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View Full Version here: : help me identify what I saw the other night?


astrovilla
20-09-2013, 09:23 AM
I was out stargazing on Wednesday night between 7-8.30pm, I was looking at Spica/ Saturn with my Canon 15x50 image stabilizer binoculars,when I noticed a rather bright item at 275deg NW at about 60deg above the horizon,it at first I thought it was a comet,it had a odd shape but it looked like it had a bright nose followed by a gas looking cloudy tail.I watched this amazing thing for up to 1/2hr,during this time the so called comet changed shape and started to slowly fade??
I kept watching unsure of what it was I was watching,about 1/2 way through the viewing its shape changed into what looked like a tornado on its side because it had a funnel shape to it,all the time it was also fading in brightness,till it became a faint smudge but still maintained the funnel shape till it faded and was washed out by the near full moon. What did i see that night,it was amazing and same time weird, did any one else se the same thing...help please???

TheAstroChannel
20-09-2013, 09:54 AM
High chance you saw a rocket in space :P

http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/showthread.php?t=112236&page=2

doppler
20-09-2013, 12:29 PM
It might have been this one (morning in the usa evening in au)http://www.spacenews.com/article/launch-report/37281atlas-5-launches-third-aehf-satellite

astrovilla
26-09-2013, 02:43 PM
Thanks to all for solving my viewing question,It
still feel great that I was able to witness something like that,as I have seen many odd things occasionally,late at night during a viewing, but this was special.