Moving Stars and Mass Hysteria

[ElizabethShort]

I've experienced these events a couple nights in a row now. Actually tonight I've used it to trip a friend out. I said "Hey man, want to see some UFO'S".
Of course it being too slow for a plane and too fast for a satellite, my friend went ape**** looking at these "moving stars".

Today the one I saw made a zigzagging pattern almost forming a circle and then shifted away super fast.

Has anyone ever seen more than one moving star in close radiance to each other?

[Phomalhaut]

someone I know has seen them and I have seen them once. What location did you see these in? Does it happen every time? because I have tried to view them again but it seems to only happen sometimes.

[shadow15]

This is a very interesting topic. I saw two stars moving last night myself and I know I wasn't just seeing things or anything. It turns out stars do this all the time but we don't really know much about them and people don't usually pay attention to them when they do. They do this sometimes, but people have seen stars that don't move at all and they will think that they do when there's just a cloud in the way, but that's only in some cases. There was a smaller star I saw moving north from my view and it passed by a star and there was definitely no clouds out.

Then it had gone so far we couldn't really see it that well then just a few minutes later a much bigger star in the North that moved to the east and then started to go low which from earth's view would be North it seemed to sort of go by the first stars direction like it was following it.

Quite the mystery, I think astrology needs to be looked into a lot better. I will be trying to see if they come around again or if I see anything suspicious. A while back I saw a video somewhere on youtube that was about the moon mission and things like that and it also showed ufos that were spotted during one of the missions it showed a view of the stars and how they were moving in a strange way they marked they directions and such too. It turns out tons of them move quite a bit. I've seen others do this before. Next time I see one I'll have my video camera.

[Kaptain K]

Stars do not move with respect to one another, at least at speeds that are noticeable over a lifetime, much less at a pace visible to the human eye! If you see something moving with respect to the other stars, it is either a plane or a satellite!

[shadow15]

Okay, I see what you're saying but you've got no proof. For all we know, we don't really know and we will know whether they are satelites or somethingelse when we pay more attention. I will use my telescope to see if I can get anythingelse but you would think satelites would do more than just power our things and monitor everything. When they power everything there is energy pretty much being sent through it and back.

The movements that have been found are too different compared to the movement of a plane and most planes would flash and maybe have some different colors flashing as well. and it's not exactly like these satelites will follow eachother in such a strange way either. In fact just a while ago before 10:30 p.m. here I went to my front porch and saw one that looked to be sitting there and started moving way fast around the same direction as the first one I saw yesterday, like I said I saw a much larger one that was moving in a strange way in a different area as well until it came to a similar direction to the first one and then headed North.

The second one I saw tonight was going in the same direction except sort of in a diagonal way and it passed by the other side of a star in the East, Like I said this happens all the time and it has been proven many stars will do this sometimes. I will also add that I actually did see an airplane go by but it was in a totally different area and was different color of lights flashing. Dang neighbors wouldn't shut the heck up. Some of these are satelites and such but I very well believe that some of them are stars... I will look into their areas of movement and talk about it Later.

[Kaptain K]

Shadow 15,

I have over 50 years of observing experience. I saw Sputnik I and II.
Neither I nor millions of other experienced astronomers, amateur and professional, have seen the fixed stars dancing around the sky willy-nilly!

[clint_dreamer]

Shadow 15,

I have over 50 years of observing experience. I saw Sputnik I and II.
Neither I nor millions of other experienced astronomers, amateur and professional, have seen the fixed stars dancing around the sky willy-nilly!

Thank you. I don't discount that it appears things are moving in the night sky, however your own eyes will play tricks on you.

[shadow15]

Well, whether you have had fifty years of experience or not, I don't really care about that or if you have seen Sputnik I and II. Yes, I am sure you know quite a bit more than me about Astronomy but maybe they really aren't stars. Maybe they are satelites but I have been seeing at least one for the past three days and I could probably find more if I felt like looking some more at the time. That doesn't mean it's not just a coincidence or nothing normal though. I'm not saying it is something out of the ordinary and i'm not saying it's something in the ordinary.
...

I'm pretty much saying observing isn't really enough, it's going to have to be looked into more. And considering this isn't that big of a topic I seriously hope you don't take that last sentence too serious...

[X-COM]

I suffer from a hearing disability, I am not deaf but I commonly misunderstand what people say due the brain subconsciously "fill in the blanks" so I may actually "Hear" something differently then what are actually said. I have experimented a bit if the brain behave this way with something I can see as well. My conclusion, it's the same thing.

I cannot stop my brain from subconsciously guessing what is going on but I can consciously evaluate what I hear or see. I can discard what is ridicules but I may get in trouble when my "subconscious guess" are reasonable, that is when I am fooled. I know that there exist no little gnomes hiding under the trees so if I see one, I know it's an optical illusion and the brain rapidly dispel it when it make sense of it. If I actually believed in gnomes or flying saucers however, well you get the idea. I got a tree outside my home with branches that some dark nights look like a dragon.

