now....

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I simply came here because I was hoping someone would have the correct explanation, but I see that no one does.

So you already know the correct explanation?  If you don't, how could you know it was the correct one?

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The most logical guess I've seen here is atmospheric conditions. But that doesn't explain why another star very close to this one does not exhibit the same characteristics.

You think that is the most logical, out of all that was said?  I don't, and the problem you raised is why I would dismiss it, if we are to take your observation as completely accurate.

If you are truly seeing what you say, then:

1. You are seeing something extraordinary.

2. If it was me, I'd be doing everything in my power to document it.  And if your description was correct, it would be VERY easy to document.

As I live in Australia, sadly I can't visit you and help, but surely you have at least one friend with a decent knowledge of photography?  Or is there a UM-er living in this region who would like to point their camera thereabouts? - hullo Idaho, Washington, Oregon, Montana, Nth Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan -ians..?

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I'd suggest that you go look for yourself. Any place in the US would show this star in the east at just about first dark. i watched it again tonight.

Yes, any place in the mid to north US (and indeed other countries around the same latitude, should see it) unless of course it is some local phenomena like an RC club flying a drone.  You could verify it was not local by driving a fair distance from your location and seeing what, if any, parallax effects you get.

Here's a picture of that area of sky as it should look tonight (click to enlarge)

- where is it, in relation to Vega?  Where does it go?

 

 Oh, I forgot - you don't care enough.  That's a real shame.

And while on that topic, can you explain why there aren't a lot of other people reporting this?  Do youse yanks not stargaze any more?

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BTW, I have found videos showing very similar movements.

Well, I've looked at all the examples you posted... oh wait, that would be none.  And I am no more convinced.

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You would probably say they were faked

AND give reasons and evidence to prove the fakery, if they were.  It's pretty easy to show evidence for fakery.  If there was no evidence for fakery, I and many others here would get very, very interested.

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, and if I submitted a video you wouldn't believe it either.

All you would have to do is save the original, untouched footage as it came off the camera, to any file storage provider like Dropbox.  Then there are simple ways you/we could verify that it was not retouched.

You've already told us you don't care enough, so don't now pretend that you would really do it.  Instead, DO IT.

As Ben Franklin once said, "A man convinced against his will is of the same opinion still".

As Carl Sagan/James Oberg/? once said, "keep an open mind, but not so open your brains fall out".

Edited July 12, 2017 by ChrLzs
editor shenanigans

[edaho]

On 7/9/2017 at 11:48 PM, Timonthy said:

Well I'm glad that you've seen it, and enjoy it. But it's a bit of a shame really. If it was really a 'dancing star', not in our atmosphere, then it's a phenomena not known and could be very handy to have footage to help to gain interest and start a real study.

What you've described, 'dancing' stars, returning to original positions, sounds like it could be purely atmospheric or meteorological phenomena. 

No chance of you picking up a cheap camera to film it? Or borrow one from a friend? 

I've been doing some research and believe I may have found the answer. It's called the autokinetic effect. Here is a link, or URL to a site that explains it better than I can. 

https://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/climate-weather/blogs/its-not-ufo-its-autokinetic-effect

[ChrLzs]

14 hours ago, edaho said:

I've been doing some research and believe I may have found the answer. It's called the autokinetic effect. Here is a link, or URL to a site that explains it better than I can. 

https://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/climate-weather/blogs/its-not-ufo-its-autokinetic-effect

While your input is most welcome, just by researching the first few pages of this thread that effect was explained and referenced, eg:

 

 

 

 

 

[StarsAreBright]

09/29/2017

for 2 nights now in our small town in southern Indiana I've witnessed the Dancing Stars in the North western sky around 1-4am.  Two stars pretty close together.  I was fishing at the boat ramp with 2 friends, I'm sitting in my chair and realized what I was seeing, tho said nothing yet cause I thought it was eye strain.  We were catfishing and I had my eyes totally focused on that fish pole! Finally after 10 min I spoke up to my friends one of them seeing my star, the other I'd freaking out!! Going on about this jumping star.  But he's seeing a different star. Though I can see his and he can see mine!! We are all in awe about this not understanding what we've seen. Tonight I'm home and get a call from my friend at 2:00am who is excited and freaked out a little waking me to go stand on the porch to tell me he's seeing it again from a buddies house 25 miles away. It's there... what are we seeing??????  Why are we seeing it.  We even called our sheriffs dept that night and when they got there, the officer saw it too.  Wasn't as alarmed as us, but for sure interested.  I love the stars and would love to know what's causing this.  We can't all be crazy.  Right???

