Questions tagged [identify-this-object]

Questions regarding requests to identify the described object in a photo.

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Space-based radio telescope array

I’m wondering about the abilities of a technology: You may have heard of the Square Kilometer Array. The array is focused by adjusting the timing of the individual antennas. Q: Could this array be ...
Joe D's user avatar
  • 11
-5 votes
0 answers
83 views

Strange, bright, circling object in the sky

Somebody I know recorded two videos of this object circling around a field in Prichard, West Virginia. They also said that it “shot up into the air” and came back ~10 minutes later. What could this be?...
Liamshenko's user avatar
3 votes
1 answer
178 views

Help me identify an object

Can someone please help me identify the object moving from 'left' to 'right' in the 'upper' part of this video? (please forgive me for the artifact in the center of the video, dealing with FITS files ...
Claudiu's user avatar
  • 73
1 vote
0 answers
35 views

Light object shakily falling downwards and then fading and disappearing after a minute

The objects that I see seem to didder downward or across the sky for a minute until the light fades completely. They did not move in a straight trajectory, rather pivoting from side to side. I saw ...
Tova z's user avatar
  • 11
0 votes
1 answer
106 views

Unknown objects on a time-lapse video of the starry sky

This is a random timelapse video of the starry sky https://dzen.ru/video/watch/638872052b36453f40e45ada?t=3. Throughout the film, many luminous objects are seen moving across the sky. I have seen ...
Vladimir Orlov's user avatar
2 votes
2 answers
900 views

Need help identifying fast moving red dot in the sky

This occurred last night, August 3, 2023 in Boulder, Colorado between 10:00-10:02pm. I was walking my dog and stopped to admire the stars for a minute. I was facing east and saw a red dot move very ...
Kevin's user avatar
  • 29
14 votes
2 answers
1k views

What telescope is Polish astronomer Kazimierz Kordylewski holding in this April 1964 photo at the Jagiellonian University Observatory in Krakow?

The following questions touch on Kordylewski clouds Can dark matter accumulate at Lagrange points? Are dust-dust collisions necessary to explain Kordylewski clouds at Earth-Moon L4/5? Aren't the ...
uhoh's user avatar
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0 votes
0 answers
76 views

Mysterious Object In The Sky [duplicate]

On Stellarium (https://stellarium-web.org), I found this mysterious object floating in the sky. It is at 6h40m29s,-13º23'30" on the equatorial grid. It is surrounded by HD 47366, HD 47182, and HD ...
RonnieChen's user avatar
9 votes
1 answer
988 views

Identify T-shaped constellation

What is this T-shaped constellation? Never seen it before and it’s not on the map. The photo is made from south-west London facing west at 23-15 on 25.02.2023.
super.t's user avatar
  • 193
3 votes
1 answer
1k views

Are these images of the same nebula?

This image from the Spitzer telescope is supposedly of the Orion nebula. But this image from the Chandra telescope also claims to be of the Orion nebula. I have been unable to confirm either of these ...
Deko Revinio's user avatar
5 votes
1 answer
137 views

What are these bumps on Europa?

The surface of Europa is famous for all the criss-cross lines thought to be cracks in the ice above a water ocean that somehow re-freeze. But in the photo below I also see a lot of raised "bumps&...
uhoh's user avatar
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2 votes
1 answer
115 views

How do I identify a star in general?

I recently asked quite a few identify-this-object questions, and I think maybe this post can serve as a canonical for how to find a star in general? Note that the pictures that you want to find the ...
DialFrost's user avatar
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4 votes
1 answer
2k views

What is this yellow star?

In NASAs's August 26 2022 photo of NGC 1156: Does anyone know what the incredibly bright yellow star is on the middle right? Bonus: What's the bright (less bright than the yellow one) blue yellow ...
DialFrost's user avatar
  • 2,105
11 votes
1 answer
2k views

What is the bright orange star?

After reading this NASA article on Tarantula's Nebula of this image: What is the really bright orange star in the center or upper-left of the young blue stars? The second link further provides ...
DialFrost's user avatar
  • 2,105
5 votes
1 answer
431 views

What are the blue "stars"?

From NASA September 16 Hubble studies a spectacular spiral: There are 4 really bright blue stars in this photo of galaxy NGC 1961. For those who can't see them very clearly, you can focus on the ...
DialFrost's user avatar
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8 votes
1 answer
1k views

What is this bright blue object taken by the Webb telescope?

From NASA - New Webb Image captures clearest view of Neptune's rings in decades: Does anyone know what the bright blue on the left top corner of the picture is? It is a reflection of sorts or is it a ...
DialFrost's user avatar
  • 2,105
5 votes
1 answer
291 views

What is the story behind this supposedly incredibly detailed image of the disk of Proxima Centauri attributed to the JWST?

