Claim: Canberra UFO 14/7/23 Photo and Article - WTF

[ttguy]

This Article in Canberra weekly features this image by a photographer named Ari Rex.

The article says "On Friday 14 July at about 8pm, during a photoshoot far away from city light pollution near Gundaroo, Ari and five clients witnessed – and documented – an object in the night sky that he couldn’t explain. A possible explanation is that India’s space agency launched a rocket into orbit around the same time. "
If this is not some hoax to drive interest to this guy's astrophotography business then I reckon the metabunkiens here could have a shot at IDing this. Since we have, time location and stars.
Ideas?

 

[FatPhil]

This Article in Canberra weekly features this image by a photographer named Ari Rex.

The article says "On Friday 14 July at about 8pm, during a photoshoot far away from city light pollution near Gundaroo, Ari and five clients witnessed – and documented – an object in the night sky that he couldn’t explain. A possible explanation is that India’s space agency launched a rocket into orbit around the same time. "
If this is not some hoax to drive interest to this guy's astrophotography business then I reckon the metabunkiens here could have a shot at IDing this. Since we have, time location and stars.
Ideas?

It's late, but my quick stab would be:

There's clearly a band of cloud, as the stars all disappear behind it, and has some striations that could be clouds.
It's clearly a long exposure, as the stars are numerout and bright. (That should be in the original's EXIF tags?)
Therefore the strangely lit region could be a smear over time of something moving (I would suggest along its long axis, because...)
The ends do have a bit of an elliptic curve to them
=> Spotlight moving across the clouds?

 

[ManInBlack]

Not near the coast or a lighthouse, it is a rural area. So we can rule that out as a light source.

Without have the raw image, location it could very well be doctored in photoshop.

This is LIZ.

 

[Mendel]

Since this was a photoshoot, and the photographer "witnessed" the object at the time, there should be more pictures than just one.

Or does the long exposure cover the entirety of the sighting?
It does seem like a picture of clouds.

(Sometimes, "witnessed" means, "I was there but only noticed at home when I looked through the photos", in which case it's probably small and close to the camera.)

 

[LilWabbit]

This Article in Canberra weekly features this image by a photographer named Ari Rex.

The article says "On Friday 14 July at about 8pm, during a photoshoot far away from city light pollution near Gundaroo, Ari and five clients witnessed – and documented – an object in the night sky that he couldn’t explain. A possible explanation is that India’s space agency launched a rocket into orbit around the same time. "
If this is not some hoax to drive interest to this guy's astrophotography business then I reckon the metabunkiens here could have a shot at IDing this. Since we have, time location and stars.
Ideas?

Seems like a long-exposure photograph of the moon, as is also supported by the elongated stars. There's a photographer J.M. Lobert who even offers instruction on how to create a moon streak that is not over-exposed. Also, notice the clouds in the first photograph below.

 

[jarlrmai]

It does look a lot like that however at the claimed date/time/location the moon was not up.

 

[ManInBlack]

It does look a lot like that however at the claimed date/time/location the moon was not up.

SOURCE: https://www.timeanddate.com/moon/australia/sydney?month=7&year=2023

 

[jarlrmai]

Is that local time or UTC?

 

[flarkey]

Some have suggested that the photo shows an Indian Rocket launch.

https://canberraweekly.com.au/canberra-astro-photographer-captures-incredible-image-of-ufo/

Article:

This new mission is called “Chandrayaan-3” and lifted off at 2:35 p.m. IST (5:05 a.m. EDT). The name of the mission comes from the Sanskrit words “Chandra- Moon, Yaan-vehicle,” according to the ISRO. It launched aboard the Launch Vehicle Mark 3 (LVM3) from the Second Launch Pad at SDSC-SHAR in Sriharikota, India.