[toast]

53 minutes ago, StarsAreBright said:

We can't all be crazy.  Right???

Well, ...

[Sir Smoke aLot]

Atmosphere ( lilkely as whole, including lower atmosphere with clouds ) plays big role in light reflection and all sorts of weird sightings too. Videos similar to those here point to that bmho. Sources of light are well known too i mean the Sun, the reflections from the Moon etc. This post is more like an question to experienced and knowledgable people when it comes to this subject.

But also i'm interested in that '' dancing star '' term, i mean, it doesn't include any Star at all but it's term made to describe light reflection etc? 

[ChrLzs]

On 29/09/2017 at 5:01 PM, StarsAreBright said:

09/29/2017

for 2 nights now in our small town in southern Indiana I've witnessed the Dancing Stars in the North western sky around 1-4am.  Two stars pretty close together.  I was fishing at the boat ramp with 2 friends, I'm sitting in my chair and realized what I was seeing, tho said nothing yet cause I thought it was eye strain.  We were catfishing and I had my eyes totally focused on that fish pole! Finally after 10 min I spoke up to my friends one of them seeing my star, the other I'd freaking out!! Going on about this jumping star.  But he's seeing a different star. Though I can see his and he can see mine!! We are all in awe about this not understanding what we've seen. Tonight I'm home and get a call from my friend at 2:00am who is excited and freaked out a little waking me to go stand on the porch to tell me he's seeing it again from a buddies house 25 miles away. It's there... what are we seeing??????  Why are we seeing it.  We even called our sheriffs dept that night and when they got there, the officer saw it too.  Wasn't as alarmed as us, but for sure interested.  I love the stars and would love to know what's causing this.  We can't all be crazy.  Right???

Read the thread please.

As for your claims, please name the county/town police as there will obviously be a report - what was the reference number?  BTW, I'm very impressed they would send out an officer....

You can't all be crazy, but you can certainly be trolling...........

[ChrLzs]

On 29/09/2017 at 8:57 PM, Sir Smoke aLot said:

Atmosphere ( lilkely as whole, including lower atmosphere with clouds ) plays big role in light reflection and all sorts of weird sightings too. Videos similar to those here point to that bmho. Sources of light are well known too i mean the Sun, the reflections from the Moon etc. This post is more like an question to experienced and knowledgable people when it comes to this subject.

But also i'm interested in that '' dancing star '' term, i mean, it doesn't include any Star at all but it's term made to describe light reflection etc? 

As described earlier, there are various physiological effects that will cause a bright point in a dark sky without reference objects nearby, to dance or jiggle.  Our eyes do that quite often to hone in on images and gather information that your brain then uses to create the final picture that you see.  Plus, atmospheric conditions can not only make things wobble (eg the effects you will often see at sunset), but they can also split the light up, like using a prism.  The brightest stars like Sirius are notable for this - if you look at them when nearer the horizon or just in unstable air conditions, they will 'scintillate', ie not only have a slight wobble, but also have flashes of colours, or tiny little haloes of colours.   Folks who often use telescopes and binoculars are well familiar with this, and that's why we often suggest to those making the claims to just go visit their nearest astronomy clubs  - and instead of being perpetually incredulous, LEARN about optics and their night skies.  They would quickly learn what the effects are and realise they are not special snowflakes.......

But it seems one post is usually their limit, the claims are ridiculously exaggerated, and they will NEVER do the simple things required to show that these stars are not doing what stars just do, normally.