Etienne Klein (@EtienneKlein)'s twitter account labels them as: Directeur de recherche @CEA_Officiel, producteur de « Science en questions » sur @franceculture, publie « L’esprit du corps » and ...
uhoh's user avatar
  • 31.4k
12 votes
1 answer
4k views

What was the large green yellow thing streaking across the sky?

I just saw a large green yellow streak cross the sky. It looked like a shooting star but way bigger. It seemed closer too. I’m in North Garden VA. It was heading north. It lasted for 5-7 seconds.
Diane 's user avatar
  • 129
7 votes
0 answers
83 views

Using tail-fit Gaussian distribution to compensate for saturated sensors

Main Question I have a project goal, where I have an image of light sources (stars or lamps doesn't matter). The image is split up into channels for each expected band of 'color'. There are occasional ...
probinso's user avatar
  • 171
1 vote
1 answer
68 views

Which three telescopes are these atop a mountain in Hawaii as seen on CNN? Is this webcam view available to the public?

CNN's new video Alaska reached temperatures warmer than California in December includes file footage from a webcam from the top of a mountain in Hawaii showing three observatories. Annotation at the ...
uhoh's user avatar
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1 vote
1 answer
63 views

Which studies prior to 2018 "claimed to find evidence of extragalactic planets in the Andromeda galaxy"? Which instrument was used?

After the first round of popular news items about the "first extragalactic exoplanet" discovery, CNET's Did astronomers find the first planet outside of the Milky Way? It's complicated ...
uhoh's user avatar
  • 31.4k
5 votes
1 answer
374 views

How was the recently publicized Hubble image of a distant galaxy showing clearly resolved lensed in an Einstein ring produced? When was it produced?

The 24-Sep-2021 NASA Goddard video Einstein Ring Spotted by Hubble and it's Goddard Media Studio's page Einstein Ring Spotted By Hubble discuss the image, but don't really give credit to how it was ...
uhoh's user avatar
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9 votes
1 answer
2k views

Can you tell me which star this is?

Back-story: My daughter, age 2, looked up in the Ohio sky (we have very poor star-viewing compared to Arizona) and pointed at a light. She said "what is that". I said "that is a star, ...
EngrStudent's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
63 views

What is in this soft x-ray image?

I've been exploring this new ESA tool and I came across this structure. What is it? The circles look like they might be the footprint of a telescope. Perhaps there was a survey of this specific ...
usernumber's user avatar
  • 17.4k
3 votes
2 answers
264 views

Are these Jupiter's moons?

Sorry for the huge picture), anyway, as you can see, there are 2 specks of light on either side of the upper planet which is likely Jupiter as the lower one is clearly Saturn-shaped. I was going ...
Avid_Cloud's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
770 views

Query with Gaia: I have a list of 1000+ source_id's. How do I find the associated stars and their data?

I have a table of around 1700 source id's from gaiadr2 (in csv format). I would like to see the data that Gaia has for each star in a new table. I'm really struggling to figure out how to do this ...
Joshua Yielding's user avatar
4 votes
1 answer
126 views

Is this object Mars?

I decided to try the Astrophotography mode on my phone. Looking at the image I saw an object I didn't notice at the time. What is the blue circle right of the Moon and just on the top right of the ...
ndnenkov's user avatar
  • 143
1 vote
1 answer
76 views

How can I id this celestial without data?

Anecdotal. Also, I'm using the term 'celestial' loosely; to mean something shiny in the skies. I'm based out of Nagpur in Central India. Sleeping outdoors on account of summer over the last few days I'...
Everyone's user avatar
  • 725
2 votes
0 answers
60 views

I saw a blinking light source, can someone explain it? [duplicate]

I was out watching the Perseids in the AM hours of August 11, 2018 from central Hungary. I brought my binoculars just in case I want to do regular stargazing. There was a blinking light directly ...
Firsh - justifiedgrid.com's user avatar
3 votes
1 answer
864 views

What is this pale blue dot in a daytime photo of a Sun halo? [duplicate]

This photo of the sun behind a cloud was taken on the south coast of England in early May 2021 using an iPhone 11. A halo is visible which I think is the 22-degree halo. However, the photo also shows ...
Fab von Bellingshausen's user avatar
3 votes
2 answers
212 views

What did I photograph around 6 AM on April 27th, 2021? Supermoon plus comet?

Facing SW just before sunrise on April 27, 2021 in Central Florida: The timestamps on the pics start at 6:23 end at 6:27. It was still visible and breaking up like a post launch trail that I would ...
JMCF's user avatar
  • 39
3 votes
1 answer
173 views

Are the bright dots in this image individual stars?

I saw this picture of M51 (Whirlpool galaxy) and noticed many, many bright dots around and in the galaxy. I have freehand-circled a few as examples. Are these individual stars (probably supergiants) ...
slowerthanstopped's user avatar
8 votes
0 answers
608 views

Black spot in Mars' sky

There is a sequence of three raw images by Mars Curiosity Rover taken during Sol 3066 (22/03/2022, roughly) that show the same features of Mars' landscape and sky. They are separated by 38 seconds' ...
luchonacho's user avatar
4 votes
1 answer
118 views

What type of galaxy is LEDA 14884?