Source: https://spaceflightnow.com/2023/07/14/india-tries-for-successful-moon-mission-with-second-lander-launch/

5.05 am EDT = 0905UTC.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/v...nches-rocket-moon-mission-chandrayaan-3-video

India's space agency launched a rocket on Friday that will attempt to land a spacecraft at the lunar south pole, an unprecedented feat that would advance the country's position as a significant space power. Television footage showed the Indian Space Research Organisation's launch rocket blast off from the country's main spaceport in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh, leaving behind a plume of smoke and fire. The Chandrayaan-3 mission is designed to deploy a lander and rover near the moon's south pole around 23 August

Content from External Source

Indian rocoket launch was at 0905UTC. The photographer was in Gunadroo which is UTC+10, so it launched at 1905 Australia time. The article says the photo was taken at 8pm, so the time fits.

Ground trace from the launch video has it heading southeast from India towards Australia:



Source: https://youtu.be/q2ueCg9bvvQ?t=3062

 

[jarlrmai]

https://nova.astrometry.net/user_images/8387153#annotated

This places the photo as looking due north at that time as far as I can tell

 

[jarlrmai]

A Boo and Alkaid as reference stars times in UTC

 

[flarkey]

This guy was expecting to see the rocket launch from Australia and photographed it. Looks very similar.



Source: https://twitter.com/GilmourSpace/status/1679800993209552898?t=la8wbUX5GF-_SHaQdGUsxg&s=19

 

[MonkeeSage]

Zoomed in a bunch and it looks like a couple of stars are peeking through.

 

[jarlrmai]

https://nova.astrometry.net/user_images/8387227#annotated



Put's slightly higher in the sky but in the same direction and space covered by the photo, so later/earlier depending on direction of travel, probably later/different stage of the rocket.

 

[MonkeeSage]

This guy was expecting to see the rocket launch from Australia and photographed it. Looks very similar.

The article in OP has a second pic from the same event.

 

[jarlrmai]

So clearly this guy was intentionally shooting for this rocket launch and again the answer is in the original article.

 

[ManInBlack]

Is that local time or UTC?

Definitely local time.

 

[jarlrmai]

Well the moon is all the way below the horizon on Stellarium (my time is UTC)

 

[flarkey]

A Boo and Alkaid as reference stars times in UTC

@jarlrmai - if you're proficient with Stellarium you could enter the orbital parameter TLEs for the launch and see if it ties up. They should be available here...

https://celestrak.org/NORAD/elements/table.php?INTDES=2023-098

CHANDRAYAAN-3
1 57320U 23098A 23208.62000000 .00000392 00000+0 00000+0 0 9994
2 57320 21.3360 6.1160 9054012 182.9630 18.4770 0.46841359 195

Edit - no, sorry that gives the CURRENT orbit of the payload, not the launch parameters.

Edit 2 - actually the first line NORAD ID 57320 gives the age of the data as 7.75 days, so that is probably good for the launch vehicle.

 

[Ravi]

So clearly this guy was intentionally shooting for this rocket launch and again the answer is in the original article.

Nice promotion for his photography job.

 

[FatPhil]

It does look a lot like that however at the claimed date/time/location the moon was not up.

If an "award-winning astro-photographer" is prepared to lie about photographing the moon, then he's prepared to lie about the time the photo was taken in order to cover his tracks.

 

[jarlrmai]

If an "award-winning astro-photographer" is prepared to lie about photographing the moon, then he's prepared to lie about the time the photo was taken in order to cover his tracks.

The star positions in the image match the time and location given.

 

[FatPhil]

The star positions in the image match the time and location given.

That is not in question. If you have something that doesn't require trust, go with that, obviously.

I'm just saying that if one accepts temporarily as a premise for a line of reasoning that a source is unreliable, all information from that source should be considered unreliable, even if true. It's academic in this case, as he wasn't lying. It's just a general rule.

 

[flarkey]

I've overlaid the launch track map onto a geographical map, and extended the timeline very roughly to show the time at which the rocket would have reached Australia and been visible to the North from Canberra. It shows that it would have been ~1500s after launch = 25 mins. With launch being at 19.05h Canberra time this would therefore have been approx 19.30h Canberra Time

 

[LilWabbit]

I've overlaid the launch track map onto a geographical map, and extended the timeline very roughly to show the time at which the rocket would have reached Australia and been visible to the North from Canberra. It shows that it would have been ~1500s after launch = 25 mins. With launch being at 19.05h Canberra time this would therefore have been approx 19.30h Canberra Time

Brilliant and helpful stuff @flarkey and @jarlrmai. I'm total diettante at all this.