Objects that mysteriously moves are often easily explained to the fact that I just cannot stand perfectly still, definitely get zig zag patterns from that.

[Swift]

Maybe they are satelites but I have been seeing at least one for the past three days and I could probably find more if I felt like looking some more at the time.

You should check out heavens-above.com/. If you input you location, it will tell you what satellites are passing overhead. Great website.

[Phomalhaut]

Okay, I see what you're saying but you've got no proof. For all we know, we don't really know

Thank you shadow! finally someone who isn't denying what they saw because it's not in a text book. No one can really say for sure and there has been too many reports of this to ignore. It's not an eye trick in every case people!

[Swift]

It's not an eye trick in every case people!

Maybe not. Maybe things that people think are moving stars are airplanes or satellites or something else. Nothing personal, but people can be incorrect in many ways.

Or maybe it is. Optical illusions are a fine example of ways that various people are "tricked" in a consistent way.

But do you really think they are literally "moving stars"?

[autumn1971]

An airplane that is high in the sky will sometimes reflect enough sunlight that it appears as a single bright point, and any manouvering will change the apparent brightness, as well as appearing to change the speed of the object, i.e., it can appear to hover in one spot, then quickly begin to move in some direction.

[Phomalhaut]

Just as before Swift you make a good point (you replied to me before earlier in this) And I'm sure there are many possibilities. And keeping an open mind I can't bring myself to say that they are absolutely stars but damned if it didn't look exactly like one.

[Swift]

My first resource for such things is Heavens Above, great website. It will help you at least find that its a satellite, or show that it wasn't.

[01101001]

And keeping an open mind I can't bring myself to say that they are absolutely stars [...]

Can you imagine what star catalogs would look like if stars were actually visibly moving about the sky on the timeframe of minutes?

Catalogs actually list fixed positions for stars, or show the slow measurable, but imperceptible, drift of actual movement -- not some formula for where a star might be each particular second, or a rough large area in which it might be found.

Sample, Gliese 30, from ARICNS ARI Data Base for Nearby Stars:

Running No.: 55 CNS designation: Gl 30 HIP: 3418 BD: +33° 99 YPC: 130.00 Vys: 361

RA (2000): 00 43 33 Dec (2000): +33 50.7
RA (1950): 00 40 52 Dec (1950): +33 34.6
RA (1900): 00 38 12 Dec (1900): +33 18.4

µ(RA): -.199 "/yr µ(Dec): -.354 "/yr Total Proper Motion: 0.406 "/yr 209.3°

[ryanmercer]

99% of the time, it's probably a plane... I've lived by an international airport for the past 18 years... you'll see 'stars' that are stationary, and all of a sudden move 10-15 degrees in a as many seconds, then go back to being stationary... it's just aircraft in holding patterns here.


Edit: probably should have said this back on 01-January-2008, 08:57 PM in my original post in this thread.

[shadow15]

99% of the time, it's probably a plane... I've lived by an international airport for the past 18 years... you'll see 'stars' that are stationary, and all of a sudden move 10-15 degrees in a as many seconds, then go back to being stationary... it's just aircraft in holding patterns here.

Yeah, That happens normally but what i've been seeing is one or more moving in odd directions and they don't just go 10-15 degrees they just go at a fairly fast rate not stopping...That youtube video that in one of the parts talked about stars moving, I'm going to try and find it and give a link I havent seen it in a while and it's hard to find.

That reminds me, Has anyone here heard yet that Edgar Mitchell has admitted to there being alien life in the universe? Sorry if that's off topic and you don't have to reply to the question, I'm just wondering if anyone's heard.

[01101001]

[...] Has anyone here heard yet that Edgar Mitchell has admitted to there being alien life in the universe? Sorry if that's off topic and you don't have to reply to the question, I'm just wondering if anyone's heard.

Yeah. It's off topic. Look in other sections if you want to discuss his admission that was nothing of the sort.

[Jeff Root]

There are many different things in the sky which people describe as
looking like stars. Some look a lot less like stars than others. Most
are very easy to identify by an experienced observer, some are not.

Most of the observations described in this thread seem to be of
actual stars which give an appearance of motion because of how
the human visual system works at low light levels or when viewing
an object against a flat background.

-- Jeff, in Minneapolis

[Phomalhaut]

so are you saying that it IS mass hysteria? because in some cases more than one person saw the same thing at the same time and sometimes it was not just moving, darting, or circling but made an actual traceable formation.

[Jeff Root]

What do you mean by "hysteria"? Or an easier question, I expect: Can you
come up with a more accurate expression than "hysteria"?

-- Jeff, in Minneapolis

[Jeff Root]

Rather than putting the burden on you, I should probably describe what
I have in mind.

The descriptions of several people seeing moving stars could be due to
visual illusions. If the conditions are right for one person to see the
illusion, they could be right for many people. The kind of illusion that
could be happening here would not occur simultaneously among a group
of people, and a star would certainly not appear to move the same way
to them all, but if one person describes what he sees, the others, seeing
the same illusion, might agree that the description was accurate, and
some would infer that everyone had seen the same motions, when they
really had not. It is largely a matter of accurately describing what one
observes.

