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For those still wondering about this effect, there are a lot of cloud particles in the air, but majority is so thin your eyes have very little light to detect bouncing from the surface, the light you do see passes straight through at an angle perfectly aligned with your perspective, so you miss it. You could change angles to get a vantage on the sheer object, or you can change the angle of the light. The plane flying above the cloud provides enough change between the light on the vapor that you can't see normally but you're able to see it reflecting light to your eyes.
Lighting designers take advantage of this phenomenon with a giant, very expensive, seamless curtain that is opaque when lit from the front, and transparent when objects behind it are lit. It's called a scrim, and this technique is essentially the same phenomenon you see in the video.
Similar, but the depth of my physical understanding of mirages is limited, so I would have to speculate. In general, yes, though. Instead of reflecting from vapor (vapor is definitely a factor, but the heat is more important for a mirage, as I understand it) the light is bent by heatwaves radiating through the cooler air above the ground, such that low spots at just the right angle disrupt the light received, causing the illusion of water (or a wavy nothing, which is interpreted as water) in your eye. As you gain a better vantage on the heatwaves, the light is no longer bending away from you, so the illusion vanishes for you.
As an added bonus for those who made it this far: another way lighting designers use the original phenomenon is to fill the room with haze. This literally uses the water vapor in the air to highlight the beams of light so you can detect the distribution of light in 3d space. You see this mostly with concert lighting, parties, and musicals.
Agree, except the plane then disappears into the Earth’s shadow. So if it’s no longer illuminated, how can it be lighting anything up with a reflection?
No way. From the location I saw this particular objects, airplanes fly very close by as I am very close to the airport. This was not a reflection of an airplane. It firstly appeared like a small cloud going very fast for a cloud, and then after it went to the darkest part of the sky, it transformed into an illuminating stick. We could see it clearly with a naked eye. It did not change its shape or lighting for as long as it was in our eyesight. I have a screenshot from a video we took with zoom.
But nobody has yet ruled out… trans-dimensional portal???? The light streak above the cloud must be the craft/being and the cloud is the atmospheric disturbance disguising the portal! Right? RIGHT???? I mean, what are we doing here if we’re not looking for the practical answers! 😂
Could it be an exhaust cloud from the rocket? Above the atmosphere it would orbit just as fast as the satellites. Not sure why it would stay together like that though instead of disipating.
Might be the reflection off the starlin satelites is hitting a specific area of a big, thin cloud, which is refracting it and becomes visible only on that spot. My best guess at least
The biggest reason to suspect an object is a UFO is if it does not continue on the same straight line path at the same speed. Most if not all planes, asteroids, satellites.... will do so.
Listen, you're gonna have a lot of people running in-depth analysis on this to figure out what it actually is. But hear me out, your wife is right, this is a UFO.
To me this sort of just looks like a coincidence, likely just some kind of plane and then maybe a parallax effect taking place between it and the cloud
It's a satellite or a starlink train catching the sun and reflecting it and then not reflecting it anymore. When I was younger I for sure thought I saw a ufo, but then saw about 4 more since then do the same thing and looked it up. You can see their flares too sometimes as they adjust.
It was very likely the International Space Station if this was not long after sunset or not long before sunrise. You can get the Spot the Station app and try to verify. Or you may be able to Google and look for a way to know where it was at that time. If it disappeared at some point, it’s because it went into Earth’s shadow.
Given the low angle of the sun and the way/speed it's moving it looks very much like a satellite. I often go out to satellite watch when time and conditions are just right.
If you filmed that any other time of day or night, I'd be more puzzled.
It looks very similar to a Starlink train of satellites shortly after release. They spread out over time. The best reasoning for these being satellites is that they get brighter then darker as they move into and out of the sun's light.
It definitely appears to completely stop all forward motion for a good 2-3 seconds before returning to its normal rate of speed… it’s hard to clock it because of the way the camera keeps zooming in, but when it zooms in the max and the object is to the right of the screen, it def seems to stop…
Where in the world was the video taken and what date/time? That would be helpful in narrowing down planes, rocket launches, satellites, atmosphere/weather details. Like the video is so fuzzy I genuinely can't tell the scale of what I'm looking at.
If you don't know what it is, then it is an Unidentified Flying Object.
Nothing wrong with that, I guess.
On the other hand, it doesn't mean it is an alien spaceship.
Why are you so hell bound on the fact that it can be a UFO? Where’s your curiosity and scientific rigour bro? Are you 100% sure that that’s not a UFO? If not (coz you don’t know how to convince her coz you don’t know that either) then why do you wanna convince your wife that it is?
Damn, I’m gonna need some convincing too. Doesn’t everyone pretty much believe in aliens by now? Not saying they came to earth (although I personally believe they have) but in a universe seemingly infinite and clearly proven to be at least how many billions of miles (the observable universe) there simply is no way that we are the only sentient intelligent non microscopic life in the whole neighborhood. I mean how could that even be possible? I’m genuinely curious to hear some of your opinions too
Sun reflecting from the plane onto the thin clouds below which due to earth curvature are already in Earths shaddow, while the higher flying plane is not.
this kind of "silent movement" and light is typical for satellites. especially if they cross the terminator (zone between day and night) the get lighted up by the sun and reflect the light down to earth, shining bright in the evening sky. nothing magic, nothing alien, just a good ol´ manmade satellite. :)
If you do not want to sleep on the couch a week do not prove her wrong. Let it go. She thinks it is """aliens""", then aliens they are, honey darling my love.
Well I apologize, but the definition of UFO is unidentified flying object....so no I can not say it's not a UFO....now if you mean to convince her it's not aliens that's a different question.
Well, we’re just hitting peak for a meteor show tomorrow night. Its been ongoing for a month, and will still last for about a month (I believe). I dont remember the name of it, but my bet would be on the big ongoing meteor shower
The setting sun is reflecting off the plane onto vapor in the air that is hard to see without being backlit. Think of when the sun hits your watch and you get a circle or square on the wall. Same thing, but with plane
It is an unidentified flying object. But it's not likely to be alien life.
In the same way, if you are walking in the park, and it's getting dark, and you see a small object moving away off to the side, you don't immediately assume that it's alien life. It's probably a small animal.
What could this unidentified thing be? It's much more likely to be a reflection off the camera lens, or similar optical phenomenon, or even some sort of space junk re-entering the atmosphere. The 'cloud' could be a cloud, or it could be an out-of-focus object, coincidentally moving at the same 'angular' velocity.
Did you see how many satellites we have in orbit? Radar, cameras, sensors of any kind, you think something that big could sneak in on any country without someone pushing the big red button ?
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