Can we please talk about the weird lights that people are seeing to the west at night?

[rausda27]

Saw them east bound in the way to Amsterdam a few weeks ago. Totally random patterns. Came and went.

 

[mikecweb]

Yeah I didn't get that either.

I'm all about that Amy Adams. The only other ginger that may eclipse her is @mikecweb but he's more 'strawberry blonde'.

 

[ppragman]

I never said she wasn’t hot. She definitely is. My position is a very nuanced one.

Giggity....

 

[knot4u]

I have a simple question. Many here have posited that faster than light travel is impossible. Where did these lights come from?

 

[SteveC]

I have a simple question. Many here have posited that faster than light travel is impossible. Where did these lights come from?

Where Did the First Light in the Universe Come From? Astrophysicists Now Know

Studies using advanced space telescopes paint a fascinating picture of our early universe.

bigthink.com

 

[knot4u]

Where Did the First Light in the Universe Come From? Astrophysicists Now Know

Studies using advanced space telescopes paint a fascinating picture of our early universe.

bigthink.com

Cute. If there are intelligent "formations of objects" causing pilots distress where did they come from?

 

[SteveC]

Cute. If there are intelligent "formations of objects" causing pilots distress where did they come from?

Satellites. Why are you asking about faster-than-light travel?

 

[derg]

Satellites. Why are you asking about faster-than-light travel?

Well lets talk about OLED versus the original plasma displays...

 

[knot4u]

Satellites. Why are you asking about faster-than-light travel?

Perhaps my humor was beneath you. That was what I was trying to say.

 

[sweeps]

So for the fighter guys on here… when dog-fighting or ACM or whatever you call it… how high up can you be while doing that and would afterburner use ever be a thing? Flying a red-eye from SJU to EWR and saw some lights coming and going to the north of where we were. They were obviously moving up and down as well as turning. I had never seen anything like that before, was wondering if it was fighters up playing. Somewhere out east of the ORF area it appeared.

 

[MikeD]

So for the fighter guys on here… when dog-fighting or ACM or whatever you call it… how high up can you be while doing that and would afterburner use ever be a thing? Flying a red-eye from SJU to EWR and saw some lights coming and going to the north of where we were. They were obviously moving up and down as well as turning. I had never seen anything like that before, was wondering if it was fighters up playing. Somewhere out east of the ORF area it appeared.

Is there airspace such as a MOA or Restricted or Warning in that area? Short AB use and self protection flare use (the ones that last only a few seconds), is common. Although night dogfighting, phone booth style….within visual range, is unusual. However maneuvering while taking shots and avoiding shots from other aircraft, can easily include AB and protection flare usage.

Parachute illumination flares are common to see in restricted areas where air to ground ops are going on. These are what were seen in the first section of the so-called Phoenix Lights in 1997. The parachute flares appear to hover, as the fate burning provides lift to the parachute, slowing the descent of the flare. These flares burn for 5 minutes and are often dropped in a string pattern. In the Phoenix Lights, you can see these flares over the R-2304 restricted area and as they disappear behind the Estrella mountains from the video views from Phoenix looming southwest.

 

[BEEF SUPREME]

So for the fighter guys on here… when dog-fighting or ACM or whatever you call it… how high up can you be while doing that and would afterburner use ever be a thing? Flying a red-eye from SJU to EWR and saw some lights coming and going to the north of where we were. They were obviously moving up and down as well as turning. I had never seen anything like that before, was wondering if it was fighters up playing. Somewhere out east of the ORF area it appeared.

When I first saw the lights I was flying with a former fighter guy and he described what we were seeing as a "furball". After watching it for another month or three I decided it was many satellites, moving in a grid pattern.

 

[sweeps]

Is there airspace such as a MOA or Restricted or Warning in that area? Short AB use and self protection flare use (the ones that last only a few seconds), is common. Although night dogfighting, phone booth style….within visual range, is unusual. However maneuvering while taking shots and avoiding shots from other aircraft, can easily include AB and protection flare usage.

Parachute illumination flares are common to see in restricted areas where air to ground ops are going on. These are what were seen in the first section of the so-called Phoenix Lights in 1997. The parachute flares appear to hover, as the fate burning provides lift to the parachute, slowing the descent of the flare. These flares burn for 5 minutes and are often dropped in a string pattern. In the Phoenix Lights, you can see these flares over the R-2304 restricted area and as they disappear behind the Estrella mountains from the video views from Phoenix looming southwest.

Thanks so much. It was over water for sure and in or near warning areas from my estimation. I didn’t even think about flares. I’m familiar with parachute flares, I’m was field artillery in another life. Used to shoot illume rounds all the time. Always figured that’s what the Phoenix lights were haha.

 

[sweeps]

When I first saw the lights I was flying with a former fighter guy and he described what we were seeing as a "furball". After watching it for another month or three I decided it was many satellites, moving in a grid pattern.

Yeah these were curving and I’m pretty sure were below the horizon but hard to tell. Very interesting to watch

 

[MikeD]

Thanks so much. It was over water for sure and in or near warning areas from my estimation. I didn’t even think about flares. I’m familiar with parachute flares, I’m was field artillery in another life. Used to shoot illume rounds all the time. Always figured that’s what the Phoenix lights were haha.

The first set of Phoenix lights, yes. The second set later in the evening, I don’t know what that was for sure. The illum flares, you can see when some burn out after the 5 mins, and the parachute collapses and they fall to earth as the flare crumbles.

Arty…..King of Battle. M110 8-inch/203mm self propelled?

 

[Ian_J]

I saw some crazy lights for the very first time crossing the pacific last night. Probably just satellites low on the horizon rotating and catching sunlight, but man… They looked like they were moving from left to right and blinking in and out of existence. My captain was convinced they were UFOs while I was trying to scientifically explain them away.

 

[ASpilot2be]

I saw some crazy lights for the very first time crossing the pacific last night. Probably just satellites low on the horizon rotating and catching sunlight, but man… They looked like they were moving from left to right and blinking in and out of existence. My captain was convinced they were UFOs while I was trying to scientifically explain them away.

What time? I was heading LAX-ICN last night and saw strange lights on the horizon between Shemya and Japan.

 

[///AMG]

We don't do Basic Fighter Maneuvers (BFM) inside of 30 mins prior to sundown. It is prohibited. You won't see afterburner use during the day, unless you are maybe less than a half mile, directly behind the plane, and even then, only during very specific times of fading daylight/cloud shadowing. What you might have seen, described erroneously as a "fur ball" was airplanes doing extended range intercepts. A bit less afterburner use there, compared to near continuous AB use in BFM/dogfighting.

 

[Ian_J]

What time? I was heading LAX-ICN last night and saw strange lights on the horizon between Shemya and Japan.

Probably like 2300-0000 Tokyo time. Was eastbound doing NRT-LAX.

 

[///AMG]

So for the fighter guys on here… when dog-fighting or ACM or whatever you call it… how high up can you be while doing that and would afterburner use ever be a thing? Flying a red-eye from SJU to EWR and saw some lights coming and going to the north of where we were. They were obviously moving up and down as well as turning. I had never seen anything like that before, was wondering if it was fighters up playing. Somewhere out east of the ORF area it appeared.

Specific to that area, the W-72 was what we used out of NAS Oceana. So high probability that you saw afterburners east of ORF/NTU/VA Beach. Or from the Langley Raptors up in W-386 just north of there, also east of ORF.