I confess I have lost patience with them, and it depresses me that rather than go outside and get good at observing their night skies, they'd rather just hammer away at their screens / keyboard and yell that the sky is falling...

 

[Sarah sarah]

I to have seen a star dance around last week. It was a 2/3am in the morning I could not believe it or understand. I watch the sky and stars a lot over the years and never to that day seen this. It was scary and exciting at the same time. I am so pleased to here more sightings from others. I also get up at that time regularly for work. And no light pollution. This star does not twinkle colours. If I could I would video it but I would not have the capability of zooming in. I am planning to borrow my family large telescope or try to find it there with a audience. To be honest it's nice to be able to post about it and hear others and not judge to take the fun out of it. 

Thanks 

Edited November 11, 2017 by Sarah sarah

[ChrLzs]

Sarah. did you read the thread?  The only way to video this in a convincing way, is NOT to use a large telescope...  A *good* camera (one with an Infinity focus setting or at least that will hold autofocus on a star) and a big lump of blu-tac is all you need.  Set the camera/phone up, and find a vantage point where you can include the star AND some piece of identifiable background in the imagery (tree/building/street light, etc).  You can stick the phone into the blu-tac and that way attach it to pretty much anything sturdy (car roof, fence post, tree, whatever to keep it steady.  Then film it so we can see both the star and the background in the same video.

It's really quite easy to do, once you've found a suitable background subject that is lit up or backlit enough to be visible at the same time as the star.

And have you checked with your nearest astronomy clubs to ask them if any of their members captured anything on their skycams?  It seems a little odd that no astronomers, professional or amateur, have ever captured such a thing.

  

[bmk1245]

11 hours ago, Sarah sarah said:

I to have seen a star dance around last week. It was a 2/3am in the morning I could not believe it or understand. I watch the sky and stars a lot over the years and never to that day seen this. It was scary and exciting at the same time. I am so pleased to here more sightings from others. I also get up at that time regularly for work. And no light pollution. This star does not twinkle colours. If I could I would video it but I would not have the capability of zooming in. I am planning to borrow my family large telescope or try to find it there with a audience. To be honest it's nice to be able to post about it and hear others and not judge to take the fun out of it. 

Thanks 

I saw "dancing star", as well. Turned out to be Jupiter (or was it Mars, or any bright star, I can't say for sure, nevertheless, it was celestial object). "Dancing/moving star" is known physiological phenomenon. Next time you see "dancing star", move your sight away, close your eyes, and then try to see that "dancing star" again. 100% it will be stationary.

[Rob.lancaster]

I just saw this phenomenon tonight. 21st November 2017 at about 10:30pm DST, Nicholson, Victoria, Australia.

A bright Multicolor star similarly as described by others previously. Very bright. Initially a lot of movement, fast darting around. I thought it must be a far off drone with lasers attached. But it was too high for a drone and stayed there too long. I also got the wife to witness that the Multicolor star was jumping about in the sky just in case there was something going on with my eyes. She confirmed it was darting about and was unusually Multicolor.

Eventually the moving stopped after about 10 minutes. Then I watched it for another 20 minutes and no movement apart from the Multicolor flares. When I say multiple colours I mean vivid red, blue, green... almost laser bright.

I phoned my cousin who lived a few kilometres away. He could also see the colours but he missed the dancing part.

I only registered here as this was the only place I could find a similar description of what I just saw. Thanks to the OP.

PS. I did video this with my phone but as with most UFO type recordings it didn't come out very good, it didn't show the colours but it did show it jumping around.

Edited November 21, 2017 by Rob.lancaster
Extra detail

[Timothy]

6 hours ago, Rob.lancaster said:

I just saw this phenomenon tonight. 21st November 2017 at about 10:30pm DST, Nicholson, Victoria, Australia.

