Last Sunday the 21st was an eclipse where the shadow of th Earth covered the moon. A lot of people were watching, and recorded a flash caused by the impact of a meteor. Shown in the video above, and many others.
I’m not disputing it, not in any way, shape or form. But it’s an opportunity for me to tell you how I see flashes like that not infrequently.
I look at the night sky a lot. At night before bed, in the pre-dawn when I’m running/walking the dogs.. I keep track of the constellations in the sky and the phase of the moon. (Just because a long time ago, I decided I wanted to learn the constellations, not ’cause I’m some kind of looney bin astrologer)
So anyway, I look at the sky and see a flash like in the video maybe once in 10 times I’m looking, coupla times a month. I’ll be looking and it will be in my field of vision and I’ll see it, focus on where it was, but it’s already gone. Or I’ll see it out of the corner of my eye, turn to look, expecting to see an airplane strobe flashing by, and there will be none. (Not on the moon, just in the black sky.)
That’s exactly what it looks like, one white flash from an airplane strobe. Exactly how it looks in the video. It’s always my thought, airplane, when I see the flash, but then there’s not another flash, unless it is actually and airplane, and it usually is, and I watch it go flashing by.
I’m also familar with Iridum Flares, and that’s NOT what I’m talking about here.
So when I saw the “flash” on the news about the eclipse, I did think. Maybe they saw one of “my” flashes, just that the moon was behind it.
I’d like to see a before-and-after picture, similar to the one below, (Which is from Mars) from the eclipse impact. Or maybe somebody could tell me what the flashes I see are.
It’s a holiday Monday here, a big weather front moved through early this morning. It’s blow-the-chairs-over windy, rainy and cold. It was a nice, sunny weekend before that. I mowed the yard, we took both dogs to the beach, took Lenny by himself to a dog training session, also on the beach. Today is a friends birthday and we’re going to a restaurant lunch party later.
Have a great week!
OK, I thought I had an answer about the flashes but found this – “Flashes of light in your vision come from inside your eye. They are not caused by lights or anything else outside of your body. Most flashes happen when the vitreous gel inside the eye shrinks or changes, pulling on the retina (the light-sensitive lining of the eye).” Then they said to tell your optometrist about them.
What I have read before, is cosmic rays passing through your eye can cause a flash like that. You can see those with your eyes closed.
I only see them when I’m looking at the sky. They are not inside my head.
Maybe you need a solid single color background (blue, black) to notice them.
It’s not in my head. Others have seen them with me. My wife and others several times at astronomy club meetings. It’s not what this post is about. Show me before and after of the new crater on the moon.
I’m out of ideas. And since I live in an urban area I can’t look at the sky and see things like that. I can’t even see meteor showers. Too many lights.