Has anyone ever seen anything truly unexplainable?

[tacoma_kyle]

I got a 89 on my Thermo 2 test.

On a serious note, err yeah. Nothing really comes to mind real quick, so there probably wasn't anything I held too much faith in as being unexplainable. Odd ball things now and then though that I wonder WTF I was thinking.

A month back I saw a amazing shooting start though. Biggest one I ever saw. Kinda wish I had a moment this weekend to just watch the starts for a few hours at night. I'll try and save that thought for next week when the weather doesnt blow ass.

Hey yeah do starts really move when we see one? I know due to light being slow in the grand scheme of the universe a shooting start I saw may have been 30k years ago or more.  Do they in fact move as we see them (proportional speeds)? At those speeds, where does the normal force come from (being in a vacuum)?

[MariaEvri]

crocofish, there is a website, heavens-above.com or heavensabove.com taht you can see when satellites are visible. I think you can also vew past days

[MariaEvri]

hey tacoma
shooting stars are not stars at all
they are space rocks and/or dust that enter the earth's atmosfaire and burn out as they fall in great speed
there is an annoual meteor shower every august and its really spectacular to watch:)

[McQ]

I got a 89 on my Thermo 2 test.

On a serious note, err yeah. Nothing really comes to mind real quick, so there probably wasn't anything I held too much faith in as being unexplainable. Odd ball things now and then though that I wonder WTF I was thinking.

A month back I saw a amazing shooting start though. Biggest one I ever saw. Kinda wish I had a moment this weekend to just watch the starts for a few hours at night. I'll try and save that thought for next week when the weather doesnt blow ass.

Hey yeah do starts really move when we see one? I know due to light being slow in the grand scheme of the universe a shooting start I saw may have been 30k years ago or more.  Do they in fact move as we see them (proportional speeds)? At those speeds, where does the normal force come from (being in a vacuum)?

Kyle, a shooting star is a meteor, a piece of rock, dust, crud, etc. that falls into the Earth's atmosphere. The light you see is from it burning up during entry in the atmosphere, because it is moving extremely fast. Friction just causes it to heat and burn up. These things range in size from grains of sand to melon sized, generally. Some are even bigger, rarely. Most often we see them when the Earth passes through a trail of them in space at certain times of year. The debris in space is left behind from comets most frequently, as they pass through their periodic orbits around the sun. As was already mentioned, you can see a good one in August, called the Perseid Meteor Shower.

So these meteor showers, as we call them, are caused by the Earth slamming into the debris trail left behind. If one of the meteors happens to survive entry through the atmosphere (or even part of it), and lands, it is called a meteorite.

[karadan]

Well, I am open to the suggestion that what i saw was a satellite but there are a number of questions i have about it.
The 'body' of the object seemed closer when it was directly above me. So close in fact, that i could almost make out a shape of its body/fusellage.
The light it emitted seemed omni-directional. All satellites i've ever seen seem to disappear at some point in their trajectory due to the angle of reflection changing as they orbit the earth. This object, however, stayed at least 5 times brighter than Venus for the duration of it's flight getting slightly more intense as it flew straight overhead. It just seemed too large to be a satellite. Had it been in orbit, this object would surely have had to be the size of a stadium to create such a presence in the sky. It's brightness rivaled that of the moon, albeit, over a much smaller surface area but far more intense (it created lens flares in my eyes).

Is there any such thing as an atmospheric satellite?  Something traveling in the mesosphere or stratosphere or something? Could it have been the international space station? Also, has anyone ever heard of aircraft which have very intense lights covering the entire fusellage? What would be the use for that?

Just trying to figure this out

[SteveS]

I really like shooting stars (yes, technically these are meteors) - there's something just plain cool about them.  When I was a kid I used to go up to my grandma's place in Wisconsin (small cabin by a small lake).  On clear nights I'd go down and lay on my back on the pier and just stare at the sky.  You could glimpse a shooting star (some were really small and quick, but some were more spectacular) on a regular basis.  Just let your eyes get adjusted to the dark, watch the sky in general, and damned if you wouldn't pick one up every 5/10 minutes or so.

