Strange lights in the sky - Playa del Carmen - 11-06-14

[Z-man]

So we were in Playa del Carmen last week. Wednesday through Friday night around 11:00pm, we saw some flickering lights in the sky - stationary, but flickering from green to violet to red. Different flickering than stars. At one point, I saw about 7 of them.

The brightest (closest?) one was due east, over the Caribbean Ocean. Google sky didn't show a star in that spot in the sky, and it was along the path of the sun. As the night progressed, the lights appeared higher in the sky - which would indicate they were stars. But the pictures I took don't look like any star...

You can barely see the red huge of the image in this picture:


Pics were taken with a Nikon D3200 with a 200mm lens - some on a tripod and some hand-held. Images were cropped - but no other digital alterations were made. All of the pictures below are of the same flashing image in the sky.

This one you can see a violet / blue "V" shape. Could the "V" be caused by camera shake? Maybe, but see the next pic below.


This is the most bizarre of the shots -- three colors (green - purple - violet). Again that distinct "V" shape.


More of a "W" / sin wave shape seen here - with the changing colors / flashing, would this indicate the object had some type of wobbling rotation like our planet's rotation?






Could be a man-made satellite - but I don't believe they are close enough for me to capture such images with a 200mm lens. And as I said - I don't think stars look like that either. The object was over the ocean - and it was about 30-40 degrees up from my vantage point on the shore.

Anyone have a clue as to what this could be? Anyone ever see such a phenomenon?

-Z-man

[Neilk]

Twice this past summer I saw what appeared to a super slow shooting star move across the sky. I know it wasn't a plane as we couldn't hear it at all. It was at least 5 to 10 times brighter than then the space station which I was able to track across the sky.

After a little googling, I think it might have been an Iridium flare. Maybe that is the same thing you saw, but it seems as if yours was stationary.

[Amail]

Iridium flares will go from nearly invisible to bright and back to nearly invisible over the course of 30 seconds or so. We used to go outside and watch them all the time. That's not an Iridium flare for certain.

[cashflyer]

Testing the new Mexican spy plane?

[livi]

E.t. ?

[t-tom]

Where did you guys stay at in Playa? My wife and I love it there. We stay at the Royal Playa. Just love that area.

[Z-man]

Originally Posted by t-tom

Where did you guys stay at in Playa? My wife and I love it there. We stay at the Royal Playa. Just love that area.

We stayed at the Grand Sunset Princess Resort - Platinum suites. Would not go back. First room was moldy - and that was a complaint I heard from many folks. Absolutely terrible service, no one explanined anything (example: dinner reservations), if we asked for something it was always a problem. Internet was free only 25% of the time, because it was down 75% of the time.

Only a quarter of the people there knew the phrase: "How can I help you?" Everyone else barely lifted a finger to help you. Concierge was too busy fixing problems instead of trying to give guests a higher level of service.

And this was in the more expensive Platinum suites -- I can't image how the service was with the regular rooms...

Now ask me how I really feel about the place, and I won't hold back...

Other than the service at the resort, everything else was wonderful: visited Chichen Itza, Tulum, and Coba. Did repelling and ziplining. Experienced Mayan culture and food. Had a wonderful time with my extended family!

-Z

[Miguel Antonett]

Saturday nite 11 pm at Playa Del Carmen = too many drinks... OMG an UFO... may be NOT.

[Z-man]

Originally Posted by Miguel Antonett

Saturday nite 11 pm at Playa Del Carmen = too many drinks... OMG an UFO... may be NOT.

I don't drink. At all. And the pictures are stil unusual...

-Z

[Nostril Cheese]

[t-tom]

Wow that's too bad. We've had nothing but good times at the Royal. They have these floor to ceiling mirrors in the rooms and like a dumb ass I set my suitcase against it and it shattered. It was fixed and cleaned up within an hour no charge. It seems like when we are there they fall all over them self to make sure we are happy, and we stay in the cheapest rooms they have (we spend almost every second there outside).

[pavulon]

if it was breezy, silent and relatively stationary, it could have been some prankster with kite...or a copter.

[Z-man]

Originally Posted by pavulon

if it was breezy, silent and relatively stationary, it could have been some prankster with kite...or a copter.

Too far up and out to sea, and completelly stationary - it could not have been either.

Also - there were multiple shiny, flashing 'things' in the sky - all stationary. At one point, I counted seven. They appeared for three nights - but we left after the third night so I can't confirm if they were there only for a short time. The photos above were all of the same one - out to sea, about 30 degees up from the horizon, and the brightest of the objects.

[motion]

I've seen lights with changing colors that I swore were airplanes or helicopters, only to watch them for long stretches of time and see that they are not moving. Synchronous satellites?

[look 171]

Forget the lights and the hotel, did you go to the European nude beach at Cozumel?

[slodave]

R/C drone.

[cashflyer]

My honest guess is that the V and W shape are caused by your heartbeat while holding the camera, and that what you were seeing was either a synchronous satellite, a binary star, or a regular star's light being affected by the atmosphere.

The Top 12 Naked-Eye Variable Stars | Sky & Telescope









Or aliens.

[Tervuren]

Definitely a round shape being affected by your camera motion. Frankly, that's pretty steady work there to get what you did. ^^

[Z-man]

Originally Posted by cashflyer

My honest guess is that the V and W shape are caused by your heartbeat while holding the camera, and that what you were seeing was either a synchronous satellite, a binary star, or a regular star's light being affected by the atmosphere.

The Top 12 Naked-Eye Variable Stars | Sky & Telescope

The shots were around 1/60th to 1/20th of a sec exposure. I had the elbows propped up on a ledge, held the camera close to my body, and held my breath for the shots.
Others that were longer exposures that I have were done with a tripod. Unless I ran a marathon, I don't think my heart beat is that fast! That said - there is definitely some instability in the shots.

Originally Posted by Tervuren

Definitely a round shape being affected by your camera motion. Frankly, that's pretty steady work there to get what you did. ^^

Thank you! The hardest part is that at full zoom (200 mm in this case), stability is greatly compromised... What I find interesting is the same 'V' formation in the first two shots (and a little bit in the third)- even if I were unsteady with the camera, it would be near impossible to duplicate the same pattern. I'll post some longer exposure shots which I took on a tripod - but the exposure was a bit too long to see anything clearly...

-Z

[cashflyer]

Iridium flares...

You tossers. You went and lodged one more thing in my brain.

I had not heard of this phenomena so had to look it up. Got up stupid early this morning to watch one. And just finished dragging my wife out into the yard this evening so she could watch one.