Author Topic: What's the deal with all these UFOs, meteors and comets?  (Read 31061 times)

Offline David In Indy

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What's the deal with all these UFOs, meteors and comets?
« on: January 13, 2007, 10:56:19 pm »
First it was meteors falling into people's toilets in New Jersey and flaming rocket parts in the skies of Wyoming. Then it was UFO sightings over O'Hare in Chicago and now this.....


Brightest Comet in Decades Amazes Stargazers
By MARY PEMBERTON, AP

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (Jan. 13) - Nothing can keep dedicated stargazers from trying to get a glimpse of the brightest comet seen in decades -- not even temperatures as low as 40 below zero.
   
There hadn't been a lot of buzz about Comet McNaught, discovered just last year. But as the comet got closer to the sun, it brightened and the word spread -- the comet was special.

Martin Gutoski drove to a lookout about five miles north of Fairbanks on Tuesday evening, when skies were especially cold and clear -- good comet-viewing weather, even if it was frigid.
   
The amateur astronomer waited for sunset and watched as the sky turned salmon red and darkened. He turned his attention toward the spot on the horizon where the sun set.

"It is a very large spike, almost a vertical spike at sunset. ... I was more than impressed with it," he said.

Comet McNaught, discovered last year by Australian astronomer R.H. McNaught, was visible throughout the Northern Hemisphere until Friday, when it came within 16 million miles of the sun and became obscured by the sun's glare. It's now emerging for people in the Southern Hemisphere to enjoy.

Five hundred miles north of Fairbanks in Barrow, at the top of North America, Glenn Sheehan said he hadn't heard anything about a comet until a colleague spread the word that something was different overhead.

In Barrow's long, dark winter, something new in the sky is always welcome, Sheehan said. The sun set there on Nov. 18, not to rise again until Jan. 23.

"The only other outdoor distraction today was a polar bear and two cubs going through here," he said Wednesday.

Sheehan, executive director of the Barrow Arctic Science Consortium, went out to take a look Monday afternoon. He said he wasn't sure what the object was, briefly entertaining the thought that it was a plane.
   
"That didn't make sense, and I gave up and started calling people to find out," he said.

Comets are collections of ice, gas and dust that orbit the sun and usually have two tails, one made of dust and the other of ionizing gases.

NASA astronomer Tony Phillips says Comet McNaught is the brightest comet visible from Earth in 30 years. It is six times brighter than Hale-Bopp in 1997, and 100 times brighter than Halley's Comet when it appeared in 1986, Phillips told The Associated Press on Thursday.

"It will remain a spectacular comet for weeks, perhaps months, in the Southern Hemisphere," Phillips said. "It could emerge as the brightest comet in recorded history."


01/12/07 01:51 EST

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Offline David In Indy

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Re: What's the deal with all these UFOs, meteors and comets?
« Reply #1 on: January 14, 2007, 11:35:58 pm »
The deafening silence in this thread tells me it mystifies you as much as it does me.  ;)
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Offline Front-Ranger

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Re: What's the deal with all these UFOs, meteors and comets?
« Reply #2 on: January 14, 2007, 11:55:36 pm »
Actually, a friend and I looked for this comet several times before it disappeared into the southern hemisphere. I hope it puts on a better show there. The pictures seem to indicate that it will.

There are always lots of things going on in the sky and I hope to be more aware of them this year.
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Offline delalluvia

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Re: What's the deal with all these UFOs, meteors and comets?
« Reply #3 on: January 15, 2007, 01:25:27 am »
They discover new comets all the time.

This one was just very bright, so it caught everyone's attention.

I'm not sure of the name, but earth passes through a meteor cloud in January as well, so that's not much of a surprise.

As for the rocket parts, considering all the junk floating around in orbit, that it doesn't happen more often should be the surprise.   :)

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Re: What's the deal with all these UFOs, meteors and comets?
« Reply #4 on: January 15, 2007, 01:27:48 am »
it's them ALIENS!!

Offline David In Indy

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Re: What's the deal with all these UFOs, meteors and comets?
« Reply #5 on: January 15, 2007, 08:20:37 pm »
They discover new comets all the time.

This one was just very bright, so it caught everyone's attention.

I'm not sure of the name, but earth passes through a meteor cloud in January as well, so that's not much of a surprise.

As for the rocket parts, considering all the junk floating around in orbit, that it doesn't happen more often should be the surprise.   :)

What about the UFO sightings over Chicago's O'Hare airport. Dozens of people saw them. Somebody said it was probably swamp gas. The last time I looked there weren't any swamps in downtown Chicago.
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Offline delalluvia

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Re: What's the deal with all these UFOs, meteors and comets?
« Reply #6 on: January 15, 2007, 11:57:42 pm »
What about the UFO sightings over Chicago's O'Hare airport. Dozens of people saw them. Somebody said it was probably swamp gas. The last time I looked there weren't any swamps in downtown Chicago.

Um, I think I would be more intrigued by UFO sightings seen in areas where aircraft don't commonly fly.

injest

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Re: What's the deal with all these UFOs, meteors and comets?
« Reply #7 on: January 16, 2007, 12:32:43 am »
I dunno....if people are IN a place where they EXPECT to see things in the sky and see something that is UNLIKE the planes and helicopters that are coming in and out...

that would have more weight to me...because they would have a source of reference....That is a plane...that is a helicopter...that is NOT either what is it??

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Re: What's the deal with all these UFOs, meteors and comets?
« Reply #8 on: January 16, 2007, 12:36:31 am »
whereas if you were out in the middle of the ocean and looked up to see a light in the sky...how would you know what it was? you have no point of reference there...so I would distrust a UFO report in that circumstance more...

Offline David In Indy

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Re: What's the deal with all these UFOs, meteors and comets?
« Reply #9 on: January 16, 2007, 01:51:49 am »
I dunno....if people are IN a place where they EXPECT to see things in the sky and see something that is UNLIKE the planes and helicopters that are coming in and out...

that would have more weight to me...because they would have a source of reference....That is a plane...that is a helicopter...that is NOT either what is it??

That's true too, Jess! A few of those people witnessing these strange crafts were airport personnel, including one or two air traffic controllers.

They all said they have never seen anything like it before.

God, Chicago is AWFULLY close to Indianapolis. I hope those UFOs aren't heading towards Indiana!  :o
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