On Jan. 20, 2010, Per-Arne Mikalsen was photographing a vast aurora erupting over the northern Norwegian town of Andenes.
Because solar activity is on the increase, aurora spotters have many opportunities to see the Northern Lights. On this particular night the aurora was intense, stretching toward the southern latitudes of Norway.
In one of the photographs taken by Mikalsen was an “object” that couldn’t be identified. Although Mikalsen had taken several images at the same location, just one photo showed a mysterious green parachute-like object hanging with the main aurora. (This time, it appears that the Russian military was not involved in the making of this strange shape in the sky.)
At first it seemed easy to dismiss the object as a lens flare or a spot on the camera lens, but after further study it became clear that the answer wasn’t that simple.
Just more swamp gas, cool pic though.
That’s Deep Space Nine station. Got caught in a wormhole and there it is. Didn’t you guys catch the news?
The borg is coming back from the future. In other news, we have a prototype spaceship for traveling in warp speeds.
I think that thing that is exactly the same green color as the aurora with perfectly circular lens-flare attributes is a time-traveler from a parallel universe.
RBG
Swamp gas? Have you ever been in the Arctic?
Another photographer has also captured the same phenomena from a different location.
See pictures at http://nrk.no/nyheter/distrikt/nordland/1.6965657
Weather balloon.
I saw this earlier accompanied by an explanation that it was caused by sunlight reflected off an orbiting satellite. http://ufomystic.com/2010/01/27/aurora-mystery-solved/
[Please omit the www in links – ed.]
I’m a photographer and it looks like a lens flare to me….
Any light source in front of the lens or to the side can produce lans flare, the amount and color is dependent on the glass / coating quality.
This is the simplest explanation, and consistent with the data.
Cool image! I hopefully await the next spooky aurora show in my neighborhood (last seen in 2K3)…I’ll certainly keep my eyes peeled for wayward swamp gas or whatever.
I went to the site link posted by #5, but found myself more fascinated and distracted by those Scandinavian advertisements. They relentlessly push junk food too! It’s like meeting an alien civilization and by gosh they’re just like us. Uh-oh…
Its just a space traveler with his solar sail out.
Over Norway and looks like Thor’s hammer? Watch out for the Moorwin..
Lens flare.
Eh…message #4. Sorry.
Actually, the most probable case is that it is Aurora itself. Aurora can change rapidly both in color, shape, density,… there is no serious limit on its shape. Than it could be lens flare. Iridium satellite flare can’t explain it as it is very strong white light – far overpowering Aurora strength and the result would be very different than exactly-on-spot color of Aurora itself.
The UFO stealth system or cloaking device was overwhelmed by the aurora. Thats why we never see them. Yet, their actual presence is of course proven by such a large percentage of people of questionable mental health having been abducted.
I wonder if this has any relation to aliens often being of the color green? 😉
I hereby patent the idea of using the aurora to uncloak alien space wessels in films, books, etc. – and also in actuality.
That’s a Ferengi ship:
http://employees.csbsju.edu/rsorensen/modelcitizen/trekships/ferengi/ferengi.jpg
My vote: It is Ballon Boy.
[Good one! -ed.]
ooh and look at all those white dots too. those must be fire gods in the sky. we must sacrifice to appease them.
I am a photographer too and lens flares don’t happen
a) like that.
b) as singularities. When you have one lens flare, you have many and/or more indication of the lens flare
c) without a source. Which in this case there probably isn’t because if there was, we’d see the flare in the other photos which the photographer says didn’t show this ‘flare’. Further more, why would a photographer shoot northern lights in a position to catch lens flare.
If you look at it one way it almost looks like this: http://starland.com/catalog/images/scan0504.jpg
I for one welcome our new aurora overlords…
I just came back to my senses after recovering from Lunesta. That friends, I don’t mean that btw, is my giant piece of bugger on your screen. Take that! Ha!
It’s DB Cooper. We finally found him.
Its star jelly.
It’s lensflare. If anyone would know, it would be me. Go see Star Trek 2: Lensflares in Space coming out soon!
#19. LOL
Looks a lot like the sprite pictures (or the other similar atmospheric phenomena) found a decade or more ago on space shuttle videos/pics.
Lens flare it is! Caused by the bright back porch light directly opposite in the full image.
It’s a sprite. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sprite_%28lightning%29
“…as pointed out by astronomer Daniel Fischer via Twitter, the green flare might not have anything to do with reflected aurora light, it could just be the color of the lens coating. The lens flare was therefore the result of internal reflections inside the camera lens caused by the bright lights in the lower left-hand corner of the frame.
“It has the typical caustic shape and it is opposite several bright point lights,” Fischer observed. “Green color could be caused by lens coatings.”
Although more research will need to be done, it certainly seems plausible that Per-Arne Mikalsen serendipitously took a photograph of a satellite flare (possibly an Iridium satellite).”
Discovery: “Aurora Mystery Solved?”
http://tinyurl.com/yebrztt
I want to believe…
OMG, why don’t these Aliens just land in the middle of the super bowl half time and get it over with??
Don’t these Alien idiots watch this stuff from SPACE????
With Billions and Billions of stars, can’t they just teleport one of their green beings to earth??????