Jump to content

Recommended Posts

Ok, I know that this has been discussed before but last night as I looked out of window, I saw a huge glowing orange ball thing really high up in the sky. It looked like a hot air balloon without the basket! I know that last year some Chinese lantern things were seen floating about ED and they were mentioned on a previous thread, but I saw them and this was much bigger. What surprised me the most was how high it got. Anyway what was it?! It's definitely not one of those advertising balloon things you see around.
Link to comment
https://www.eastdulwichforum.co.uk/topic/7036-giant-orange-ball/
Share on other sites

At some point in May and for almost all of June I too saw a big orange thing in the sky on an almost daily basis - it started around 5am and got higher and higher until noonish then it slowly moved downwards disappearing at about 9pmish. I also noticed how hot and generally pleasant it was suring this phenomenum. It now seems to have disappeared.

???? Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> At some point in May and for almost all of June I

> too saw a big orange thing in the sky on an almost

> daily basis - it started around 5am and got higher

> and higher until noonish then it slowly moved

> downwards disappearing at about 9pmish. I also

> noticed how hot and generally pleasant it was

> suring this phenomenum. It now seems to have

> disappeared.


Sounds like withdrawl symptoms. Get back on the Stella immediately.

lenk Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Yet abother sad indication of how this area has

> gone to the dogs.

>

> I lived in Manchester for 10 years, and never once

> saw this deadly orange ball in the sky.

-------------------------------------------------


That's Manchester for you!

Quids' answer sounds the most likely, but barring that a v quick swizz and this looks a candidate:


Based upon the description you give I would say its highly likely that you saw a rather nice example of a fireball. This is the name given to a meteor that achieves a visual magnitude of -4 (very close to the planet Venus) or brighter. Brightness is often perceived in terms of size - hence your description of a tenth the size of the Moon.


It is not unusual with fireballs to see some fragmentation of the actual meteroid as it enters the atmosphere and breaks up - there are sometimes even reports of sonic booms like thunder.


There are no notable meteor showers going on but then fireballs are almost always sporadics (random meteors). It would be well worth your while getting in touch with Alistar McBeath at the Society for Popular Astronomy (www.popastro.com) who co-ordinates their meteor section. It's quite likely that other people did see it and not necessarily just around the Leeds area. With a few observations from different locations it is often possible to work out a trajectory (actual path)



 

I may have been responsible for the chinese lanterns last year which are mentioned at the start of this thread, I think I'd come back from a festival and told the kids about the lanterns, so we set a couple off before their bedtime, then ended up with them in their pyjamas following the lanterns through the streets of SE22 until the lanterns disappeared East. I hope they didnae cause concern at the time !

KidKruger Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> I may have been responsible for the chinese

> lanterns last year which are mentioned at the

> start of this thread, I think I'd come back from a

> festival and told the kids about the lanterns, so

> we set a couple off before their bedtime, then

> ended up with them in their pyjamas following the

> lanterns through the streets of SE22 until the

> lanterns disappeared East. I hope they didnae

> cause concern at the time !



Please let us know when you'll be doing it again this year. We loved watching them last year.

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Latest Discussions

    • Thank you to everyone who has already shared their thoughts on this. Dawson Heights Estate in the 1980s, while not as infamous as some other estates, did have its share of anti-social behaviour and petty crime. My brother often used the estate as a shortcut when coming home from his girlfriend’s house, despite my parents warning him many times to avoid it. Policing during that era had a distinctly “tough on crime” approach. Teenagers, particularly those from working-class areas or minority communities, were routinely stopped, questioned, and in some cases, physically handled for minor infractions like loitering, skateboarding, or underage drinking. Respect for authority wasn’t just expected—it was demanded. Talking back to a police officer could escalate a situation very quickly, often with harsh consequences. This was a very different time. There were no body cameras, dash cams, or social media to hold anyone accountable or to provide a record of encounters. Policing was far more physical and immediate, with few technological safeguards to check officer behaviour. My brother wasn’t known to the police. He held a full-time job at the Army and Navy store in Lewisham and had recently been accepted into the army. Yet, on that night, he ran—not because he was guilty of anything—but because he knew exactly what would happen if he were caught on an estate late at night with a group of other boys. He was scared, and rightfully so.
    • I'm sure many people would look to see if someone needed help, and if so would do something about it, and at least phone the police if necessary if they didn't feel confident helping directly. At least I hope so. I'm sorry you don't feel safe, but surely ED isn't any less safe than most places. It's hardly a hotbed of crime, it's just that people don't post on here if nothing has happened! And before that, there were no highwaymen,  or any murders at all .... In what way exactly have we become "a soft apologetic society", whatever that means?
    • Unless you're 5 years old or have been living in a cave for several decades you can't be for real. I don't believe that you're genuinely confused by this, no one who has access to newspapers, the tv news, the internet would ask this. Either you're an infant, or have recently woken up from a coma after decades, or you're a supercilious tw*t
Home
Events
Sign In

Sign In



Or sign in with one of these services

Search
×
    Search In
×
×
  • Create New...