Star Analyser

[Merlin66 (Ken)]

Hmmm
Don't know
Is it just coincidence that the two images are almost mirror images of each other? Similar position on sensor, similar angle and similar length??

[Karls48 (Karl)]

Images are over three years apart, taken with different cameras (GStar and Colour Mintron) and different lenses - 8mm and 50mm lens. And has been taken from slightly different locations. B/W camera is permanently fixed to the house wall and colour one with spectra was taken with camera on tripod. I got other two similar images but they are archived on DVD’s and would be difficult to find between thousands of meteors. I have captured.
I thought it may be laser beam someone shone in the sky, but I do nor really know.

[robin_astro]

Wow, a UFO with a spectrum - the sort of thing UFO hunters would kill for I suspect

Definitely caused by light coming through the grating from something, given the generation of a spectrum. Unlikely to be a laser because the spectrum looks pretty continuous and covers a broad wavelength range. Either something hot or reflecting sunlight I would say. (Comparsion of the spectrum with that from a G star using the same setup could give a clue) Assuming it is a streak from something moving it has a very high angular velocity of 6 deg in 0.16sec so it would have to be moving extremely fast or alternatively close by, in which case it cannot be very large as it is not resolved. A meteor is an obvious candidate, though the spectrum does not show the characteristic emission lines normally found and there is no obvious sign of variation in the intensity along the track. A piece of space junk burning up on reentry? Not sure what they would look like spectroscopically. It would have to have been travelling very fast though. I suggest letting meteor spectrum expert Ed Majden have a look at it.
http://members.shaw.ca/epmajden/

Robin

[Karls48 (Karl)]

Yeah- the software I'm using for meteor capture got unfortunate name UFO Capture. Unfortunate in the respect that most of people associate UFO with flying sourers.

[Karls48 (Karl)]

I have sent-offending image to Ed Majden and he agrees that it is very unusual meteor. But he also states that spectrum resolution is very low and it makes it impossible to find more about this meteor.
The weather is not cooperative so SA (and me) have to wait until we can actually see something in the sky. Meanwhile I'm trying to capture meteors by radio. See Radio meteor capture tread.