is it a UAP?

[stuck]

There's good photo of a storm here:
    https://www.cambridgeincolour.com/forum ... d68856.htm

Can anyone, most likely Graeme as an astrophoto man, explain the red blob that is mentioned in the subsequent posts?

Ken

[HansV]

Perhaps Sprite lightning? (Look at the full-size version of the photo)

[stuck]

it's a theory but even in the full size image it's a round red & blue blob shape, not the 'jelly fish' shape that most images of sprite lightning appear to show. Also, I'm not sure it is at high enough altitude for sprite lightning.

I was wondering if it could be Mars, which if it's movement across the sky happened to match the rotation of the earth might appear stationary in the sky and thus not make a trail like the stars??

Ken

[HansV]

I think it's unlikely that it's Mars - over a 30s exposure, Mars doesn't perceptibly move with respect to the stars.
Moreover, it doesn't look like a single object:

S2451.png

[stuck]

again.

The blue and red colours look a lot like sensor noise but it's not normal for noise to cluster like that.

I guess Graeme is having an early evening nap ahead of his next o/n session...

Ken

[stuck]

More searching turns up the possibility that this blob is another type of 'transient luminous event' called 'pixies'.

Ken
EDITED to add this link:
https://m.astronomy.com/news/2017/02/bl ... ghting-iss
scroll down to the second figure

[HansV]

The skies are trolling us...

[Graeme]

Do we know the duration of the exposure?

The stars are very elongated if you zoom in.

Screenshot 2023-09-21 101538.jpg

So, I'm guessing the elongated stars are caused by a combination of Earth rotation and camera vibration.

Then if something purple and moving, moved perpendicular to the star movement a dotty blob would be produced.

Dunno really, I'm just guessing, I've not seen the like of this before.

Alternatively, it could be the wind god in the clouds below, blowing out a fire ball?

Screenshot 2023-09-21 102639.jpg

Graeme

[HansV]

Somewhere in the comments the photographer mentions that exposure was 30 seconds, and that it was difficult to keep the tripod still because of strong winds.

[stuck]

Yes, the exposure was 30 secs and even though the camera was on a tripod it was windy. Camera movement is therefore the most likely explanation of the fragmented star trails while the main image is sharp because the lightning flashes are very short.

Given that, "When you have eliminated all which is impossible then whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.", does that mean that red / blue blob is perhaps after all a fluke capture of a type of 'transient luminous event' associated with thunderstorms?



Ken