Anomaly Caught on Mt. Wilson Cam and Animated. Moon? Object near the moon? Observers say bogey shot vertically from horizon to full few in seconds. SLEUTHS? Overcast here in Seattle, alas, no observation.
10/20/00 12:17:01 AM Pacific Daylight Time
We need to know what this is. MT. Wilson Obsv. just opened up. Here are the updated photos.
Date: 10/20/00 12:21:20 AM Pacific Daylight Time
Kent: We're bailing and going to try to get info and recon/determine whats up. My home number is (not published). Call if you have info etc. I'll call back asap. Bad vibe here. Fleeing.
Date: 10/20/00 2:46:58 AM Pacific Daylight Time
Kent, We went up the mountain to the observatory. We didn't see anything unusual up there except for activity at the observatory base camp. I would call right now except that I'm concerned about how late it is. The low area of the Los Angeles basin was socked in with fog/smog (red mist), so we were unable to begin observing until we were fairly high up the western side of the Angeles Crest access. Any new information? Possibly a launch out of Edwards?
EDITOR: 10/20/00 2:52:52 AM Pacific Daylight Time
Did you see the moon? Only other thing I can think of is a lens flare off the cam from lunar glow. Sheesh, I don't know. Socked in here although the sky is red. Keep going outside to see if anything in the east peeking through clouds. Kent
Date: 10/20/00 2:04:13 AM Pacific Daylight Time
Hi Kent This appears to be just 4 different pictures of a full moon as it is coming up. Notice that when it first appears it is almost orange just as the moon would be as it came up. When in the last frame the moon is brighter, that is because it is no longer in the horizon. Notice the star above the moon as it tracks with the moon as each frame comes up. The crescent shape below the moon is just a reflection on the lense. Wish it was something to really get excited about but I am afraid that this time it is not so exciting.
Date: 10/20/00 3:33:56 AM Pacific Daylight Time
OBSERVER: Kent,
OBSERVER: Sorry....it has been a long time since I've used AOLIM.
BARDSQUILL: Yo
OBSERVER: The moon is at half and waning.
BARDSQUILL: can't see a blamed thing here
OBSERVER: Ah. We're fairly certain it wasn't the moon on the shots. Not certain as to what it could be. Are there any launches scheduled that you know of out of Edwards or China Lake areas?
BARDSQUILL: connect problems here. I animated the cam:
frontpage/10-19tower.gif
OBSERVER: I saw it. Thank you. I've got to log off and get some sleep. Be well. Blessings.
BARDSQUILL: nighto
10/20/00 3:09:41 AM Pacific Daylight Time
The only problem with the full moon theory is that the moon is nowhere near full.
SOLVED:
Date: 10/21/00 9:17:30 AM Pacific Daylight Time
From: webster@astro.ucla.edu (L. Webster)
To: BARDSQUILL@aol.com
hello kent, what you see rising in the upper right is the moon and two nearby stars. thanks for the nice gif sequence!
larry webster
mt. wilson observatory.