Super-bright, white, star-like object appears near the star Merak
I was playing with a new android app called "Spacejunk" which displays a map of the night sky as you pan with the phone in real-time.
While looking toward the big dipper, I noticed a brief flash of intense, pure, white light, so I focused on spot near the star Merak at what appeared to be a larger star, three to four times larger and five times brighter (than Merak).
It faded to nothing in about three seconds immediately followed by a smokey white trail, about half a centimeter long to the out-stretched hand,
Then another flash and the appearance of another white star one-third the size of the first, which faded to nothing within two seconds.
My impression was that this did not occur in the atmosphere, that it was distant, possibly a supernova. I don't think it was a meteor because it didn't streak. The light was diffuse, not directional or piercing, and it radiated outward from a central point.
I guess it's possible it was a meteor heading in my direction, but it just seemed too distant.
It's important to note the lack of color in the sighting; no alternating green or red lights as you would see on an airplane. I kept looking at the spot to see if it would re-appear, but the clouds rolled in fifteen minutes later, so I had to stop looking. I made an animation of what I saw here:
http://i.imgur.com/pYsLT.gif
I was playing with a new android app called "Spacejunk" which displays a map of the night sky as you pan with the phone in real-time.
While looking toward the big dipper, I noticed a brief flash of intense, pure, white light, so I focused on spot near the star Merak at what appeared to be a larger star, three to four times larger and five times brighter (than Merak).
It faded to nothing in about three seconds immediately followed by a smokey white trail, about half a centimeter long to the out-stretched hand,
Then another flash and the appearance of another white star one-third the size of the first, which faded to nothing within two seconds.
My impression was that this did not occur in the atmosphere, that it was distant, possibly a supernova. I don't think it was a meteor because it didn't streak. The light was diffuse, not directional or piercing, and it radiated outward from a central point.
I guess it's possible it was a meteor heading in my direction, but it just seemed too distant.
It's important to note the lack of color in the sighting; no alternating green or red lights as you would see on an airplane. I kept looking at the spot to see if it would re-appear, but the clouds rolled in fifteen minutes later, so I had to stop looking. I made an animation of what I saw here:
http://i.imgur.com/pYsLT.gif
No
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Off
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Yes
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Yes
Manor
USA
5 seconds
5 seconds
30.34
-97.52
light
TX
Occurred : 5/24/2011 22:48 (Entered as : 052411 22:48) Reported: 5/28/2011 3:04:32 PM 15:04 Posted: 5/29/2011 Location: Manor, TX Shape: Light Duration: 5 seconds Characteristics: There were lights on the object, The object left a trail
Super-bright, white, star-like object appears near the star Merak