A bright Multicolor star similarly as described by others previously. Very bright. Initially a lot of movement, fast darting around. I thought it must be a far off drone with lasers attached. But it was too high for a drone and stayed there too long. I also got the wife to witness that the Multicolor star was jumping about in the sky just in case there was something going on with my eyes. She confirmed it was darting about and was unusually Multicolor.

Eventually the moving stopped after about 10 minutes. Then I watched it for another 20 minutes and no movement apart from the Multicolor flares. When I say multiple colours I mean vivid red, blue, green... almost laser bright.

I phoned my cousin who lived a few kilometres away. He could also see the colours but he missed the dancing part.

I only registered here as this was the only place I could find a similar description of what I just saw. Thanks to the OP.

PS. I did video this with my phone but as with most UFO type recordings it didn't come out very good, it didn't show the colours but it did show it jumping around.

Welcome to UM,

Can you please upload the raw footage somewhere and link it here? There are more than a few people here who would be interested to see it.

[Essan]

58 minutes ago, Timonthy said:

Welcome to UM,

Can you please upload the raw footage somewhere and link it here? There are more than a few people here who would be interested to see it.

Video of such things is useless unless it was taken using a good tripod and camera such that we can see other stars stationary whilst the one moves

The "dancing star" phenonmena is well known - It requires good video to suggest what was seen is anything else than normal atmospheric distortion

[Timothy]

47 minutes ago, Essan said:

Video of such things is useless unless it was taken using a good tripod and camera such that we can see other stars stationary whilst the one moves

The "dancing star" phenonmena is well known - It requires good video to suggest what was seen is anything else than normal atmospheric distortion

Yeah I know, but still interested to see the video. 

[ChrLzs]

10 hours ago, Rob.lancaster said:

I just saw this phenomenon tonight. 21st November 2017 at about 10:30pm DST, Nicholson, Victoria, Australia.

A bright Multicolor star similarly as described by others previously. Very bright. Initially a lot of movement, fast darting around. I thought it must be a far off drone with lasers attached. But it was too high for a drone and stayed there too long. I also got the wife to witness that the Multicolor star was jumping about in the sky just in case there was something going on with my eyes. She confirmed it was darting about and was unusually Multicolor.

Eventually the moving stopped after about 10 minutes. Then I watched it for another 20 minutes and no movement apart from the Multicolor flares. When I say multiple colours I mean vivid red, blue, green... almost laser bright.

I phoned my cousin who lived a few kilometres away. He could also see the colours but he missed the dancing part.

I only registered here as this was the only place I could find a similar description of what I just saw. Thanks to the OP.

PS. I did video this with my phone but as with most UFO type recordings it didn't come out very good, it didn't show the colours but it did show it jumping around.

What direction were you looking, roughly, and at what angle upwards (horizon is 0°, directly overhead is 90°, half way up is 45°)?

Anyway, why not post the footage..?  Do you need help in doing so?

Please do not be another seagull poster and vanish, and may I suggest you read the thread and address the explanations already given, eg here.

[ChrLzs]

Just as a bit of a side issue while we wait patiently (but probably pointlessly) for any of these dancing star enthusiasts to come back with more information or an actual video (and I've explained in some detail previously about how this can be done on any smartphone with a half-decent camera) I'd like to make an observation or two of my own.

Nowadays, we monitor the skies with unprecedented thoroughness - there are hundreds of thousands, nay millions of backyard amateur astronomers out there with superb recording systems, all night 180° sky cams, etc....

Then there are those who, like me, just have really good cameras on hand most of the time, ready to capture anything interesting - here's one of my photos showing a moving, but not dancing star - the International Space Station...

And yet....

Not ONE of the dancing star claimants has ever contacted their nearest astronomy club.

Not ONE of these people has ever spent much time acknowledging the posted explanations for why your eye/brain can *cause* this effect.

Not ONE of these people has come back to excitedly say they saw it again!!! (I suspect that's because they know we will rightly ask why the heck didn't they film it this time..)

Not ONE of these people has come back with that video, or a long exposure showing a wiggly trail.

With one exception, not ONE of these people has ever come back saying that yes, we were right and it wasn't the star dancing, but an illusion.

