Eclipse?

[forthbridge]

Hi,

When you say it was dark/night-time, I take it that it is maybe within a couple of hours of sunset?

Regards

John

It was a winter's evening - and Blue Peter was on when I went into the house.

[Prop Jockey]

Oh dear, it worries me when someone has to try to justify what they saw even though they may not have seen what they think they saw but probably think they saw something that nobody else saw!!

Nigel.

It happens to me all the time ...................................... hic

Chin-Chin, bottoms up :drinkers:

hic

[forthbridge]

Oh dear, it worries me when someone has to try to justify what they saw even though they may not have seen what they think they saw but probably think they saw something that nobody else saw!!

Nigel.

That's easy for you to type!

[RAF_Quantum]

Hi,

There is the possibility it was a reflection of a solar panel on a satellite. If you check out Heavens Above and look under the 'satellite' section you will see 'Iridium Flares'. Check out the FAQ which will explain the Iridium Flares with some further links.

Q. What is an Iridium flare?

A. An Iridium flare is caused by the sun being reflected from one of the three main mission antennae (MMA) of an Iridium satellite. The MMAs are flat, highly polished aluminium surfaces, and when the angles are just right, they can reflect the sun just like a mirror. There are over 80 of these communications satellites in orbit, and they are operated by the Iridium LLC Consortium. For more information, please see our Iridium flare help page.

I've seen the Iridium flares including a couple of daylight ones and depending how close you are to the track, they can be very bright. Iridium satellites wouldn't have been about when you 'saw the light' but there's plenty of other stuff kicking around up there. Mir was constructed between 1986-96 so falls outside your date and I'm not sure what other big stuff was around. It could also have been a searchlight/landing light or similar of an aircraft.

At the end of the day, I wouldn't worry about it too much, there could be many logical explanations. If you could sit down after the experience then I wouldn't think you've been probed by aliens ;-)

Regards

John

[JasonK]

this actually makes me take something my daughter told me a little more seriously...Christmas eve the wife and I were finishing shopping...the girls were home alone... when we get home Maddie tells me that as they were watching the snow fall out the window, the whole scene was bathed in a blueish light for a quick second..her exact words were "as quick as you can blink"...then nothing...lit up everything as if daylight in this blue tint..then nothing...back to
night... ...personally, I chalked it up to a transformer blowing somewhere in the distance...but she swears there was no sound...

so my response is...transformer?

[Tom Clayton]

The only event I can think of that could come close to explaining that would be an above-ground nuclear test. But I thought those were banned before the time period you're talking about. Did the UK ever do anything like that to begin with?

[forthbridge]

Hmmmm..... Interesting guys...... it was certainly not any A/C or anything blowing up - down in that part of the world, at night you can hear someone start their car a mile away, and back then, if one or two cars passed the nearest road per hour, you'd be lucky (and hear them)..... I must admit, if you've ever seen one of those tilt-up windows being opened or closed, and it catches the sun, that would be a similar type of 'refelction' to what I saw. I really, honestly don't know if, with curtains closed, it would have been visible to anyone indoors it was so quick - especially if your eyes were not 'on the window'.....

I've been looking and, is it possible - depending on where you are on the planet, if there's a 'sun over moon or similar' type of event, you would get the 'fleeting' effect? - I just can't seem to tie anything down on those years (Yet).....

[tinkicker]

The only event I can think of that could come close to explaining that would be an above-ground nuclear test. But I thought those were banned before the time period you're talking about. Did the UK ever do anything like that to begin with?

We did Nuclear tests Yes but not in our own back yard. we did them in the pacific area.