Hey, there! Log in / Register

Flashes of light in the night sky

By adamg on Fri, 11/11/2011 - 10:41pm

Mark Corsillo tweets:

Anyone else seeing these yellow-orange lights all over the northwestern sky? Don't look like planes. Shooting stars?

Franklin Tucker saw them, too:

Over the north end zone at the Belmont, Arlington football game around 8:10 p.m.

Yellow-orange? Phew. Means no triffids tonight.


Ad:


Like the job UHub is doing? Consider a contribution. Thanks!

Comments

By anon² on Fri, 11/11/2011 - 11:23pm.

suns been pretty active, but it be weird getting it this low in latitude.

up
Voting closed 0

By seosmh on Sat, 11/12/2011 - 8:55am.

I've see the northern lights 3 times around here. Two times were just light displays. But the third time was spectacular. It's a bit tougher to see in the city with all the light pollution.

I've been seeing photos of a recent display of the Auroras taken from the area around Toronto. Toronto is not actually that much farther North than Boston.

Here's a

up
Voting closed 0

By Eighthman on Sat, 11/12/2011 - 10:57am.

While I don't know exactly what was seen, auroras don't flash. It's a steady glow that will move and shimmer if very active. Also, it wouldn't be orange. Most common color is whitish to the eye (green when photographed with long exposure). In a strong geomagnetic storm, you can get red. There was a big red aurora seen from much of the US back in March 1989 (I, of course, missed it).

But, maybe we'll get something tonight! Big sunspot on the Sun. http://www.spaceweather.com/

up
Voting closed 0

By anon on Sat, 11/12/2011 - 4:41pm.

Is it possible that I saw a meteorite burn out on the road outside my bedroom window early this morning? It reminded me of the flares police and boaters use. Too bright to look directly at it for more than a second. Burnt itself out in about 30 seconds. All that was left on the road was a pile of crumbled rock.

up
Voting closed 0

By adamg on Sat, 11/12/2011 - 5:18pm.

Where in Roslindale?

up
Voting closed 0

By Jeff F not logged in on Mon, 11/14/2011 - 1:10am.

I'd love to know where it was.

up
Voting closed 0

By anon on Mon, 11/14/2011 - 8:42pm.

I received an email from the people at the observatory in Brookline.

It said, "Meteorites do not act in this way, but your observations are interesting. Thank you for the email, but I belive that no meteoritics were involved."

Maybe there is a more earthly explanation. I like to think it might have been a pice of that giant asteroid that passed by last week.

up
Voting closed 0

By Jeff F on Mon, 11/14/2011 - 11:30pm.

...it has bells on it!

Anon, I know you're probably just having a laugh, but if you want to prove you're not, you could tell us on which block you saw this.

[btw, if it was part of "2005 YU55" that would make it a meteorite. As far as I know, no one has reported any meteoric activity associated with that asteroid's passing.]

[a friend of mine working at the Keck observatory in Hawaii watched YU55 pass over - it was visible to the naked eye for a short time from there (the top of mauna kea). So cool!]

up
Voting closed 0

By Kaz on Tue, 11/15/2011 - 12:45am.

Sounds like a flare. They produce a lot of crumbly ash.

Otherwise maybe a "snake" firework that expands as it burns into a black crumbly heap of carbonized sugar.

up
Voting closed 0

By Pat Roberts on Sat, 11/12/2011 - 9:17pm.

Maybe the first time it was green, and this time it will be a different color. Don't look up at night?

up
Voting closed 0