On one notable occasion (another forum), one of these claimants told us which direction his star was, and by working from the location he gave, it was very near where Sirius - the brightest star of them all - was.  That person didn't see Sirius, just his dancing star, yet Sirius MUST have been in his field of view...  He couldn't/wouldn't grasp that meant the star either was Sirius, or that someone had turned Sirius off.....   (in case you can't see the relevance, Sirius is VERY bright and would be easy to capture if it was dancing, and of course thousands of other night time observers, from amateurs to professional observatories would see it and record it...)

Sigh...

Anyway, that's why I get a bit weary of this stuff - while it's understandable for trolls to not come back after they post their droppings, but what about those who are supposedly genuine?  They clearly either couldn't give a sh toss about finding out the real reason for the jiggling, or, once they found out the truth, they don't have the cojones to return here and show us that they learned something.

 

Shame on you, seagull posters...

[kidagakash]

I saw something similar to this around March or April in the Phoenix area this year. Blue like a neon light but going almost too faint to see, then glowing brighter, and moving in sweeping arcs, up down, side to side. It remained in the sky for longer than I cared to stsand there watching it. I couldn't quite figure out what the hell it was though. In a highly populated area it could have been all kinds of things. Or perhaps it was something freakishly bizarre! I'll never know.

[SicilianCyclops]

I had a similar experience just like this which took place during this month's "beaver moon" (Nov. 3rd, 2017). It was a quarter after 11 pm in Morristown, NJ, and as I was walking toward the stairs to go up to bed after watching TV with my wife, I saw a lot of moonlight pouring through a window. I remembered that there was a full moon which was close to being a supermoon, so it appeared to be a little larger and brighter than usual. Being a backyard astronomer for years, I opened the front door and walked into my front yard to view it in the eastern sky. After a fraction of a second after looking at the moon, I noticed that there was a white, star-like light erratically moving above it. It would rapidly move to the right, then to the left, then tightly swoop around underneath it. I couldn't believe my eyes. I grabbed my phone from my pocket and opened up the camera app as quickly as I could. I snapped one photo just in time to see the pinpoint of light seemingly dart in front of the moon and disappear, like the light itself melted into it. From my vantage point it was impossible to tell the altitude of it, but I could ascertain that it was way up in the sky. I stood there for 10 minutes in the chilly air hoping the strange light would return, but I didn't see it again. 

The picture isn't great since it was a rushed cell phone camera in the dark. In the photo, you can see a blurry point of light below the moon and slightly to the right. A skeptic would say that it's glare from the moon, and I wouldn't blame them, but I'm telling you that it's the weird dancing light I saw. I only wish I was able to get a video of it...I reported my sighting to MUFON and they did call me. The investigator said that these sightings are more common than you'd think, with a dancing light around the moon being reported in the past. An internet search led me to this thread.

 

Edited November 29, 2017 by SicilianCyclops

[ChrLzs]

3 hours ago, SicilianCyclops said:

I had a similar experience just like this which took place during this month's "beaver moon" (Nov. 3rd, 2017). It was a quarter after 11 pm in Morristown, NJ, and as I was walking toward the stairs to go up to bed after watching TV with my wife, I saw a lot of moonlight pouring through a window. I remembered that there was a full moon which was close to being a supermoon, so it appeared to be a little larger and brighter than usual. Being a backyard astronomer for years

I'm afraid what follows doesn't really re-inforce that.  Most amateur astronomers are familiar with the behavior of lens flares.  They also know not to use 'digital zoom', as it appears you have in that image.

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I opened the front door and walked into my front yard to view it in the eastern sky. After a fraction of a second after looking at the moon, I noticed that there was a white, star-like light erratically moving above it. It would rapidly move to the right, then to the left, then tightly swoop around underneath it. I couldn't believe my eyes. I grabbed my phone from my pocket and opened up the camera app as quickly as I could.

