Author Topic: Can anyone explain these pictures? (Read 1058 times)

sluggish · « **on:** November 25, 2006, 10:17:46 PM »

A friend of mine took these from his balcony. They were taken from a tripod with a time exposure (it was getting dark, you can see the stars beginning to elongate). The gamma was increased in one to bring out the detail. He said they looked like contrails...

They could be the same picture. I don't know.

MoeRon · « **Reply #1 on:** November 25, 2006, 10:29:43 PM »

Swamp gas from a weather balloon trapped in a thermal pocket and reflecting the light from Venus?

DiabloTX · « **Reply #2 on:** November 25, 2006, 10:42:06 PM »

That's no moon...it's a space station.

ByeBye · « **Reply #3 on:** November 25, 2006, 10:46:58 PM »

What was the time of the exposure?

sluggish · « **Reply #4 on:** November 25, 2006, 10:52:44 PM »

Quote

Originally posted by ByeBye
What was the time of the exposure?

I don't know but I'm guessing no more than 5 -10 seconds. Just enough for the stars to start to elongate...

When I first saw them my imediate impression was that is was northern lights but he insists that they were some sort of a cloud formation.

Meatwad · « **Reply #5 on:** November 25, 2006, 11:02:35 PM »

kinda looks like a glare

ByeBye · « **Reply #6 on:** November 25, 2006, 11:03:49 PM »

The circular images look like a glare.....maybe a car driving by.

sluggish · « **Reply #7 on:** November 25, 2006, 11:06:41 PM »

Quote

Originally posted by ByeBye
The circular images look like a glare.....maybe a car driving by.

Yeah well I dismissed the glare as just that. I'm talking about the straight-line images that my friend took pictures of.

Meatwad · « **Reply #8 on:** November 25, 2006, 11:08:31 PM »

The straight lines looks like glares to me also

sluggish · « **Reply #9 on:** November 25, 2006, 11:11:41 PM »

Quote

Originally posted by Meatwad
The straight lines looks like glares to me also

My buddy Tom took the time to get his camera out and set up his tripod in order to take a picture of something he couldn't explain. It's not glare. It's not something he noticed after he looked at the picture. He deliberately took pictures of whatever that is in the sky.

ByeBye · « **Reply #10 on:** November 25, 2006, 11:19:53 PM »

the lines look like contrails, not glare.

Regular · « **Reply #11 on:** November 25, 2006, 11:43:38 PM »

Clean the lense.

jigsaw · « **Reply #12 on:** November 26, 2006, 12:46:31 AM »

It's lens flare and refraction.

Shot info for anyone who wants it;

Camera Make: Canon
Camera Model: Canon EOS 10D
Image Date: 1980:01:01 00:01:34
Flash Used: No
Focal Length: 28.0mm
CCD Width: 22.66mm
Exposure Time: 30.000 s
Aperture: f/3.5
ISO equiv: 200
White Balance: Auto
Metering Mode: Matrix
Exposure Mode: Manual

p.s. Tell him to set the correct time/date in his camera. Makes record keeping a lot easier.

Mace2004 · « **Reply #13 on:** November 26, 2006, 12:53:39 AM »

What's the location and are there any mountains nearby? These could be the result of mountain waves as the wind passes over a mountain range. Here's an example that looks similar to your picture but taken from satellite. Here are some more. Your friend's pictures show very distinct linear shapes but you can see them "feathering" toward the right side of the frame.

john9001 · « **Reply #14 on:** November 26, 2006, 07:59:41 AM »

i thought lens flair also , but sluggs says his friend saw the lights and then took the picture, i saw something like that years ago, the lights were pulsing upwards not fixed beams.