-- Jeff, in Minneapolis

[Phomalhaut]

no burden at all. I know the common definition of mass hysteria is related to a group of people sharing physical symptoms but it can also be like you said people all believing that they are seeing the same thing because of someone telling them what it is they are seeing. I only used this term because it is the name of this thread and i thought everyone understood it in this context. and i know this can go on forever so i think the best way to at least prove that it wasn't a trick of the eye is to see if maybe Shadow15 can video tape it like they said they would try. and that still leaves atmospheric disturbances and satellites and all that but it is one less thing to say that it is anyway

[shadow15]

Okay, I don't think I will be able to get my own footage for a while...But i'm not empty handed on the subject. First of all, I know that some of these that i've been seeing move are satelites but i'm sure that some of these sightings of supposed stars moving aren't stars but nor were they satelites or planes, Yes some are just illusions but not all of them, it's simple as that.I mean it's quite obvious some are illusions, right?Though there might be some actual stars in movement but i'm really not sure about that and i'm guessing the ones i've seen weren't exactly stars...A couple that I suspect weren't satelites,planes, or stars was the large one that followed a smaller one that went left to right then kind of slanted and went further following a similar direction of the first one until I couldn't see it. If some were alien spacecraft or something of the sort it shouldn't really be all that surprising, or at least I don't think it's that surprising...lol But to be more convincing i've got a few links to some videos. I've seen more videos but they're really hard to find.

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=13f_1206513969

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=68b_1191898978

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=666_1184552351

Now this last one i'm going to link to is of ufo's. Pay attention to when it zooms out, they begin to seem like stars at such a distance. They might have more videos on the subject of moving stars and such on the side bar of related videos.

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=d2c_1182472302

[Kaptain K]

You know, it is amazing that the more experienced the observer, the fewer unexplained phenomena they see!

[shadow15]

You know, it is amazing that the more experienced the observer, the fewer unexplained phenomena they see!

With all of your experience would you like to actually shed some light on the subject and explain it better than saying how long you've observed and saying yeah right? Or is it one of those few unexplained phenomenas that you can't see?

[Kaptain K]

I have seen several "things" that might have been unexplainable to less experienced observers and a couple that I could not explain right away.

Birds above a city's lights can look much like a group of UFOs. Especially nighthawks swooping and diving as they chase bugs.

Weather balloons in the evening look like glowing light unless you happen to have binoculars and can see the instrument package hanging below it.

Some species of spiders will, when the conditions are right, spin their silk into the updrafts and float away. When large numbers do this simultaneously, their silks can get tangled into a huge ephemeral mass that looks like a small floating cloud on the edge of visibility!

I once witnessed what looked like a multi-colored lightshow doing figure eights at the edge of town. If we (my college room mate and I) had not been on the fourth floor roof with a telescope available, we would never known that it was a small plane pulling an advertising banner over a high school football game.

I'm not saying that every weird sight has such mundane explanations. What I'm saying is that the more experienced the observer, the less likely the sighting will remain unexplained.

[shadow15]

Okay,I see what you mean. But there's still the question of moving stars to be discussed here. I was using binoculars one of the times i've seen what seemed like moving stars. I know they weren't just some birds,balloons, or whatever else you said but I understand what your saying...

[RedRonin]

Hi all.

I am new to this forum. In fact, I am new to forum-ing(so please be kind!).

I chanced upon this forum and this thread after I googled "moving stars"; I did it because I was burning for some answers to what i saw way back in around 2003. Just some facts about me first. I am from Singapore, small enough to negligible on the map but I hope big enough that most of you guys have heard about it before! My experience happened on one of my reservist(in my country we are recalled for duty once or twice a year after completing a mandatory 2 yr full-time stint at age 18-20) trainings. It was an extremely rare clear night, and that clarity was only possible as our training areas are always on the public-restricted outskirts of the city(Singapore is one BIG city-country) away from the city lights and smog. At about 12am to 1am, during a rest session, the little astronomer fire made me notice the abundance of stars dotting the sky(trust me something you DON'T often see over here) and I laid back to take in the splendour of it. I was just slowly panning the night sky when suddenly, I stopped at one cluster. In that semi-sparse cluster of stars, I could see one of the stars, or at least I thought of it at that time to be one, move in one direction, at a speed best described so many times by others in this forum as too fast to be a satellite and too slow to be a plane. And at the time it occurred to me it HAD to be a star because of the "height" it was at; sorry my powers of description are not as good as I'd like it to be but what i mean to say is it really DID NOT look like it was closer to Earth than all the other stationary stars around it; logic then kicked in and I noticed it wasn't shimmering with a smorgasbord of colours like a star(pls enlighten on this part, anybody), it was just shining white. I immediately told myself it must be a satellite moving then, case closed but, logic kicked in again and: IT WAS TOO FAST TO BE A SATELLITE. And at that