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A Strange Streak Imaged in Australia

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the but-what-does-it-mean dept.

Koyaanisqatsi writes "Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day presents a challenge worthy of a large audience: as it says, "Meteor experts don't think it's a meteor. Atmospheric scientists don't think it's lightning". An intriguing dark streak and bright flash that defies explanation showed up on some cloud monitoring pictures. The forumsetup to discuss it is currently hosed, so perhaps fellow slashdotters can shed some light over the mystery?"

11 of 825 comments (clear)

  1. It's old news... by CodeWanker · · Score: 5, Interesting

    but when this pic surfaced the first time, people speculated that the flat trajectory meant it had to be a tiny meteorite, with the flash resulting from the rock hitting a street light. a 1 in a billion photo, I imagine.

    --


    "Wow. Now THAT'S a lot of angry Indians." - Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer
  2. Sorry, everyone! by fireboy1919 · · Score: 5, Funny

    That was me.

    I was trying out my new death-ray. I had it miscalibrated so that you could see it.

    Don't worry about it. When death comes and strikes from the heavens for real, it'll be completely invisible.

    -Ming the Merciless

    --
    Mod me down and I will become more powerful than you can possibly imagine!
  3. Re:Um, flaw in the film? by suso · · Score: 5, Informative

    Um, film? It was a digital picture to begin with. Check out this in the header of the image:

    uExif
    Canon
    Canon PowerShot G3
    ACD Systems Digital Imaging
    2004:11:25 15:20:49
    0220
    0100
    2004:11:22 18:52:52
    2004:11:22 18:52:52
    IMG:PowerShot G3 JPEG
    Firmware Version 1.02

  4. My solution by troon · · Score: 5, Interesting

    OK, here's my solution. The light levels are fairly low: the EXIF data from the big image reveals that the Powershot G3 used 1/20s exposure at f/5.6.

    I reckon the streak and the blur are very, very close to the camera, and that the intersection with the streetlamp is conincidence.

    I believe that the mystery object is an insect flying "north-west" (i.e. towards the top left of the camera). The EXIF data tells us that the flash was fired, although goodness knows why any decent photographer would use a flash for that shot.

    The flash on most cameras fires at the beginning of the exposure time, and the insect is captured in flight and out of focus near the middle of the frame. It then continues flying for the rest of the 1/20s exposure causing the black streak.

    Where do I go to collect my prize?

    --
    Ydco co ,df C erb-y go. a Ekrpat t.fxrapev
  5. Re:Um, flaw in the film? by pslam · · Score: 5, Interesting
    My guess is a very bright event (the failure of the streetlight, probably) causing CCD overexposure and subsequent temporary ill effects on the rest of the CCD scan line. Any Canon geeks in the house who know about the CCD scanning direction of a Powershot G3 and can compare it with the streak "trajectory" angle?

    I've had all sorts of annoying artifacts like this on my image capture setup at home, but generally overloading the CCD produces horizontal and vertical streaks only, which would follow the layout of the CCD (rows and columns?) The image could still be explained by either:

    • The CCD being deliberately mounted at an angle in the G3 (perhaps to reduce aliasing effects).
    • The bright spot caused lens flaring towards the top level just before the shot, with nearby pixels being dimmed in the image taken very shortly after.

    My theory is the bright flash is actually sunlight reflected off the lamp and either overloading the CCD or causing a lens flare just before the image, resulting in this artifact. I get that a lot with cars going by my camera setup at home, especially at sunrise and sunset. The only difference I get is that they're all perfectly horizontal and/or vertical.

  6. OMG the sky is falling!!! by gosand · · Score: 5, Insightful
    Meteor experts don't think it's a meteor. Atmospheric scientists don't think it's lightning

    Paleontologists don't think it is a dinosaur, NASA doesn't think it is a spacecraft, financial experts don't think it will have an adverse effect on the economy, lawyers could be preparing a lawsuit on behalf of Bigfoot for IP infringement, the FDA has said it could have adverse side effect, the White House has declined to comment. Currently the photo is on sale at eBay with the high bid at $785.

    --

    My beliefs do not require that you agree with them.

  7. Re:No way by dangermouse · · Score: 5, Funny
    It's clearly an artifact.

    Yes, an ancient, alien artifact, pregnant with long-dormant, world-ravaging evil, which will no doubt unleash terrible plague and death and destruction the world over, consuming the entire human race in an unimaginable apocalypse, only possibly averted by some unlikely everyman hero who has heretofore been overlooked by society but who will, no doubt, be immortalized by his deeds on the day the evil is returned to this artifact and banished forever.

    Clear as day. It's right there in the photo.

  8. Re:No way by ultrasound · · Score: 5, Funny

    Actually, additional analysis here shows a slightly more energetic explosion than the original image suggests.

  9. Re:Timestamps on the images by bcattwoo · · Score: 5, Funny

    Ah, but this was in Australia. In the Southern Hemisphere clocks run counter-clockwise (well, still clockwise to them), so time runs opposite of what it does in the Northern Hemisphere.

  10. photoshopped image... by zebruh · · Score: 5, Informative

    Maybe this will shed some light. It's a Photoshop "difference" between the before image and the mystery image, with a bit of levels adjustment to make it more obvious. http://img119.exs.cx/my.php?loc=img119&image=x2fst rangeprydebigdi.jpg

  11. Re:No way by Hrdina · · Score: 5, Funny

    I think that one came from the George Lucas expanded edition of the original.