Nicole Schnaß
New Member
Its German language only.
https://www.grenzwissenschaft-aktue...sidGLti-yx-00VzatByJGNYsm_lfvLJ6xzfq_miRLoEPY
https://www.grenzwissenschaft-aktue...sidGLti-yx-00VzatByJGNYsm_lfvLJ6xzfq_miRLoEPY
Sebastian Voltmer, astrophotographer has captured something flying over the moon.
- Thread starter Nicole Schnaß
- Start date
Todd Feinman
Active Member
MonkeeSage
Senior Member
From the article:
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tPssP9TCxGo
Machine translation:
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tPssP9TCxGo
Machine translation:
Article: Saarbrücken (Germany) – Sebastian Voltmer is one of the best-known astrophotographers and is actually not a UFO enthusiast. Despite his own checks, he still can't really explain what flew through the image section of his professional telescope during recent images of the moon.
The “C11 EdgeHD telescope” from Dr. Sebastian Voltmer in the “space studio” he set up and runs in Nohfelden, northern Saarland, where the widely published and internationally awarded astrophotographer not only has his own works, but also a space museum with numerous 3D models of astronomical celestial bodies created by can be experienced by visually impaired visitors (Weltraum.com). From here, Voltmer has already taken numerous spectacular photos, such as what is believed to be the first photo taken from the ground of a space walk by two astronauts on the International Space Station (ISS).
On the evening of March 16, 2024, Voltmer and his telescope were not in Nohfelden, but on the Spicherer Höhe, not far from the state capital Saarbrücken. Here he actually wanted to make recordings for a current reel for the numerous social channels with which Sebastian Voltmer now reaches and inspires astro fans all over the world. To do this, he linked his smartphone to the telescope and also filmed the entire situation with another cell phone.
Unexpected flying object
“While I was leisurely filming the moon with my smartphone for a current reel, I suddenly saw a fast, bright something flitting through the picture,” Voltmer reports to GrenzWissenschaft-Aktuell.de (GreWi) and explains: “Due to the Brightness it could have been the ISS. However, a check on the website Heavens-Above.com showed that it was not one of the space stations currently orbiting the Earth.”
While he goes on to explain that he unfortunately couldn't see the object with his naked eyes at dusk, the speculation that sparked his video on YouTube, TikTok & Co ranges from beetles to meteors to UFOs and aliens.
Initial Attempts to Explain
Voltmer himself initially assumed that it was a bright satellite due to its appearance, but has since pointed out that such a high speed is also rather unusual for this. “A meteor phenomenon would also be conceivable - but I miss a colored ionization trail and the speed of the body would have to have been even faster here. In addition, colorless meteors are rather unusual.” A further fact check at the International Meteor Organization (IMO) showed that no such result was recorded here either that matches the observation time.
The astrophotographer himself, however, rules out that there could have been beetles or other insects directly in front of the lens or up to a distance of a few hundred meters and explains this exclusion with the focus range of the telescope or the existing depth or rather -blur: “Due to the plane of focus (focus at infinity), the object appears to have been more than 500 m away. Because of the high speed, it was elongated according to the shutter speed (motion blur).” This is one of the reasons why it is unfortunately not possible to determine the exact shape of the object from a still image.
Some also suspected a bird illuminated by the sun. “However, at the time the photo was taken at 7:04 p.m., the sun had already set for around 30 minutes. A bird would have had to fly extremely high in order to get back into the sunlight over the so-called deadrise thanks to the curvature of the earth. Even then, birds tend to appear dark rather than bright.”
The mystery remains
Alternatively, Voltmer does not want to rule out space debris not too far away. A small asteroid at a relatively short distance (low Earth orbit) would also be possible, provided it had not (yet) burned up in the atmosphere. “However, with such a noticeable event, I would have expected further reports. Maybe there’s something else to come – we can be excited.”
Since some technical and astrophysical possibilities still remain open, Sebastian Voltmer is not too quick to speculate about UFOs or extraterrestrial visitors. The example not only impressively shows that, despite claims to the contrary, astronomers and astrophotographers also use telescopes to observe celestial phenomena whose nature and origin are not immediately clear. Voltmer's observation, her film documentation and her own research also show how easily, with the appropriate expertise, numerous explanations can be checked, partially excluded or objectively discussed without losing the fascination with the mysterious.
MonkeeSage
Senior Member
Is this accurate? The few frames the object appears in it looks pretty blurry to me.
