A bit of a strange one
Whilst on a CL near Bridlington last week I went outside in the pitch black of the evening to look at the stars. In the distance there was aircraft noise that sounded more military then commercial. I noticed what I thought was a star moving in an easterly direction, out over the sea. As I watched it it suddenly became extremely bright, a white light, for about 2 or three seconds and then reverted to appearing to be a star but continuing eastwards. Anyone any suggestions what could be happening? I'm just curious.
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I keep reading of people seeing the International Space Station overhead. No idea of direction or timing but from what people have said suggests a longer light progressing across the night sky.
David
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David, I've seen the space station on several occasions. It just looks like a bigger star but travelling across the sky relatively quickly, about 3 minutes to go from horizon to horizon. This sighting, I am sure, wasn't ISS. It looked too small but it was the 2 to 3 seconds of extremely bright white light that then reverted to 'normal' star appearance that had me intrigued. Was it a military plane 'on exercise' in view of the noise, or could it have been a satellite which are quite commonly seen but, of course, are silent? I guess I'll never know but it's surprising what is seen if one looks up on a clear night.
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Could it simply have been an aircraft that changed direction, so that whatever light was showing was head on to you, then at an angle again after banking?
I love a dark sky. As you say, fascinating what you can see.
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John
From what you are describing, my guess would be a fighter jet possibly a F 35.What you could be seeing is the afterburners coming on for a short period.
This would rule out an Eurofighter Typhoon as you would have see two short bursts of bright lights.
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Fozzie, are F35s used by the American Air Force in that area? If so, your suggestion would make sense as the owner of the CL had told another guest that most of the aircraft noise that was heard daily was the Americans. Being at very high altitude it could still be catching a bit of daylight and looking like a star.
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