Misterious stationary flashes captured by allsky camera

[orb]

Universe Today: All-Sky Camera Captures Mysterious Flashes:

Every couple of weeks or so a strange flash appears on an all-sky camera that searches for meteors. What could it be? Take a look at the video above and maybe you can help solve the mystery.

“They are not iridium flares because they are stationary,” said James Beauchamp, an amateur astronomer who hosts the meteor camera for Sandia National Labs and New Mexico State University, and who posted this video on You Tube. “And they are not geosynchronous satellites because the azimuth/elevation are too far North. They are reflective because they always happen just prior to or after sunrise/sunset. Whatever it is, it’s slow and BIG.”

Beauchamp says he see a flash like this about once every month or so. Some are really bright like this one, and others are just small blinks.

“It would be awesome if this mystery was some cool unknown object or secret atmospheric/orbital activity, but the real answer is probably very disappointing,” said Beauchamp in an email to Universe Today. He’s guessing it is a satellite with a big, reflective panel that appears at the right place and time for a direct reflection from the sun to the camera.

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Beauchamp has come up with a few ‘Sherlock Holmes’ facts that narrows down a few things:

• Unlike most flares, it is stationary when it flashes, which means a high earth orbit, or elliptical one. Most satellites are in low Earth orbit, which means they are moving fast, and this is not one of them, so it is not a GPS, Iridium, or research satellite.
  
  
• The flashes always occur within a couple of hours of sunrise/sunset – which means they are in direct sunlight. So it’s not some strange atmospheric thing.
  
  
• The elevation over the earth is too far North to be a satellite in geosynchronous orbit. This particular flash in the video above was about +30 degrees.
  
  
• Cross-check with freeware such as Orbitron and NORAD TLE’s show no satellites around that would make such a flare – e.g. they are all LEO or not in the line of sight and general direction.

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desertengineer1: Mysterious flash

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This particular one was July 15th at 10:02:30 Z from Oklahoma City, USA. (+ 35 23.15 -97 25.15). The approximate location in the allsky is Az/Alt 142/+57, RA/DE (j2000) 0h 20m 35.9s / +8deg 11' 25.1") - almost the same as d Psc - HIP 1645.

 

[Kyle]

The probe!! Its returned!!!!!!!

 

[n72.75]

Not a clue...

 

[statickid]

hm. my first guess is something to do with the camera lens, if it was mine Id shine bright hand held lights at it from different distances or headlights and such and see if I could emulate it, or set up a separate camera nearby but with a shade or something and see if the other camera captures the same thing exactly, or just sit out and watch myself with my own eyes

 

[mojoey]

perhaps its junk in GEO, not likely...but still

 

[River Crab]

perhaps its junk in GEO, not likely...but still

It can't be in GEO because, as stated, the inclination is too high.

I'm going to guess it's a secret spy satellite. Most likely explanation.

 

[Fireproof]

its manmade i believe by the way the lights flash 4 in a square and 1 bright one in the middle

 

[Quick_Nick]

its manmade i believe by the way the lights flash 4 in a square and 1 bright one in the middle

I don't think those four dots are part of the event.

 

[mojoey]

its the little green men i tell you! :shifty:

 

[Fireproof]

I don't think those four dots are part of the event.

but im saying but how perfect the square is and that the middle dot is right in the middle

 

[Quick_Nick]

but im saying but how perfect the square is and that the middle dot is right in the middle

...Because they aren't part of the event. They're added to the video. (or something similar)

 

[Hlynkacg]

Something in a high polar/tundra orbit perhapse?

 

[IronRain]

its manmade i believe by the way the lights flash 4 in a square and 1 bright one in the middle

like Quick_Nick says, they're not part of the event. They're just used to show where the flash happens

 

[RisingFury]

How fast is this video when the event occurs? Is it slowed down? Is it real time?

 

[Izack]

Maybe it's just me, but it doesn't look quite stationary. It looks like it's slowly moving towards the top-left of the frame.

 

[RS-232]

First Contact!
If I had to guess,possibly a meteorite heading straight for the camera. No tail,just brightness as it burns then fades

 

[MaverickSawyer]

I think that we may have a recon bird that no one has found before, and that no one wants to claim is theirs.
My :2cents:

 

[Pyromaniac605]

Watching the video, it's not hard to tell that the light is not stationary. I'm no expert, but I'd say some kind of meteor or space junk burning up in the atmosphere is the most likely causing the flash.

 

[Quick_Nick]

First Contact!
If I had to guess,possibly a meteorite heading straight for the camera. No tail,just brightness as it burns then fades

That almost makes the most sense to me. Oklahoma would be facing the direction Eath orbits around dawn (but not dusk). And the lengths of the flashes could vary.
Not the strongest explanation, but interesting.

 

[4throck]

Satellite flare, perhaps magnitude -3 or more?
Interesting, because most unlisted stuff is not that conspicuous. It indicates at least a very big solar panel.

Another explanation might be the classic weather balloon! Seriously, this things are sent every day to take atmospheric profile measurements and they are big and reflective. A big balloon some kilometers high might catch enough sunlight to produce such an effect. It would account for the periodic nature of the event: balloon goes up at a set time, but ascends more or less on each given day. So the flashes will be periodical but not exact to the minute.