robert@uop.edu (Fred Flintstone) (01/19/88)
Last night (this morning actually 01/18/88 at 02:00 Pacific time)
I was driving home from a friend's house and I saw a bright flash
on the horizon (west) that was in the blue end of the spectrum.
Similar to lightning in quickness and colour, but it was more akin
to a strobe (a really big strobe!) being fired off on the other side
of the coast range. At the time I was southbound on I-5, just outside
of Lodi, Ca.
Anyone know what it was that I saw?
(Travis AFB is to the west... any tests, accidents?)
thanks
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...rutgers!retix!uop!robert
...ames!ucbvax!ucdavis!/tag@ttrda.UUCP (Tom Gloger) (01/21/88)
In article <920@uop.edu>, robert@uop.edu (Fred Flintstone) writes: > Last night ... I was driving home ... and I saw a bright flash on the > horizon ... in the blue end of the spectrum. > > Anyone know what it was that I saw? > A few years ago, during a thunderstorm, I observed a blue-green flash on the horizon. It lasted a noticeable length of time, but less than a second. At the same time, the red lights on the tops of the near-by high-tension towers went out. The flash was in the direction of a large "transformer farm" which, I believe, is connected to the high-tension lines. My theory is a large transformer bit the big one that night. The lights stayed off for a day or two, as I recall. -- Tom Gloger AT&T ihnp4!ttrda!tag Skokie, Illinois, 60077
dambrose@drivax.UUCP (David Ambrose) (01/22/88)
In article <920@uop.edu> robert@uop.edu (Fred Flintstone) writes: > >Last night (this morning actually 01/18/88 at 02:00 Pacific time) >I was driving home from a friend's house and I saw a bright flash >on the horizon (west) that was in the blue end of the spectrum. >Similar to lightning in quickness and colour, but it was more akin >to a strobe (a really big strobe!) being fired off on the other side >of the coast range. At the time I was southbound on I-5, just outside >of Lodi, Ca. > You probably saw a missle test flight from Vandenberg AFB which is south of you on the coast. They have been lighting off Minutemen and other stuff for quite a few years now. It must have been just below the hills. I saw one for the first time when I was 14. Thought it might be the end of the world. . . ;-( Once you know what they are though, they're really quite pretty. -- Reality? No thanks, too much of that stuff's no good for you. David L. Ambrose, -- Digital Research, Inc ...!amdahl!drivax!dambrose DISCLAIMER: Don't blame DRI. They wouldn't approve of this anyway. r}ix NO CARRIER
agranok@udenva.cair.du.edu (Alex B. Granok) (01/23/88)
In article <254@ttrda.UUCP> tag@ttrda.UUCP (Tom Gloger) writes: >In article <920@uop.edu>, robert@uop.edu (Fred Flintstone) writes: >> Last night ... I was driving home ... and I saw a bright flash on the >> horizon ... in the blue end of the spectrum. >> >> Anyone know what it was that I saw? >> There is a phenomenon known as the Green flash that appears on the horizon over the ocean at sunset (maybe at sunrise, too). It happens as the sun's rays are refracted just the right amount and during that instant, the flash appears. I don't know where you saw this, so that may not be the cause. It could be any number of things, then. The list is probably as long as you want to make it. -- Alexander B. Granok hao!udenva!agranok