Strange streak discussion: 2004 Dec 7 APOD

[aplewe]

In my first message, I said the sun appears to be just to the left of the top of the picture. I meant to say that it appears to be just to the right of the top of the picture.

One possibility I left out was that the smoke is not traveling in the direction of the trail, but rather perpendicular to it, i.e. if the particle hit the side of the light fixture, the smoke from the blast would emanate away from the side of the fixture at the same apparent angle, only in this case it'd be travelling more to the right than towards the background. In other words, we're looking at this from an angle -- the object is entering from behind the observer and to the left. It hits the light on the side facing the observer, and the blast creates a smoke trail the propogates downward and towards the dock in the immediate foreground. The nice thing about this photo is it appears to have been snapped almost immediately after the impact, thus we can factor out local air currents as the main cause of the smoke's trajectory. Otherwise, there probably wouldn't be the observed symmetry.

[Lyrex]

I did not read all 20 pages of explanations but I am siding with those favoring with coincidence. And sorry if I repeat another's idea.

It appears that something is 'burning' rather than flashing. You have too much smoke too quickly for that to be a flash. If something were exploding, you would have a more uniform pattern of smoke (if any at all) around the flash.

My guess would be something more along the lines of an electrical fire on the pole. This would allow for the dispersion of smoke and still have a 'bright event' in the picture.

As for the streak, its something with the camera. Too uniform to be a shadow and I doubt a stray hair blowing in the wind would be that straight.

[bmcdonald]

I doubt that this camera is using a flash, so a bug would not be illuminated in this way. I think the flash might be heiligenschein of the camera and it's mount, while the dark column is most likely a contrail's shadow. The contrail would be to the rear of the camera, in front of the sun and in clear air at an altitude of more than 35,000 feet, while it's shadow is darkening the atmosphere in the forground in front of the clouds and water in the distance. The flash appears to be at the antisolar point in this photograph, the most likely spot for waves, water droplets, or any other objects to reflect sunlight back to the camera. It is also the spot where anticrepuscular rays converge. The shadow of a contrail near the sun would behave like a dark anticrepuscular ray and create a line going to the antisolar point.

[Rumbledog]

It's the Sun (off to the right) reflecting off a plane (off to the left) onto the water. The "streak" is actually a beam, the "flash" is the Sun's reflection, and the "smoke" is the reflection of the plane's outline.

cjshm@hotmail.com

[aguest]

that was not a flash, but the propulsion system manifestation of a small probe. the probe was intended to remain invisible, but a short-timed malfunction impeded correct operation. it has not hit the pole.

[Blit]

I can't comment on the flash/splash effect in the photo (it looks to me to be unrelated), however, I did experience a very similar streak across the sky - roughly north / south - a couple of weeks ago in Toronto, Canada. This was about 9 am and the sky partly cloudly and was characterized by an unsual amount of vapour trails left by jets.

At first, I thought that the dark streak might have been a shadow cast by one of the vapour trails, but the streak was far too solid and straight. It bisected the the full length of the sky.

A number of us observed it with no real answer as to what it was. My guess at the time was that it was a strange optical effect somehow caused by the morning sun and relatively humid air.

[eiffel]

Possibly a cosmic ray chancing to hit the CCD sensor in the camera.

[Netwaves_BDR]

It's refraction and reflection of the horizon.
Sun - Lamp - camera.
Use a photo editor and you will see that it's approx the same length and width of the line of the horizon. It even has the outline of the ship or whatever with the crane. Flash on pole is at right angle to false horizon image that is at 45 degree angle.

[Zanox]

May it be a defect of the film?

[cwatso]

Are we looking at it backwards - It looks like a standard kids rocket that was launched over a longer exposed picture that didn't catch the rocket - just the flash and the resulting smoke.

[phule]

I'd like to know more about the geometry of the CCD array itself. I've sometimes seen vertical streaks from a bright point in my own digital pictures, which I attribute to some flaw in the CCD. Is it possible that the camera's CCD is such that a bright point could make a diagonal line? The streak appears to be about 34 degrees off of horizontal. If so, this could be a mere bright reflection in the water.

You are thinking of CCD blooming and no it is not blooming.

[Guest]

May it be a defect of the film?

It was a DIGITAL CAMERA.

[Polysics]

who says it was coming toward earth. why not coming from? someone said kids rocket, and that seems to make sense. it could also be any number of other launchable devices. why not a firecracker?

[Arm]

I've seen this before - especially while flying in the vicinity of clouds. Sunlight shines through a small hole in the clouds - the bright shaft casts a shadow that is is seen as the dark streak. The flash is where the light hits the water and reflects.

[twocents]

I posted on the first two pages that my perception is that it was an artifact on the frame. I made the assumption that it was likely on film, as I didn't see (didn't notice) any clear disclaimer that it was a digital image. Nevertheless, I still don't believe it is real. The "halo" is too symetrical both in shape and color. The trail certainly isn't a shadow in my opinion as the light source, and shadow source clearly are not evident in either the lamppost, or the "flash", or the sun for that matter. It's not a lens flare as it does not take the shape of any lens aperture, nor does it look like CCD blooming as many have pointed out.

It's also suspicious that there are no apparent residuals on what appears to be a pretty calm day. (If I remember, the images were only about 30 seconds apart.) Furthermore, the "streak" is clearly not exposure from a bright object streaking accross the frame, but must, if it was real object, be a debris trail, in which case, I would expect to see something in the "after" frame.

There's just nothing that looks real to me about the "flash". I'm leaning toward an energetic, or ionizing event on the sensor.

[Doug]

There was an explosion on the other side of the post and the dark line is just the shadow of the post in a slight norning mist

[leonardjk]

I have no idea what the picture shows, but I can guess what it doesn't show. Several folks have suggested the light source is at or near the post, and the shadow comes from something partially blocking the light. If that were the case, the shadow would get progressively wider as it got farther from the light source.

[Mark McMahon]

Sounds good it being a nanosec lighting flash. I, not knowing about that enough to second it would would say the light is coming from the right as the sun sets and hitting a bright reflecting object in the or is water. Flash then stopped as the sun set further or as the water turns the reflective material away. This doesn't explain the connection to the trail leading to the landmass acrosse the bay. Interesting hope a real explaination exists.

[Ed from Oregon]

I agree with Smith @ Canada.com. It's the light burning out, with a shadow of the light fixture and pole. There is also a reflection of the flash down at the right off of something shiny. What appears as smoke might be a shock wave in humid air over the water. The fixture might not need to explode for the flash to provide enough energy for a shock wave.

[mafer]

when enlarged, it sure does appear that the lamp on the pole is in the act of blowing up. The streak, however did not change much in resolution when doing so, so the might have been a smear on the lens which caused a change in light reception.

Just what I see,

[decoder]

I filtered the image with Photoshop.

Look what I got:

http://www.dvdc.de/fly/

[Guest]

I'll guess it was a small model rocket with a firecracker in the nose.

[Hoosier_Daddy]

Like other posts here, I believe it to be the shadow of a contrail. I've been skydiving since 1971 and have seen this several times, from above and below.

[anon]

I think its a bug - with the light shining off its wings... flying past the lense, out of focus, just as the image was taken.

my $0.02

dave

[darius]

The line is far too straight and uniform for lightning. No damage to the lamppost, other than it wasn't working, which it could not have worked for a while. Lightning would have left a mark.

Were there any planes in the air? Loud bangs?

The 'smoke' around the light is symmetrical. The bright flash looks to be beside the post, and not centred on it.

My guess is that it's a reflection of something flying overhead on the camera lens, like a plane, or contrail.

Cheers,
D