What just happened in sky over Los Angeles?

finny

[Finny]

About ten minutes ago, Husband in hills behind Brea, between Brea and Chino Hills, spotted in the northwest what looked like something entering the atmosphere. We grabbed binoculars, and it was extremely high altitude, coming in, not going out. Anybody see it? Can probably still spot it further north, as in Pasadena, etc. Grab binocs and look.

[InterceptPoint]

Your link is broke but this one works

[null and void]

Nope, that's the lower limit. I know how high up goes...

[TXnMA]

The source where I copied the Federation of American Scientists (FAS.org) URL had an extra space. Try this:

http://www.fas.org/irp/mystery/aurora.htm

[Finny]

Thanks! Also, InterceptPoint's link worked. Haven't read all of it, but it looks cool. Wouldn't it be great to go for a ride in one of those things! I love flying. Always have. Love crazy acrobatic flying (what little I've had the pleasure of doing, as a passenger) even better. I guess I just like speed.

[smonk]

---I know how high up goes...---

you're sounding a tiny bit like Yoda, y'know.

[null and void]

Like Yoda I sound. ermm...

[Kirkwood]

"Yes. Whaddaya think? I know it looks a lot like the pics you've posted of regular ol' jets (if there's any such thing!). Again, husband insists that at such a high altitude as this was, condensation couldn't have existed, and it was way, way too far off to see the glow of afterburners. Is there such thing as an Aurora, and if so, perhaps is this what this was? Also, check Freepmail."

Probability is greatest on the side of an aircraft illuminated by a low-lying sun. The image you saw in your binoculars looks suspiciously like coma aberration for small angle source of light (like a reflective aircraft body). Coma is very likely when you don't look exactly along the optic axis of the binoculars. Since many binoculars have large exit pupils, it is very easy to create this aberration. Likewise, coma aberrations may exist not only in the binoculars, but in the eye itself. You just don't notice it except under special conditions. In other words, you possible saw an image that was distorted by coma and the actual object had a very different appearance. Here is a crude example of coma, but it can also looks very similar to your drawing.

There is no way that altitude can be determined, so to claim it is in the stratosphere is moot. Since you have no idea what the dimensions are, the visual angle of anything you see tells you nothing about true distance. Naive people viewing the planet Venus at sunset or sunrise often believe it to be a flying vehicle near the ground and close to the viewer. Your brain often makes poor decisions about images when there is little information available.

[Kirkwood]

Other coma examples:

[Finny]

Okay. Thanks for the info!

[Kirkwood]

Still more coma images. On Left, for "point" sources of light (like sunlight reflected off a distant aircraft). On Right, coma when viewing an extended object (here a Snellen E).

[Ciexyz]

Just another Tequila sunset.

[Finny]

Just another Tequila sunset.

Ha ha! But I don't think so. For one thing, I don't drink! For another, too much air traffic over So Cal not to have a lot of opportunity for comparision as to distance, variety, shapes, perspective, etc. When you see something unusual, you know it.

[Barney59]

Possibly that Flaming A---- Durbin?

Forgive me...

[Ciexyz]

The only thing impressive I saw in the sky last night was The Man in the Moon. And he looked like a right jolly smiling old soul.

[Finny]

Sounds like a genuine Moonlight Cocktail!

"Couple of jiggers of moonlight, and add a star ..."

[Ciexyz]

When you wish upon a star
Makes no difference who you are
When you wish upon a star
Your dreams come true.

[brazzaville]

Good morning.

A stunt to promote the "War of the Worlds" movie?

Michael Frazier

[SunkenCiv]

	Mining the Sky: Untold Riches from the Asteroids, Comets, and Planets by John S. Lewis ed by Jeffrey Robbins Hardcover
	Rain of Iron and Ice: The Very Real Threat of Comet and Asteroid Bombardment by John S. Lewis Hardcover
	Comet and Asteroid Impact Hazards on a Populated Earth: Computer Modeling by John S. Lewis

[SunkenCiv]

Rain of Iron and Ice
by John S. Lewis

On November 27,1919, a meteorite fell into Lake Michigan near the Michigan shore. "Residents of Battle Creek, Kalamazoo, South Bend, Grand Haven, and other Western Michigan cities fled from their homes in panic, fearing an earthquake. Houses were shaken, the country was illuminated as by a bright sun's rays, so all-enveloping it was impossible to tell from which direction the flare came, the earth trembled for half a moment and then came a deep prolonged rumbling as of a terrific explosion." (p 159)

This event came as a surprise, as I've never heard it recounted by any of my elderly relatives, and most of them died before I read about it in this book. A number of other such impacts, including some which hit or nearly hit people, ships, animals etc, are described in this book, which I recommend.