Any ideas?

• Guest 643

  • Registered: 12 Mar 2008
  • Posts: 1,321
  9 April 2009     18:1919241
  #1      
  My son took this photo at Shakespeare beach on Tuesday around midday. He's intrigued by the white spot in the sky which isn't a sunspot or mark on his lense. It was a dry bright day. Any of you experts got any ideas? Could it be one of PaulB's UFOs? If you zoom in on it it seems to have a rainbow hue around it. A photo he took from a different angle just afterwards shows the same spot in the same position in the sky. OOer missus!!
  
  

  
  There's always a little truth behind every "Just kidding", a little emotion behind every "I don't care" and a little pain behind every "I'm ok".
• Guest 644

  • Registered: 12 Mar 2008
  • Posts: 1,214
  9 April 2009     18:3119242
  #2      
  Jacqui,
  
  Any chance you could crop the area and post a larger image of the spot please?
  
  Alternatively, please send me the pics, as large as possible, to phil.precambrian@btopenworld.com. I love forteana and would like a closer look.
  
  Ta.
• Guest 655

  • Registered: 13 Mar 2008
  • Posts: 10,247
  9 April 2009     18:3319244
  #3      
  weather baloon maybe?
• Guest 657

  • Registered: 13 Mar 2008
  • Posts: 3,037
  9 April 2009     18:3319245
  #4      
  I would love to see a close up / larger image too.
  www.facebook.com/jeaneheadstonehunter
• howard mcsweeney1

  • Location: Dover
  • Registered: 12 Mar 2008
  • Posts: 62,352
  9 April 2009     19:2219252
  #5      
  definitley the start of an alien invasion, though they may be very nice people.
  
  could be more honest politicians.
• Guest 643

  • Registered: 12 Mar 2008
  • Posts: 1,321
  9 April 2009     20:0219255
  #6      
  Thanks Jeane and Phil, I have emailed you both the photo.
  There's always a little truth behind every "Just kidding", a little emotion behind every "I don't care" and a little pain behind every "I'm ok".
• Guest 651

  • Registered: 12 Mar 2008
  • Posts: 5,673
  9 April 2009     20:0619256
  #7      
  Last night there was a strange 413330 in vapour trails in the sky !!!
  Been nice knowing you :)
• Guest 671

  • Registered: 4 May 2008
  • Posts: 2,095
  9 April 2009     20:0819257
  #8      
  no expert, but its not a cloud, outer edge too sharp.
  "My New Year's Resolution, is to try and emulate Marek's level of chilled out, thoughtfulness and humour towards other forumites and not lose my decorum"
• Guest 657

  • Registered: 13 Mar 2008
  • Posts: 3,037
  9 April 2009     20:1019258
  #9      
  Thanks Jacqui got it. I am wondering if it may be the reflection (glare) off a small plane?
  www.facebook.com/jeaneheadstonehunter
• Guest 644

  • Registered: 12 Mar 2008
  • Posts: 1,214
  10 April 2009     00:4219272
  #10      
  Hmmm....a zoom in indicates that it has some sort of structure and tapers to the left. Part of the object appears to be in shadow. I therefore don't believe that it is a weather balloon as I don't think it was spherical. Also those things usually drift at very high altitudes and I don't think they are released around here. (I may be wrong about that).
  
  If it had been a helicopter it probably would have generated a lot of noise. As Jeane guesses, it may well be a small plane or glider, but it really is very shiny. My guess is that it could be one of those odd shaped silver children's balloons strongly reflecting sunlight, but I'm far from certain.
  
  You can see that it is not circular from the attached pictures where I've played about with the contrast.
  
  

  

  
  
  

  

  
  
  

  

  
  
  If I may add, it's a very nice photo notwithstanding our Unidentified Dover Object!
• Guest 673

  • Registered: 16 Jun 2008
  • Posts: 1,388
  10 April 2009     05:0119273
  #11      
  Could it be Venus? It has been very bright in the night sky for months and the following entries found on the web refer to it being visible in daylight:
  
  "Venus is actually not difficult to see in broad daylight with the unaided eye, if you know where to look. I found it readily from South London when I knew it to be close to the Moon before the occultation in December, but since then I have again found it several times just by viewing from my sofa through my south-facing lounge window. Focusing the eyes on the blue backdrop is part of the difficulty, another reason why it helps to have the more readily located Moon nearby, but once you find Venus's brilliant glint, it is obvious. The photo in my link shows that Venus actually shines brighter, area for area, than the Moon, but then Venus has dazzlingly reflective cloudtops and the Moon is made of relatively dark rock! "
  
  "Venus is a "morning star" this month. Like Mercury, Venus undergoes dramatic changes during April, gaining half a magnitude in brightness, increasing in illumination from 2% to 24%, and decreasing in apparent size from 58.6 arc seconds to 39.9 arc seconds. It is occulted by a 17% illuminated crescent Moon on April 22. For information on this daylight occultation, see http://www.lunar-occultations.com/iota/pleiades/pleiades.htm"
• Guest 640