 

[jarlrmai]

That is not in question. If you have something that doesn't require trust, go with that, obviously.

I'm just saying that if one accepts temporarily as a premise for a line of reasoning that a source is unreliable, all information from that source should be considered unreliable, even if true. It's academic in this case, as he wasn't lying. It's just a general rule.

In this case I verified the information was reliable by recreating the stars and their position to the horizon from the location/time and date given and there was a match.

The moon was not present in this scene.

There's a chance (orbital mechanics may prohibit it though) that there was a possible similar alignment at another time/place that has the moon there as well, but given the number and magnitude of stars visible the moon would have been very very overexposed, even through clouds.

However the rocket would have been as demonstrated by the launch data and instagram post found by Flarkey. If the rocket was not an option I would have have pushed this into needing proof of location and EXIF data for the image to verify it.

 

[MonkeeSage]

@jarlrmai - if you're proficient with Stellarium you could enter the orbital parameter TLEs for the launch and see if it ties up. They should be available here...

https://celestrak.org/NORAD/elements/table.php?INTDES=2023-098

Edit - no, sorry that gives the CURRENT orbit of the payload, not the launch parameters.

Edit 2 - actually the first line NORAD ID 57320 gives the age of the data as 7.75 days, so that is probably good for the launch vehicle.

I gave it a shot. Both links actually to the same 2023-098 file. I tried changing the download url to 2023-098A and 2023-098B and it worked, but it was the same data as 2023-098 just in separate files for CHANDRAYAAN-3 and GSLV R/B. I downloaded and added 2023-098 with both. I don't know if I goofed something up or it's showing were their orbits would have been if were orbiting then or something, but they both show as below the horizon. I confirmed the sat shows as NORAD 57320.

 

[ManInBlack]

I've overlaid the launch track map onto a geographical map, and extended the timeline very roughly to show the time at which the rocket would have reached Australia and been visible to the North from Canberra. It shows that it would have been ~1500s after launch = 25 mins. With launch being at 19.05h Canberra time this would therefore have been approx 19.30h Canberra Time

Gundaroo is over 3000km south of Cape York with a fair bit of light pollution, however it is plausible because it was visible in Sydney (see below).

SOURCE: https://7news.com.au/technology/spa...chandrayaan-3-moon-landing-mission-c-11284152

 

[overlord]

Using the closest tle (epoch ~ 2023-07-14 13:03 UTC, from space-track.org):

0 CHANDRAYAAN-3
1 57320U 23098A   23195.54389961  .00000473 -66941-6  00000+0 0  9990
2 57320  21.2463   8.7581 7349791 178.2157 125.1928  2.25009678    04

The alignment shown a bit better:

 

[jarlrmai]

Using the closest tle (epoch ~ 2023-07-14 13:03 UTC, from space-track.org):

0 CHANDRAYAAN-3
1 57320U 23098A   23195.54389961  .00000473 -66941-6  00000+0 0  9990
2 57320  21.2463   8.7581 7349791 178.2157 125.1928  2.25009678    04

The alignment shown a bit better:

Beat me to it, nice work

 

[ManInBlack]

Using the closest tle (epoch ~ 2023-07-14 13:03 UTC, from space-track.org):

0 CHANDRAYAAN-3
1 57320U 23098A   23195.54389961  .00000473 -66941-6  00000+0 0  9990
2 57320  21.2463   8.7581 7349791 178.2157 125.1928  2.25009678    04

The alignment shown a bit better:

I take back my comment... Well done

 

[overlord]

I gave it a shot. Both links actually to the same 2023-098 file. I tried changing the download url to 2023-098A and 2023-098B and it worked, but it was the same data as 2023-098 just in separate files for CHANDRAYAAN-3 and GSLV R/B. I downloaded and added 2023-098 with both. I don't know if I goofed something up or it's showing were their orbits would have been if were orbiting then or something, but they both show as below the horizon. I confirmed the sat shows as NORAD 57320.