A new image of deep space was released yesterday, showing tons of galaxies. One in particular (named "LEDA 14884") looks very puzzling (like an ear), zoomed in below: Article says it's a ...
luchonacho's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
156 views

Blue, red, and white star? [duplicate]

At 6:30pm central time in the USA I saw a rapidly twinkling red blue and white star in the sky. It was about south east and I was really confused. I looked it up it might be Sirius but I'm not sure. I ...
Derpy Merpy's user avatar
9 votes
3 answers
2k views

What Constellation Is This? (Photo Included)

Observed on 9th of Jan 2021 in Newcastle Upon Tyne (UK) looking WSW at a little after Midnight.
Undistraction's user avatar
14 votes
3 answers
8k views

Does this photo show the "Little Dipper" and "Big Dipper"?

There are two clusters of stars that I always thought were the Big Dipper and Little Dipper. But after looking at images of the Little Dipper and Big Dipper online, I am not too sure if that's what ...
Cave Johnson's user avatar
15 votes
2 answers
2k views

What caused this mysterious stellar occultation on July 10, 2017 from something ~100 km away from 486958 Arrokoth?

In 2017 a series of stellar occultations by asteroid 2014 MU69 "Ultima Thule" now officially named 486958 Arrokoth were timed in order to obtain better orbital information before the New ...
uhoh's user avatar
  • 31.4k
1 vote
1 answer
2k views

Moving stars in the sky

Today at 7:24 pm, I saw to stars moving parallel to each other for a few seconds in the sky. Then, both suddenly vanished. What phenomenon is this?
Hardesh's user avatar
  • 19
0 votes
0 answers
37 views

I saw many moving stars moving at high speed and disappearing at the middle. What could it have been? [duplicate]

Time : 6:30 to 1:00 P.M. Location : 8°52'42"N 38°48'49"E Date : October 28, 2020 I saw stars moving one after another and there were many of them. After moving some distance they vanished ...
Paulos abebaw's user avatar
2 votes
2 answers
118 views

I saw 3 consecutive object disappearing in the sky at same nearby location

I was roaming on my terrace and I saw star-like moving object that gradually became small, red colour and disappear. Within a few minutes I saw another similar-looking object a little distance away ...
Dixita's user avatar
  • 29
10 votes
1 answer
2k views

Which planet is this (if any)?

I live in Ahmedabad, in India, with an exact location of about 27.2048° N, 77.4975° E. Currently (as of this writing), it is 20:52 EST. I noticed a red object in the sky. (Forgive the crude imaging. ...
PNS's user avatar
  • 239
4 votes
3 answers
601 views

Mystery CCD camera

What I know: this is a Meade-brand CCD camera. I believe it to be relatively old (2004?). It does not have a model number, and the only pictures I can find on the internet call it a "USB PC-...
0xF2's user avatar
  • 185
1 vote
1 answer
258 views

I saw a weird thing around Venus

I pointed my telescope (50mm aperture, 500mm focal length, 4mm eyepiece, image taken through a window) at Venus and saw this: What is it? I don't think this is Uranus or Neptune as my telescope is ...
user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
188 views

What is this planet or satellite in this picture?

I took this photo in Shijiazhuang, Hebei Province, China, 38°13'N 115°18'E (+38.23, +115.31) on the night of February 8, 2020. Here you can see a round object above the moon, and it was moving fast,...
frankchang1990's user avatar
5 votes
1 answer
144 views

Where was this photo of Nancy Grace Roman taken, what is the display shown?

Where was this photo of Nancy Grace Roman taken, what is the display shown, is there any technical information on this display and where is it now? If this is a NASA photo then there should be an ...
uhoh's user avatar
  • 31.4k
2 votes
1 answer
201 views

Did I see a meteor(oid) or space debris or something else?

About three years ago I think, at night I've seen something enter the atmosphere in a glowing bright fireball. But I think it wasn't the fire from burning up, but because of ionization (what also ...
Giovanni's user avatar
  • 207
1 vote
1 answer
145 views

What satellite is this?

While out viewing the Perseid shower last night (8/11/20), we saw an interesting object that I'm trying to identify. We're in the vicinity of Portland, Oregon. It appeared to be traveling west->...
Chris Weiss's user avatar
5 votes
2 answers
3k views

Two luminous points disappearing in the sky

I saw a few days ago two luminous points in the sky, which were quite close (about 1-2 degree of separation between them) and not apparently moving (or to slow to be noticed with the naked eye). The ...
Lexi Jones's user avatar
6 votes
1 answer
105 views

What is the role of the mesh on which dipole elements of the MWA antennas are placed?

I was reading about the radio telescope - Murchison Widefield Array (MWA) situated in Western Australia. Antennas of this telescope are quite unique and different from the usual dish radio telescope. ...
learner's user avatar
  • 341