Urgent Request from Sydney observatory

[big_dav_2001]

I was just flicking through my Facebook news feed (I know.. I know ;) ) and came across an update from Geoff at Sydney observatory 20 minutes ago urging followers to look towards the western horizon NOW!!!

In the comments, he claims it was a small fuzzy object which moved about 2 degrees in 4-5 minutes...

Just wondering if anyone saw it?? Missed it myself..

Davin

[big_dav_2001]

Comment response by Geoff at observatory

Dav

[blindman]

I saw it!
It was fading after say 5 or so minutes.
Very unusual.

[GrahamL]

upper stage burn of recently launched rocket?

anything going up this week ?

[jezza]

Hi, we were doing a school viewing night, so all saw it through scopes in suburban skies in Brisbane. Very clear. Looked similar to a comet... Pity it faded too fast for anyone to get a photo as we were only doing visual observing. Thought it lasted longer than 5 mins though. Seem to remember a post years ago about similar event which was related to rocket fuel I think? (as GrahamL has already mentioned)

[LewisM]

http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/showthread.php?t=112236

[big_dav_2001]

Yeah, thats what i thought too... Sydney Obs just posted a pic a tour member took if it, they seem to think it may have been some sort of launch or a satellite releasing gas of some sort into the upper atmosphere for an experiment... A colleague of Geoff's at the Obs said he could see "a star-like object next to a small cloud"...

Pretty strange

[jezza]

Rocket launch it seems..
WALLOPS ISLAND, VA – “All Systems Are GO” for the Sept. 18 launch of Orbital Sciences Antares commercial rocket carrying the first ever fully functional Cygnus commercial resupply vehicle to orbit on the history making first flight blasting off from NASA’s Wallops Island Facility- along the eastern shore of Virginia and bound for the International Space Station (ISS).

Read more: http://www.universetoday.com/104698/how-to-see-the-historic-antarescygnus-launch-to-space-station-on-sept-18/#ixzz2fFL3BizJ

[big_dav_2001]

Ahh didn't see that, Thanks Lewis..

Davin

[big_dav_2001]

I don't think this was it, the time of launch on that site says it will be launched at 10.50am EDT (US eastern time), the time this was seen would have been around 6.30am EDT... It's currently 8.30am EDT so it's not due to launch for over 2 more hours... Likely to be a launch from somewhere, but don't think it was this one...

Davin

[Mark_Heli]

I was driving home from work this evening at ~7:40PM and also saw it. The pictures and description provided by bkm2304 in the other post was exactly what I saw - it looked like a bright ball of fog.

Cheers,
Mark

[big_dav_2001]

There was a launch of an Atlas 5 rocket from Cape Canaveral today also, the times are close, looks like that might have been the one, I thought it would have been well and truly burnt out by the time it got within sight of us in Australia though...

Details here (http://spacecoastdaily.com/2013/09/atlas-v-set-to-launch-from-cape-canaveral-wednesday/)

Dav

[Suzy]

Oh that's it- I'm officially tying myself to the lap top so I don't keep missing news like this. This is what happens when I walk away from it! :rolleyes::lol:

I've just seen Richard's pics in the thread Lewis posted. Wow, he captured it beautifully didn't he.

[deanm]

Here's an older observation of persistant rocket exhaust plume around the Shuttle after undocking from ISS, seen from Adelaide - this was quite a remarkable sight!

http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/showthread.php?p=745998#post745998

Dean