I have a significant problem with your timeline - what you have described here, and the image that you posted, is a perfect example of what lens flares do.  They swoop and dart around as you move the camera relative to the bright light source, in this case the moon.  I submit that you in fact already had your camera out and it was on its screen that you saw all this happening.  Your brain has simply melded the two memories into one, thinking what you saw on the screen was in fact also what you saw in reality.

Sorry, but that's what brains do...

Now I will concede that you can also get lens flares in your own eyes, but given the overall description of events and the pic you supplied.... this was all in your camera, I think.

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I snapped one photo just in time to see the pinpoint of light seemingly dart in front of the moon and disappear, like the light itself melted into it.

The image you posted shows no movement.. And again, the 'melting' is what lens flares do - they will often vanish if your camera is pointed such that the bright light is exactly centred in the image frame.  That pic shows a definite lens flare, and I'll give more reasons why it must be a flare below...

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I stood there for 10 minutes in the chilly air hoping the strange light would return, but I didn't see it again.

That's because you would only see it in the phone, and only when the phone was pointed at or near the Moon...

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The picture isn't great since it was a rushed cell phone camera in the dark. In the photo, you can see a blurry point of light below the moon and slightly to the right. A skeptic would say that it's glare from the moon, and I wouldn't blame them

Good.  They'd be exactly right.  And I'll tell you why it's a flare..

1. It is diagonally opposed to the light source - lens flares are very often diagonally opposed to the light source.  (This image appears to have been cropped - if you post the uncropped original, I can probably give you even more proof of a geometric nature...)

2. It has a transparent appearance - lens flares are transparent unless they are *extremely* bright.

3. It is out of round - lens flares are often distorted by the aperture & design of the lens elements, whereas an out of focus star/object would tend to be rounded.

4. Given the exposure settings that the camera would have selected, none but the very brightest star could have been captured in this image - if that was a real object it would have had to have been near Sirius or Venus brightness.  But you didn't comment on that being the case..

It looks, quacks, poops, waddles, lays eggs and flies .. like a duck.  It's a duck. 

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but I'm telling you that it's the weird dancing light I saw.

Yes, it was a lens flare.

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I only wish I was able to get a video of it...

Me too, but had you got a video of it, I'm very sure that you have been able to verify for yourself, by the way that thing moved *as you moved* the camera relative to the moon, that it was a lens flare.

Indeed, I have a challenge for you.  The next time the Moon is up at about the same size and angle (you may have to wait 27 days or so..), set your camera up (inc. any zoom and exposure settings) in exactly the same way, and then point it directly at the moon, then move the camera about and watch for the flares (- there will probably be more than one...).  Note that the image should look very similar to the one above - if it doesn't, that will mean you have changed the lens / exposure settings, and that may reduce or change the flare behavior.  Anyway, why not post the resulting video here....

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I reported my sighting to MUFON and they did call me. The investigator said that these sightings are more common than you'd think, with a dancing light around the moon being reported in the past.

And they didn't even raise the lens flare possibility?  That just reinforces my opinion of MUFON...

 

Edited November 29, 2017 by ChrLzs

[SicilianCyclops]

6 hours ago, ChrLzs said:

I'm afraid what follows doesn't really re-inforce that.  Most amateur astronomers are familiar with the behavior of lens flares.  They also know not to use 'digital zoom', as it appears you have in that image.

I have a significant problem with your timeline - what you have described here, and the image that you posted, is a perfect example of what lens flares do.  They swoop and dart around as you move the camera relative to the bright light source, in this case the moon.  I submit that you in fact already had your camera out and it was on its screen that you saw all this happening.  Your brain has simply melded the two memories into one, thinking what you saw on the screen was in fact also what you saw in reality.

Sorry, but that's what brains do...

Now I will concede that you can also get lens flares in your own eyes, but given the overall description of events and the pic you supplied.... this was all in your camera, I think.

The image you posted shows no movement.. And again, the 'melting' is what lens flares do - they will often vanish if your camera is pointed such that the bright light is exactly centred in the image frame.  That pic shows a definite lens flare, and I'll give more reasons why it must be a flare below...

