Asterisks,
Given the email below and the discussion on this thread, I now believe the consensus arrived here to be correct: that the multiple images of the Sun were caused by internal reflections off of intervening panes of glass. Of course this cannot be proven completely, but it seems to me a simple and plausible solution. Even so, I am opening up discussion again for a few days. Please be kind to the photographer for her earnest image submission and honest responses.
- RJN
*******************
Dear Robert,
Thank you for your response and all the interesting information it contained. The idea also occurred to me that if any other object had a double image, it might be too dim to perceive.
I was amazed, and flattered by the discussion the pictures sparked. I keep walking with a big Cheshire Cat grin =).
I would be honoured if you would use any of my pictures in a future venture.
Noemi
P.S. Unfortunately I don't know how to post my response on the discussion page, could you please do that for me?
********************
Hi Noemi,
Thank you for your candid responses. When my automated camera network took pictures of the night sky, the Moon would frequently be in the frame. The moonlight was usually so bright that many strange internal reflections of the moon -- reflections that took place inside the camera -- would appear in the images. We knew this because as the Earth rotated, the Moon changed positions, and all of the "secondary images", some of them streaks, moved right with it.
Then the question came up -- why is it that all of the secondary images occur only for the moon? There are many stars in the frames, as well as trees on the horizon. Shouldn't they, too, show secondary images? We came to understand that they do. Everything in the frame shows secondary images. Everything in the frame not only has one image but many. The reason that the moon's secondary images stood out was because the moon was by far the brightest object in the frame. Therefore, its shadow images were much brighter than the rest, making them visible.
In your frames, the Sun is very much brighter than anything else in the frame. It may be that everything in the frame also has a shadow image -- including the ship. But the shadow image of the ship is so dim that it is likely imperceptible. The Sun, by contrast, is over one million times brighter than the ship, so that its shadow images are also a million times brighter. This makes them visible.
Still, in my opinion, you have come up with an amazing and photogenic example of a relatively common phenomenon -- unexpected reflections. The beauty and novelty of your image remains. Although discovering a new phenomenon would have been interesting in its own right, your image is still spectacular.
In my opinion, your image also highlighted a relatively new variation of human collective intelligence. APOD is not only a picture web site -- its readership define perhaps the most collectively intelligent group of sky enthusiasts in history in terms of identifying sky phenomena. The debate that took place over your image -- and several other images as well -- was amazing. In my opinion, this power intelligence engine zeroed in on the right answer. And your image has helped measure and calibrate this intelligence. In the future, I hope to write a paper about the powerful collective intelligence that APOD has become, and I hope to use your image --- given your permission -- as one example.
- RJN
**********************
Hello RJN,
One of the questions raised during the discussion was: "Were the pictures taken through a window?"
I think they were, though I don't think that explains the triple image, please read on. When I took the pictures, I was very sleepy (it was 4:30 am). Basically, I took the first picture, and kept taking more pictures because I noticed the multiple image. I was particularly intrigued by the fact that the images seemed to be coming together with each subsequent shot. Only 52 seconds elapsed between the 2nd (more clear) picture (taken at 4:30:38)
http://apod.nasa.gov/image/0908/IMG_9804.JPG
and the 4th picture (at 4:31:30)
http://apod.nasa.gov/image/0908/IMG_9810.JPG
Here is the more interesting question for me: what caused the 3 images to come together? Even if the triple image was caused by a window (which by the way is double glazed), all the images would have been taken through the same window, so why isn't the image separation consistent. I wish I had been more awake to appreciate what I was seeing and kept taking pictures until only one Sun could be seen. Having noticed the trend, I just assumed that this is what would eventually happen.
Another question: why is the image separation occurring only for the Sun, but not for the ship, which was right next to the Sun? Could the triple image of the Sun, be caused by layers of atmosphere of different density? The Sun was "behind" these layers while the ship was mostly "in front", separated from me by only a few kilometres. As the Sun moved behind different parts of these layers the image separation decreased, while the ship did not significantly move through the atmosphere.
Unfortunately, I cannot go back to the same location to see another Sunrise, since I live in Hamilton, Ontario, about 8,000 km away from Gdansk. Next time I am there, I will be sure to observe every Sunrise I can.
Sincerely Noemi and Barry Diacon