It is indeed below the horizon with that one, the validity period of the tle is probably much sorter for periods of intense maneuvering - launch being the most significant one.

CHANDRAYAAN-3
1 57320U 23098A 23208.62000000 .00000392 00000+0 00000+0 0 9994
2 57320 21.3360 6.1160 9054012 182.9630 18.4770 0.46841359 195

Additional note: tle is format sensitive, one should use something that preserves the consecutive spaces when sharing (such as the 'code block').

 

[ttguy]

Thanks Overlord. That is pretty definitive then. You guys did not disappoint.

 

[ManInBlack]

https://the-riotact.com/canberra-astro-photographer-99-99-sure-ufo-mystery-is-solved/690361

See above, where is your credit @overlord ?

 

[jarlrmai]

https://the-riotact.com/canberra-astro-photographer-99-99-sure-ufo-mystery-is-solved/690361

See above, where is your credit @overlord ?

It seems very unlikely to me that that an astrophotographer (a technical branch of photography where shots are often planned down to the minute) coincidentally goes out into the bush at the right time and sets up in the right direction to shoot a perfect long exposure of this rocket launch framed in the middle of the shot. Without knowing full well what it was.

The other photo in post is taken from the same location, see the matching building on the horizon, so there were other people there for it.

 

[ManInBlack]

It seems very unlikely to me that that an astrophotographer (a technical branch of photography where shots are often planned down to the minute) coincidentally goes out into the bush at the right time and sets up in the right direction to shoot a perfect long exposure of this rocket launch framed in the middle of the shot. Without knowing full well what it was.

The other photo in post is taken from the same location, see the matching building on the horizon, so there were other people there for it.

It was most likely a marketing boost for his photography business. Good to see it has been easily solved. Time to update the thread to exactly that.

 

[mmcastro]

Just stumbled across this post. I thought I'd add a bit of info.

The image was originally shared on the photographer's Facebook page and his Instagram account. The time and date roughly coincided with the launch of the Chandrayaan 3 probe from India. Almost immediately, a number of observers identified it as a long exposure of the upper stage blowdown (release of unused fuel as a safety measure). The photographer did not appear to be convinced, stating that he had not seen any photos of a similar nature.

Two days before the event I gave a heads up to my astronomy colleagues that it was likely that we'd see a blowdown from this event as it was on a very similar trajectory to the Chandrayaan 2 mission. The blowdown from Chandrayaan 2 was widely seen across Eastern Australia in 2019.

The photos from Gilmour Space were taken by my colleague Belinda Simpson, who along with other astrophotographers set up specifically for this event.

I had a number of cameras running and saw the entire event as it progressed across the sky. I've added a photo taken with the GoPro, plus an annotated image stack and my preliminary assessment of where the event would be visible, based on previous data.

The difference in star positions between the photographer's image and the Gilmour Space images is due to parallax, as the latter were taken around 1000 km North of the photographer's image (as were my images).

I downloaded the state vectors from the launch directly from JPL Horizons and converted them to latitude/longitude/altitude and it looks like the upper stage was between 600 km and 1000 km in altitude when the photo was taken, so the cloud would have been visible at distances of up to 3000 - 4000 km away.

The photographer contacted me personally and agreed that this was the blowdown after comparing his image with my GoPro captures.

It was a spectacular event, and there is a lot of video footage over on the Australian Meteor Reports FB page.

 

[FatPhil]

It was a spectacular event, and there is a lot of video footage over on the Australian Meteor Reports FB page.

Indeed it was - no wonder it looks like Hercules was trying to run away from it, it was clearly beyond his old-dated comprehension!

 

[mmcastro]

Indeed it was - no wonder it looks like Hercules was trying to run away from it, it was clearly beyond his old-dated comprehension!

Hehehe, I hadn't noticed Hercules doing a runner.