  • Registered: 21 Apr 2007
  • Posts: 7,819
  10 April 2009     06:4119274
  #12      
  Well done Jacqui a very interesting and exciting thread. Enjoying the posts with the various theories. Fascinating.
  email: dover7@msn.com
• Guest 673

  • Registered: 16 Jun 2008
  • Posts: 1,388
  12 April 2009     18:1719351
  #13      
  Definitely Venus. Corroborated by none other than Sylvia in the Hospice Shop who heard them talking about it on Radio Kent the other day. What made me think that it must be Venus was that it has been so prominent in the night sky for months now, with the extraordinary triple conjunction with the crescent moon and Jupiter back on the 1st December.
  
  They were the three brightest objects in the night sky and they all came together to form the amazing Smiley face as viewed from the other side of the world, here seen over Melbourne:
  
  

  

  
  
  Twelve hours later, the earth had rotated such that they were visible from Dover and I tried to get a photo with the Western Heights in the frame. By this time, the moon had moved twelve hours further along its orbit of the earth, at a diagonal to a line joining Venus and Jupiter and the other side of said line, so even a Grumpy face was not to be had. Venus was correctly placed to one side of the downturned mouth of the crescent moon but Jupiter was way away to the top right.
  
  Had to puzzle over this for a bit before I twigged it, including standing on my head to get the view from Aussie. Didn't matter anyway as the composition disappeared behind the Western Heights whilst I was still looking out a tripod. The fuzzy photo below shows the comparative brilliance of Venus against the crescent moon, with the rest of the disc of the moon illuminated in earthshine.
  
  

  

  
  
  Following that, Venus has remained very bright ever since and I tried to get a photo one night at the end of February. Viewed from mid channel up near the MPC buoy, the lights of the Port of Dover were at the foot with the red vertical lights on the Hougham TV mast behind them pointing upwards to the moon directly above and Venus immediately above that. Would have been a good photo.
  
  As expected however, there was no chance whatsover of achieving a decent photo from a moving, vibrating ship but the fuzzy result below shows the comparative brilliance of the celestial objects. The ship had moved on towards the South Goodwin by this time and the angle had changed so the lights of the Hougham TV mast are on the left with the orange lights of the port stretching to the right.
  
  

  
• Bern

  • Location: Dover
  12 April 2009     21:3219357
  #14      
  All I can say is: WoW!!! Thanks Ed.
• Guest 657

  • Registered: 13 Mar 2008
  • Posts: 3,037
  12 April 2009     21:5119359
  #15      
  I'll second that, thanks Ed. Amazing.
  www.facebook.com/jeaneheadstonehunter
• Guest 643

  • Registered: 12 Mar 2008
  • Posts: 1,321
  13 April 2009     07:3919385
  #16      
  Yes thank you Ed, that's fantastic. I have text Adam to tell him as he'as in Ireland at the moment and he was very pleased that the mystery was cleared up.
  Thanks also to Jeane and Phil for their interest too.
  Ed you are a veritable mine of information and always come up with answers, I don't know how you do it, first this then Dave1s photo - incredible - thank you so much x
  There's always a little truth behind every "Just kidding", a little emotion behind every "I don't care" and a little pain behind every "I'm ok".
• Guest 673

  • Registered: 16 Jun 2008
  • Posts: 1,388
  13 April 2009     17:0319405
  #17      
  Thanks ladies, blush blush
  
  I confess to being a frustrated stargazer, can't see a lot from our flat with all the light from the town and the docks. Can't help reflecting on all those wasted years deepsea out in the middle of the worlds oceans with the firmament blazing overhead unheeded and me ensconced in the bar!
• Guest 660

  • Registered: 14 Mar 2008
  • Posts: 3,205
  16 April 2009     21:0719654
  #18      
  No it is a UFO, think of the Tourists if we all pretend it is real,they would flock in then every April we release the Story again and every Year back come the Tourists,same as they do in Loch Ness watch the Newspapers there will be a sighting of Nessie soon.So come on lets start a Campaign,sell the T shirts I have seen the DOVER UFO.
  If you knew what I know,we would both be in trouble!
• Guest 655

  • Registered: 13 Mar 2008
  • Posts: 10,247
  16 April 2009     22:2619665
  #19      
  Hold on JHG. We dont need any false monsters or saucer sightings.
  
  All we need is news to get out of Dover's, if not the world's best kept secret, Dolly, the Dover harbour monster. We have all been very good in Dover keeping Dolly's secret from the world so she can stay safe in her deep under-water hole home in the harbour, but perhaps it is time to let the world know about her and to let Dover cash in.