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07-12-2012, 08:54 PM
Life is looking up!
Join Date: Sep 2010
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What's going on in the middle of Australia?
APOD shows an updated picture of the Earth at Night.
http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap121207.html
But what is going on?
This picture shows more light in the middle of Australia than around the coast.
Can this be right
07-12-2012, 08:59 PM
Really just a beginner
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: Brisbane
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And very dark over Indonesia & PNG...
07-12-2012, 09:01 PM
Aussie abroad.
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Location: Alicante, Spain.
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Good point, I noticed that too.
07-12-2012, 09:01 PM
The Glenfallus
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Location: Central Coast, NSW
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Peter, I had precisely the same thought when I saw that. Makes no sense at all.
07-12-2012, 09:05 PM
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Location: Perth, WA
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The only thing those could be is minesites. I'm surprised by the apparent brightness and extent though.
07-12-2012, 09:08 PM
Aussie abroad.
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Location: Alicante, Spain.
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I guess it could be, if you look up between the UK and Norway you can see the oil platforms too.
07-12-2012, 09:13 PM
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Location: Thurgoona, NSW
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Quote:
Originally Posted by
JB80
Good point, I noticed that too.
Looks like the mines, my brother is over in Newman at the mines and its in that area where its all lit up.
07-12-2012, 09:14 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by
MikeyB
The only thing those could be is minesites. I'm surprised by the apparent brightness and extent though.
I very much doubt whether there are that many big mine sites, as most of the area show are reserves and desert, apart from Alice Springs and surrounds.
07-12-2012, 09:20 PM
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The lights seem to be displaced well to the East of the actual major mining centres. Maybe the kangaroos are up to something, out there in the saltbush and spinifex country?
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07-12-2012, 09:24 PM
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Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Bright, Vic, Australia
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Min min lights?
Plenty of other anomolies being pointed out:
http://asterisk.apod.com/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=30321
Whatever the infrared imager is picking up, it ain't necessarily city lights.
Cheers -
07-12-2012, 09:34 PM
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Location: Perth, WA
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Quote:
Originally Posted by
Rob_K
The mystery lights are outback wildfires, according to the linked video halfway down that page - I wouldn't have guessed that!
07-12-2012, 09:40 PM
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Location: south east QLD,Australia
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Seems most strange-looks like the Tanami desert area.
07-12-2012, 09:56 PM
Seriously Amateur
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Brisbane
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Very dodgy...!
Maybe if its imaging in IR it is picking up hot rocks in the desert
. It also seems to have missed or underrepresented several big urban areas. Look at Sydney for instance. It looks barely bigger than the lights on Groote Eylandt in the gulf of capentaria - and you would be hard pressed spotting the town there when you are IN it, let alone from several hundred kilometres away...
I also don't believe the outback lights are wildfires. I think we might have heard about those
07-12-2012, 10:01 PM
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Location: Western Australia
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Campfires
07-12-2012, 10:06 PM
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Location: Melbourne, Vic
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And Darwin seems to have almost disappeared!
Clear skies
Rod
07-12-2012, 10:09 PM
Oh, I See You Are Empty!
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: Laramie, WY - United States of America
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http://youtu.be/Q3YYwIsMHzw?hd=1
I see quite a few areas that hold my interest...
Nile River Valley
Fishing boats off the coast of Perú ?
Barrow Alaska
Would have expect a light (or two) around McMurdo and Mawson stations
Four dots around Greenland... ships I assume?
The North Sea is well lit up !
If I had to guess, I'd say there's a dot for Barrow Island
Love the outline of India, you can tell where India stops and Pakistan starts.
07-12-2012, 10:21 PM
Oh, I See You Are Empty!
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: Laramie, WY - United States of America
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Quote:
Originally Posted by
MikeyB
The mystery lights are outback wildfires, according to the linked video halfway down that page - I wouldn't have guessed that!
I believe that...
When there was no direct flight to Barrow, I used to fly via Karratha and we'd always see smoke off in the distance.
07-12-2012, 10:30 PM
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Check out the sizes of the 'patches' in the 'patchwork quilt'. They easily cover 2-3 timzones in each frame so there would be uneven lighting.
07-12-2012, 11:23 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by
MikeyB
The only thing those could be is minesites. I'm surprised by the apparent brightness and extent though.
No mine sites in those areas though. The mines are further west and north. The areas which are lit up on that image are literally deserted, one of the emptiest parts of Australia.
The only plausible explanation I can think of is lightning from thunderstorms. Thunderstorms in that area are actually fairly common.
07-12-2012, 11:30 PM
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Reported on SBS news that it's due to bush fires.
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. It also seems to have missed or underrepresented several big urban areas. Look at Sydney for instance. It looks barely bigger than the lights on Groote Eylandt in the gulf of capentaria - and you would be hard pressed spotting the town there when you are IN it, let alone from several hundred kilometres away...