That's because you would only see it in the phone, and only when the phone was pointed at or near the Moon...

Good.  They'd be exactly right.  And I'll tell you why it's a flare..

1. It is diagonally opposed to the light source - lens flares are very often diagonally opposed to the light source.  (This image appears to have been cropped - if you post the uncropped original, I can probably give you even more proof of a geometric nature...)

2. It has a transparent appearance - lens flares are transparent unless they are *extremely* bright.

3. It is out of round - lens flares are often distorted by the aperture & design of the lens elements, whereas an out of focus star/object would tend to be rounded.

4. Given the exposure settings that the camera would have selected, none but the very brightest star could have been captured in this image - if that was a real object it would have had to have been near Sirius or Venus brightness.  But you didn't comment on that being the case..

It looks, quacks, poops, waddles, lays eggs and flies .. like a duck.  It's a duck. 

Yes, it was a lens flare.

Me too, but had you got a video of it, I'm very sure that you have been able to verify for yourself, by the way that thing moved *as you moved* the camera relative to the moon, that it was a lens flare.

Indeed, I have a challenge for you.  The next time the Moon is up at about the same size and angle (you may have to wait 27 days or so..), set your camera up (inc. any zoom and exposure settings) in exactly the same way, and then point it directly at the moon, then move the camera about and watch for the flares (- there will probably be more than one...).  Note that the image should look very similar to the one above - if it doesn't, that will mean you have changed the lens / exposure settings, and that may reduce or change the flare behavior.  Anyway, why not post the resulting video here....

And they didn't even raise the lens flare possibility?  That just reinforces my opinion of MUFON...

 

I'm not sure why you are so contentious; and you are changing what I said. I saw this light moving with my own eyes. Why would I be pointing my phone in this direction if I didn't see something I wanted to photograph? I saw this light source dance erratically for a few seconds around the moon BEFORE I decided to take my phone out and try to get a picture. I thought my write-up made that clear. 

Next, I also clearly said that I know the point of light looks like glare, but THAT POINT OF LIGHT IN THE PHOTO IS NOT. When I took the photo it had swooped around underneath the moon and paused (I apologize, because I did not specify that whatever it was would dart, pause, then dart again). It had paused in that position and THAT'S when I took this photo, before it seemingly "flew into the moon." 

MUFON also discussed lens flare/glare with me, but I explained to them what I just told you. I'm not trying to say the picture is proof, it's just a supplement to my story. And to your point: Yes, it WAS about Sirius and Venus brightness, which is why it shows up in the photo. Please don't insult my intelligence again and tell me this is all lens flare, explain it to me like I'm a child, and issue challenges to me; you did not see what I saw with my naked eye. I've been staring at the night sky regularly for years with astronomy binoculars or a telescope and I'm certain I saw something out-of-the-ordinary.

Edited November 29, 2017 by SicilianCyclops

[SicilianCyclops]

On 9/18/2012 at 5:04 PM, dancingstar said:

 

• I have just witnessed a dancing star in the sky in Dundee, Scotland. I am still shocked and just joined this site to post in the hope that there is an explanation. The star shot across the sky, stopped, zig zagged, dropped up and down then shot back the other way. I have never seen anything like this. The whole thing lasted around 2 minutes and covered an uncomprehendable distance in such little time. I have seen shooting stars in the past but this was not a shooting star, I really dont know what I have just seen.

 

I was able to read through many of the posts in this thread last night and, for what it's worth, this one is very similar to what I saw. The two differences are that the distances the light travelled for dancingstar are greater than what they were for me, and my observation didn't last as long as 2 minutes. However, the movement described here (zig-zagging, dropping, up and down, stopping) is exactly what I witnessed as well. 

