Strange unidentified flying object

[Anth10 (Anthony M)]

Ok,
Just got home after Good Friday Mass,
Just rolled off the Obsy roof to sit back and have a quiet arvo when I observed a white elliptical object transit the blue sky starting in the NE and heading SE at about 30deg elevation. It would have crossed the sky in approx 10sec so it was moving fast. Faster than a plane but not like a meteor that would dash through the sky or anything.
I was bewildered as to what it might have been.
I can rule out a plane as it was not on the flight path but I could only guess it being a weather balloon perhaps?
Any suggestions.
First time I’ve seen anything as such.

Anthony.

[Leo.G (Leo)]

I have photographs of the strangest thing and all anyone ever said was "it's rare to get a photograph".
No one offered any explanations regardless of where I shared the image.
In saying that I've seen a lot of weird things in the night sky over the past 50 odd years (chronic insomniac who would rather lay or sit out and stare at the sky all night than stare at my bedroom ceiling), I keep it mostly to myself so everyone doesn't think I'm a nut job, which I may very well be.

[Anth10 (Anthony M)]

Leo,
Glad you chimed in.
Seriously you can only comment on what you see. Yes I wished I had a pic to show, but just glued to the vision as it happened. It was a day time event. 4.30pm
I since searched the web and found some images that matched my description. There seems ago be anecdotal evidence of high altitude spy balloons being reported and some that say weather balloons.

At least I can honestly say I have witnessed whatever people want to describe it as. it was definitely odd to see.

The truth is certainly out there.

[OzEclipse (Joe Cali)]

This is a picture I took of the NASA super high altitude pressure balloon about 8 years ago as it crossed over Canberra.

This balloon was carrying about a tonne of instrument payload at high extreme altitude.

When I first spotted it, I didn't know what it was and it looked weird. I first pulled up in my car so I could get a better look then drove home and took this picture with a 100mm f12.5 maksutov. It moved much slower than you have described.

Good luck identifying your mystery object.

Joe

[Anth10 (Anthony M)]

Joe,
Very cool capture. I can imagine what interest would it have been in that instance. Yes it all stands to reason when everything is rationalised.
I have found an image that best represents what scale I visualised this object.

In summary it is astounding what is circling our atmosphere these days. There is a lot going on up there of which we are oblivious, however the mind boggles when we take moments to have a glance up in the sky and spot such things.

[PhilTas (Phil)]

Thank you for posting, this is an interesting topic.

but to inject a bit of humour..........

If you can identify a UFO, it becomes an FO.
Until it lands,,,,,, then it's just an O.

[Leo.G (Leo)]

Now UAP so maybe you only end up with the "P"?


I did once see a triangular black craft no more than 200 feet directly above my next door neighbours house while I was trying to photograph a lunar eclipse in 2008. My new Duracell battery I'd bought for my then Nikon F601 stopped working so I sat on my upturned canoe just looking around. The thing was silent and stationary no more than 200 feet away. I sat and stared for ages then watched as it silently slowly glided away then just vanished in a fraction of a second. My camera started working after it left and I ended up with some nice shots of the eclipse.


I've seen the same black triangular craft in Google sky images (or Google earth, I don't remember) and some say it is some military technology while others cry UFO. Personally I have NO IDEA what I witnessed that night.


I found an Aussie article with an image of exactly what I saw, apparently the article is from the 1990s but it's behind a pay wall and I can't get around those unless my son is up (he codes and can do something related to visual studio (I think) so I can see the article).
https://www.newcastleherald.com.au/i...h678_fmax.webp



https://www.newcastleherald.com.au/s...munibung-hill/


https://www.iheart.com/content/2022-...r-than-aliens/

He told Sprague that the object moved moderately fast and almost looked as if it were gliding on water. By the time that he had centered in on the object to get a good look, it sped away into thin air.

My experience, silently glided away then vanished at a speed beyond my comprehension.



I wish I could have photographed it but I couldn't get the camera to work. It worked fine once the craft was gone and the battery life was indicating full.
I have NO explanation for what happened or what I saw other than it was a once and only appearance of a craft like that but I'll NEVER forget.


Here's another article:


https://www.history.com/news/black-triangle-ufos-facts

[Buck]

Hello Leo,

Thanks for your story. I do wonder how people "know" how big an object is, or how far away an object is when said object is seen in the sky with (generally) no reference points or perspectives to aid in making an accurate assessment of size and distance.
You said ... "The thing was silent and stationary no more than 200 feet away".

Unless an object passes in front of another object of known size, or an observer moves to determine any parallax of a foreground object against more distant background objects, then how does one know how big something is or how close (or distant) an object is - especially an object seen in the virtually featureless sky?

Out of curiosity, how were you able to know the object you saw was "no more than 200 feet away"?

“The eye sees only what the mind is prepared to comprehend.”

Paul

[Leo.G (Leo)]

Well....
I lived at the foot of a mountain which was 150 feet high (And I mean RIGHT at the foot of the mountain, it went up from my back yard) and it sat only slightly higher than the top of the mountain directly over my next door neighbours house (mountain also part of her back yard), estimating a distance from me was easy and I'd put money on my 200 feet being very close.
As for size I did not really have an idea, I went into gobsmacked (awestruck or dumbfounded) mode.