Rotating Lights In The Sky

[Pietro_Mercurios]

Early this morning, about 3:45am, my partner woke me up as we were lying in bed, to ask me, what are those lights? I looked up through the two, unshaded, velux skylights set in to the roof of our attic bedroom and sure enough, there were what looked like a series of white lights, set roughly in a circle, spinning, quite quickly, first clockwise and then counter clockwise as they swept from one side of the sky and back again, reflecting off the torn and stormy looking clouds. Then they'd stop for 20 seconds, or so and start again, repeating the action. The clouds were also lit by the town's sodium orange streetlights and there were plenty of clear patches where the occasional star could be seen. I'm not sure how high the clouds were, maybe about 500 to a 1000ft? There was no moon to be seen.

At first I thought that it might be an optical illusion, caused by steam, venting from the neighbour's central heating system, being swept backwards and forwards in the wind and catching reflected street light. However, I got up and went through to the other attic room and stood up on a chair, to get a better look out of its skylight. Sure enough, there were the lights rotating and sweeping across the sky.

It seemed to be some sort of projection from the ground, like a moving disco lights projector, only aimed at the sky. Why would somebody be playing about with disco lights at 4 O'clock of a Sunday morning? Probably someone on drugs, playing with their bedroom disco equipment, I thought.

I looked outside again, shortly before 7:00am, but the light were no longer to be seen.

 

[Xanatico]

I´ve certainly seen lights in a circle rotating like you´ve described before, and been able to see the light extending down to the ground where some projector probably was. I guess someone was maybe doing a test run, or there is a disco open at that time.

 

[Pietro_Mercurios]

I´ve certainly seen lights in a circle rotating like you´ve described before, and been able to see the light extending down to the ground where some projector probably was. I guess someone was maybe doing a test run, or there is a disco open at that time.

That's certainly what it looked like, but at that time in the morning and it did go on for quite a while. Still, it's Holland, so ... :hmm:

 

[escargot]

There are mobile searchlights, like the ones used in war to look for incoming bombers, which can be hired for events. They give exactly this effect.

When one was first used near hear some years ago, people went flocking to the source of the light from miles around, and the organisers of the rather exclusive party at the Rookery Hall Hotel (where Posh and Becks got engaged) were not best pleased when they all turned up! :lol:
Some came from well over 20 miles away.

I had a camper van at the time and filled it with about 7 kids, who greatly enjoyed chasing the lights across the countryside. They were both disappointed and relieved to find that the source of the lights wasn't aliens. 8)

 

[GNC]

Maybe it was the Batsignal? Or equivalent?

 

[gmcholland]

Could it have been the latest meteor activity that has been in the news recently? Orionids, which is apparently part of Halley's Comet, has peaked across the Southern sky over this weekend.

Check out: http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/space/solarsystem/meteors/index.shtml

I tried to check it out myself early Saturday morning, but the sky was grey and would have obscured any decent view.

 

[Pietro_Mercurios]

There are mobile searchlights, like the ones used in war to look for incoming bombers, which can be hired for events. They give exactly this effect.

...

That's a thought that hadn't occurred to me. It could have been some sort of civil defense/anti-aircraft excercise, using mobile searchlights. Don't know whether that's more, or less likely than disco fever.

That time of a Sunday morning, there'd be virtually no traffic, or eyewitnesses, except the occasional late feestbeest on their way home and they'd probably be seeing lights revolving, anyway.

Could it have been the latest meteor activity that has been in the news recently? Orionids, which is apparently part of Halley's Comet, has peaked across the Southern sky over this weekend.

...

Almost definitely not, sorry. I have seen the Leonids before, also the Aurora Borealis and these were rotating lights, not meteors, or ionised plasma.

 

[Iamroachford]

They are often used by pubs and clubs to attract folk. Theres a place in Worcester that use them, you can see them for miles and miles. Also, my home town of barrow in furness had a set mounted on the top of the town hall, as well as the two nearest towns also had some, a kind of weird spotlight beacon.

 

[Pietro_Mercurios]

They are often used by pubs and clubs to attract folk. Theres a place in Worcester that use them, you can see them for miles and miles. Also, my home town of barrow in furness had a set mounted on the top of the town hall, as well as the two nearest towns also had some, a kind of weird spotlight beacon.

Yes. But, not around these parts, squire.

Not as a rule, anyway.

 

[LordRsmacker]

They are called Sky Trackers (or Sky Roses depending on make), and I've got 3!
The ones I have aren't as bright as the WW2 searchlights so don't need CAA approval to use them (a bloke got bollocked at Beltring this year I believe for using his searchlight and picking out a passing aeroplane!), but they are pretty damned bright, thanks to the BMF discharge lamp in them.
They aren't very big, and when flight-cased, easily mobile, and are often used by to nightclubs etc for promotions. I have to say in the past I have advised clients how local papers love to pick up on the "UFO reports" that can be easily revealed to be the grand opening of such-and-such. I suggest they might want to ring the newsdesk and report the lights, voila, half a page coverage, without shelling out for an ad! And it STILL works, it's an easy way to fill column space, especially if you are in the sticks, though most larger towns and cities would have seen them before so it wouldn't warrant a mention.

Don't be so sure there wouldn't be any round your way, the one you saw would have been at any party or event, perhaps sat in a field next to a marquee. Mine go out to loads of posh private do's and corporate events - they love all that kind of cheese!
They roam around automatically, so no-one would have been operating it - just switch on and forget it.

A snip at a mere £250 + VAT + Carriage each per night! (Long term discounts available, he he)

 

[Pietro_Mercurios]

...

Don't be so sure there wouldn't be any round your way, ...

Just not as a rule.

 

[jeff544]

It was Diwali this weekend - maybe there were some late night revellers still at it ?

 

[Dingo667]

Damn you beat me to it. Yes Diwali, and where we live there were fireworks since saturday. So it seems that there was at least a reason for lights like that.

 

[Xanatico]

Diwali is also known as the festival of lights I believe. Incidentally I was once dragged up on a stage and made to attempt kung fu in front of 400 chinese on Diwali, but that´s a different story.

 

[oweny29]

It seemed to be some sort of projection from the ground, like a moving disco lights projector, only aimed at the sky. Why would somebody be playing about with disco lights at 4 O'clock of a Sunday morning?

Erm, 3:45am on sunday morning is perfectly normal for discos/raves/dance music events to be in full swing.

A few year ago in Suffolk, a similar "phenomena" was witnessed across our county. It was more like 9-10pm but exactly the same as you described. It turned out to be a new nightclub opening in Ipswich, they had spotlights projecting into the sky.

Also I saw the same thing around 3am on a journey back from a night out in Cambridge and knew exactly what it was.

 

[Pietro_Mercurios]

...

Erm, 3:45am on sunday morning is perfectly normal for discos/raves/dance music events to be in full swing.

...

True. But, it was still out of the usual, for this area.

 

[LordRsmacker]

All the more reason for that to be the source of the lights!!

In large towns/cities, nobody gives a fuck about these things, they have seen them many times. It's only in places where they are a novelty that they are effective.