Edited November 29, 2017 by SicilianCyclops

[ChrLzs]

It's just a pity then, that your image shows a lens flare.  If you've read the thread, you will note that NOT ONE of these folks, you included, captured even a shred of actual evidence, and yet, there are probably hundreds of *real* amateur astronomers within 50km of you - you tell the forum - why are NONE of the professionals who watch the sky seeing this?  Is the view of these things somehow deliberately targeted at those with crap imaging equipment, those who don't run all-night sky monitoring?  Did you contact your nearest astronomy club?

I note you completely ignored the possibility (probability) that your memories are flawed and you are conflating your camera's view with your actual view.

The fact that you wouldn't even acknowledge that, let alone address it, tells me all I need to know.  But, you know how it goes .. cool story, bro.

And yes, I get contentious with threads like these, filled with stories that are NEVER backed up, yet could easily be.  If they actually happened.

[SicilianCyclops]

1 hour ago, ChrLzs said:

It's just a pity then, that your image shows a lens flare.  If you've read the thread, you will note that NOT ONE of these folks, you included, captured even a shred of actual evidence, and yet, there are probably hundreds of *real* amateur astronomers within 50km of you - you tell the forum - why are NONE of the professionals who watch the sky seeing this?  Is the view of these things somehow deliberately targeted at those with crap imaging equipment, those who don't run all-night sky monitoring?  Did you contact your nearest astronomy club?

I note you completely ignored the possibility (probability) that your memories are flawed and you are conflating your camera's view with your actual view.

The fact that you wouldn't even acknowledge that, let alone address it, tells me all I need to know.  But, you know how it goes .. cool story, bro.

And yes, I get contentious with threads like these, filled with stories that are NEVER backed up, yet could easily be.  If they actually happened.

Man, you are one sad individual. I came here to SHARE a story with others, but instead I get you, Mr. House Debunker. You really have a special gift: you can tell me EXACTLY what I saw from halfway around the planet AND declare that my story never happened, all from your keyboard! - pretty impressive...No, my memory was NOT flawed in this instance, but thanks for pretending to know me. Like I said, I saw something strange and I KNOW I saw it, and to say I confused my phone's camera with my naked eyes is laughable - even for you (but then again, you ARE omniscient over there, right?). Why is nobody that you personally approve of seeing a "dancing star" like this? I don't know, and I don't care, I can only tell you what I saw. I wasn't aware that this site was a scientific journal and every poster had to provide stone-cold proof of everything they see. I'm sure we're all heartbroken that we can't reach your personal standard of excellence. My advice to you is to get something and/or someone in your life that makes you happy, because you really seem to be a bitter, unhappy person. Did you have a troubled childhood or something? Judging by your posts in this thread, you seem to troll it as a form of entertainment for yourself. I'm now done responding to you because life is too short to waste it conversing with people like you. 

Edited November 29, 2017 by SicilianCyclops

[ChrLzs]

Yes, it's very annoying and insulting when someone addresses the claims made, and finds a number of issues with them.
Yes, it's even more annoying when the one bit of evidence you supply, re-inforces those issues and doesn't support the claim..
Yes, it's even more annoying when you can't actually find fault in anything amongst the issues I raised.  You even admit "I don't know, and I don't care"...  Have to ask why you would get all upset, then.

And finally, when you make remarks like these, and I quote:

Quote

.. Man, you are one sad individual.
.. you really seem to be a bitter, unhappy person.
.. Did you have a troubled childhood or something?
.. Judging by your posts in this thread, you seem to troll it..
.. life is too short to waste it conversing with people like you

well, may I make a teensy suggestion or two?

1. Re-read my posts, and quote any similar insults I threw at you... if you can't find anything as bad as that which you posted, then maybe you need to rethink this, and check the mirror for the problem.  Yes, I criticised your claims, but I did not attack you.
2. Rather than use a whole pile of ad hominems and whine on thread, REPORT my post to the moderators, and let them judge.
3.  Address what I posted, and accept that if you can't.... well maybe I am annoying, but I'm right.
4. If you don't want your mystery investigated and explained, maybe this isn't the right place?  Because by doing that, we uncover the *real* unexplained mysteries.

This thread isn't one of them, until someone can back up their claim with a decent observation/recording..