Black Horizon: Jan 16, 2009

Friday, January 16, 2009

Black Horizon: More "Red Whoosh" photos

Here are a few more frames. In one of the earlier photos it almost looks like it staged, like a rocket.

First stage plume?

Enlarged and enhanced. You can see a conical object at the head of the plume.

All photos (C) Steve Douglass and require permission for use.

Note: Turn up your speakers and reload this page to hear the military aircraft radio chatter I recorded at the time of this sighting that may or may not be related.

Investigation in plane’s river landing begins

Investigation in plane’s river landing begins: "NEW YORK — Everything about the fate of Flight 1549 seemed like a million-to-1 shot — a flock of birds crossing a jetliner’s path and taking out both engines, a safe landing in the Hudson River by a former fighter pilot."

(Via Air Force Times - News.)

FBI: Man held in Nellis bomb hoax

FBI: Man held in Nellis bomb hoax: "LAS VEGAS — The FBI says a 30-year-old man from Fresno, Calif., could face federal charges after allegedly driving onto Nellis Air Force base in a rental truck that he said had a bomb."

(Via Air Force Times - News.)

'We're going down -- brace for impact' NYC plane crash a miracle.

'We're going down -- brace for impact': "Passengers scrambled to get off a sinking jetliner after it went down Thursday in New York's Hudson River with 155 people on board. The US Airways jet apparently experienced a bird strike while en route to Charlotte. All of the passengers survived. 'I think that's miraculous,' a passenger told CNN.

(Via CNN.com.)

Another Red Whoosh!

I shot this sequence of another "Red whoosh" This time it headed straight up until its contrail disappeared and I couldn't see it anymore. I was looking southwest toward New Mexico Test Ranges where I (educated) guess this thing may have originated.

Luckily I had my 300 mm lens with me.

I did happen to be recording my military aviation scanners at the time and caught a cryptic snippet - at about the same time as the sighting but I don't know if it is related to the sighting.

I'll post the wav file later,