Hmmm, the light from there is white, not red or any other color, but maybe it is. The pulses are too evenly spaced, aren't they? Dang! I should have known I wouldn't be so lucky. Never mind.
Posted by Bob Miller on August 13, 2013 at 2:11 AM
I like the time of evening you captured- still a bit of light but stars making their appearance. I have read that the evenly spaced spots on the object signifies a satellite- its rotation reflecting the sun on a flat surface.
Posted by Paul DeCesare on August 13, 2013 at 3:40 AM
"United 245, 5 miles from Ridge, maintain 3000 feet until established on the localizer;
cleared for ILS runway two-two right approach. Maintain one eight zero knots until Ridge, contact tower at Ridge one two six point niner."
Still a really nice image Morris.
Posted by Grant Collier on August 13, 2013 at 12:09 PM
Don't worry, Morris. I'm sure most of us understand that this is a simple mistake, the type of which could be made by anyone. Only a small number of us who are less mature and prone to evil-doings will continue to bring it up, perhaps calling you "Meteor Man" every time we see you at the shindig or out shooting.
But you've started a good conversation on how to know if you've captured a meteor. I've gotten a lot of shots of airplanes that look like yours. I think the light from the airplane is so bright compared to everything else that it gets blown out and anything blown out enough will appear white in the image.
Most satellites look like straight lines with uniform brightness. But I think what others have referred to is iridium flare, where light is reflected off a particularly bright part of the satellite like the antenna. The object will get temporarily brighter but I've never seen any that create dotted lines. Here's an example: http://www.satobs.org/iridium.html
Meteors will usually have a non-uniform brightness with one end often brighter than the other, though some will have a fairly uniform brightness. Unless you saw the meteor while taking the shot, they can often be hard to distinguish from satellites. And when an airplane is moving directly away from you or towards you, the flashing lights can get blurred together and look like a meteor or satellite.
So here's how I distinguish meteors. I almost always do repeated exposures, one after another, to get the best chance of capturing a meteor. If I capture something that looks like a meteor, I'll check the shot before and after that one to see if that same object is also in that shot. If it is, it's a satellite or airplane gradually moving across the frame of my image. If the object only appears in that one shot and not in any before or after, it's a meteor, as meteors move so fast and die out that they'll only appear in a single shot.
Posted by Karl Buiter on August 13, 2013 at 1:50 PM
Wow, I missed a whole story here while away. But I knew right away having removed the same trails just a few weeks ago.
So many of our night scenics are covered with the flight paths of midnight travelers.
Posted by Bill Pelzmann on August 13, 2013 at 2:53 PM
Just clone out the light pulses, duplicate it a dozen times and you'll have a great Perseid swarm.
Grant does it all the time.
Posted by Grant Collier on August 13, 2013 at 5:32 PM
Shhh... Bill, I told you that in strict confidence!
Discussion
14 repliesWhy are there light pulses in the meteor trail ?
cleared for ILS runway two-two right approach. Maintain one eight zero knots until Ridge, contact tower at Ridge one two six point niner."
Still a really nice image Morris.
But you've started a good conversation on how to know if you've captured a meteor. I've gotten a lot of shots of airplanes that look like yours. I think the light from the airplane is so bright compared to everything else that it gets blown out and anything blown out enough will appear white in the image.
Most satellites look like straight lines with uniform brightness. But I think what others have referred to is iridium flare, where light is reflected off a particularly bright part of the satellite like the antenna. The object will get temporarily brighter but I've never seen any that create dotted lines. Here's an example: http://www.satobs.org/iridium.html
Meteors will usually have a non-uniform brightness with one end often brighter than the other, though some will have a fairly uniform brightness. Unless you saw the meteor while taking the shot, they can often be hard to distinguish from satellites. And when an airplane is moving directly away from you or towards you, the flashing lights can get blurred together and look like a meteor or satellite.
So here's how I distinguish meteors. I almost always do repeated exposures, one after another, to get the best chance of capturing a meteor. If I capture something that looks like a meteor, I'll check the shot before and after that one to see if that same object is also in that shot. If it is, it's a satellite or airplane gradually moving across the frame of my image. If the object only appears in that one shot and not in any before or after, it's a meteor, as meteors move so fast and die out that they'll only appear in a single shot.
So many of our night scenics are covered with the flight paths of midnight travelers.
Grant does it all the time.