The sky up there in a place that is truly dark is awesome.  You could clearly make out the Milky Way, and you'd see satellites frequently as well (just small not-too-bright things that looked like faint stars, only they drifted across the sky in a stately pace until they suddenly "went out", I'm assuming when they crossed into the Earth's shadow).

I keep trying to drag my wife outside for one of the annual showers - she grew up in the city and claims she's never seen a shooting star, which I consider sad  ).

[McQ]

Well, I am open to the suggestion that what i saw was a satellite but there are a number of questions i have about it.
The 'body' of the object seemed closer when it was directly above me. So close in fact, that i could almost make out a shape of its body/fusellage.

Curious. Are you saying that it appeared to change altitude, and got closer when it flew overhead? What was the shape of the fuselage?

The light it emitted seemed omni-directional.

Did the object itself seem to be glowing as a whole, or did it emit light or light beams from various points on its surface? If so, how many and in what directions relative to its path in the sky?

All satellites i've ever seen seem to disappear at some point in their trajectory due to the angle of reflection changing as they orbit the earth.

At some point, satellites do "disappear", due to the angle of the reflected light, which makes your object very unique in that it did not, ever disappear.  

This object, however, stayed at least 5 times brighter than Venus for the duration of it's flight getting slightly more intense as it flew straight overhead.

That's pretty darn bright! The changing intensity is common ,but that brightness is out of the ordinary for sure.

It just seemed too large to be a satellite. Had it been in orbit, this object would surely have had to be the size of a stadium to create such a presence in the sky. It's brightness rivaled that of the moon, albeit, over a much smaller surface area but far more intense (it created lens flares in my eyes).

Again, the apparent magnitude would indicate something other than a satellite, as none of the stuff in orbit approaches the brightness of the Moon. The apparent size can be deceiving though, as it is extremely difficult to judge altitude. That is hard to stress too much. We simply stink at judging apparent altitude. But since you could see the surface of the object, it would seem that it was close and not in orbit. You are correct that it would have to be massive to be in orbit and still be able to show a fuselage or surface. Even much bigger than a stadium, more than likely.

Is there any such thing as an atmospheric satellite?  Something traveling in the mesosphere or stratosphere or something?

In short, no.

Could it have been the international space station?

Not likely, if it was as bright as you say. Brighter than the Moon? Then not the ISS. No way. Not even with its headlights on (that's a joke).  

Just trying to figure this out

Well, you have quite a mystery on your hands! My advice...keep a good camera or video camera handy, as well as a good set of binoculars (no cheap ones, good ones). It's amazing how the unexplained can become the explained with a nice set of binoculars. You've been very open about what it might be, and kudos for that. You may never be able to explain it, but you at least have a good story to tell the wee ones! By the way, did any of your neighbors see it?

[Vichy]

'Unexplainable' is a word that makes no sense by my understanding of logic.  Something may be unexplained but everything that exists must conform to logic and, in principle, must be explainable.  We only have ignorance in our way of omniscience (and whatever physical laws might keep us in ignorance).

[crocofish]

I got a 89 on my Thermo 2 test.

Ha ha, I had a similar experience with Thermodynamics class.  I thought I had completely flunked the class, and when I got the report card, I got an A.    One of the mysteries of the unexplained (dramatic music).

[McQ]

'Unexplainable' is a word that makes no sense by my understanding of logic.  Something may be unexplained but everything that exists must conform to logic and, in principle, must be explainable.  We only have ignorance in our way of omniscience (and whatever physical laws might keep us in ignorance).

Right, but the point of this whole thread is to discuss things that are unexplainable to us, ath the present time or in the past. Lots of things are unexplainable, in the meaning that certain people, or all people, for the time being, have no explanation for them. But as human history shows, we learn more and become able to explain more as we go along.

[crocofish]

crocofish, there is a website, heavens-above.com or heavensabove.com taht you can see when satellites are visible. I think you can also vew past days

Yes, I was able to look for the satellites in that area near the time karadan said that he saw something.  The results are quite interesting.  Use heavens-above.com; the non-hyphenated name is a domain squatter.

Code Select Expand

Search Period Start:  12:00 Wednesday, 28 May, 2008
Search Period End:    01:00 Thursday, 29 May, 2008
Observer's Location:  Chagford, Devon, UK ( 50.6729°N, 3.8406°W)
Local Time:           British Summer Time (GMT + 1:00)
Limiting magnitude:  3.5
There were a number of satellites found for the above period, and the only one that fits the time of 10:42PM is:

Code Select Expand

           Start                  Max Altitude           End
Name Mag    Time      Alt.  Az.    Time      Alt.  Az.    Time      Alt.  Az
ISS  -2.1   22:37:13  10°   W      22:40:07  70°   N      22:43:00  10°   E
ISS is the International Space Station.
Magnitude -2.1 is fairly bright, easily visible with the naked eye, but not necessarily "lens flare" bright.  Perhaps there was a solar panel or similar reflective surface that was angled just right to reflect the sun to make it brighter.

It is interesting that it fits the time and place.  karadan said it moved NW to SE which might fit the W to E azimuth shown above.  karadan also said it took about 4 minutes to cross, and above it shows about 6 minutes.

Of course I might have the latitude/longitude wrong, so please double check the above numbers.

[tacoma_kyle]

Right on crocofish.

And on the starts, god damn it. I feel like a god damned moron. No wonder nothin made since...cause it was just bull shit. I am ganna find and bitch out my 1st grade teacher.

[Kylyssa]

I've seen plenty of things I couldn't explain but that doesn't render them unexplainable.

[karadan]

crocofish, there is a website, heavens-above.com or heavensabove.com taht you can see when satellites are visible. I think you can also vew past days

Yes, I was able to look for the satellites in that area near the time karadan said that he saw something.  The results are quite interesting.  Use heavens-above.com; the non-hyphenated name is a domain squatter.

Code Select Expand

Search Period Start:  12:00 Wednesday, 28 May, 2008
Search Period End:    01:00 Thursday, 29 May, 2008
Observer's Location:  Chagford, Devon, UK ( 50.6729°N, 3.8406°W)
Local Time:           British Summer Time (GMT + 1:00)
Limiting magnitude:  3.5
There were a number of satellites found for the above period, and the only one that fits the time of 10:42PM is:

Code Select Expand

           Start                  Max Altitude           End
Name Mag    Time      Alt.  Az.    Time      Alt.  Az.    Time      Alt.  Az
ISS  -2.1   22:37:13  10°   W      22:40:07  70°   N      22:43:00  10°   E
ISS is the International Space Station.
Magnitude -2.1 is fairly bright, easily visible with the naked eye, but not necessarily "lens flare" bright.  Perhaps there was a solar panel or similar reflective surface that was angled just right to reflect the sun to make it brighter.

It is interesting that it fits the time and place.  karadan said it moved NW to SE which might fit the W to E azimuth shown above.  karadan also said it took about 4 minutes to cross, and above it shows about 6 minutes.

Of course I might have the latitude/longitude wrong, so please double check the above numbers.

That is fantastic! I also did a bit of digging (mainly using the brains of some of my friends - far superior to mine) and the unanimous explanation was that it was the ISS.

I am now happy that what i saw can be explained through rational means.

The optical illusion making it seem a lot closer than it was, was amazing. It seemed so real.

Thanks for all of the input. I can sleep happily now

[Vichy]

Right, but the point of this whole thread is to discuss things that are unexplainable to us, ath the present time or in the past. Lots of things are unexplainable, in the meaning that certain people, or all people, for the time being, have no explanation for them. But as human history shows, we learn more and become able to explain more as we go along.

Well, sorry for throwing the textbook at you
I can't say as I have (that I can remember).