Maritzburg in a tizz over 'UFO'
2010-09-20 22:57
Pietermaritzburg - It seems the night skies above Pietermaritzburg are teeming with strange lights as residents responded to the story in Monday's Witness.
A Howick resident called to say that, for the past three nights, she had been watching a very bright object over Midmar that moves towards Pietermaritzburg.
She described the object as having a "reddish tinge" and being "5 000 times brighter than a star".
A Newholmes resident said that, a month ago, while sitting outside at 20:30, he saw an object that sparkled in the sky and then flashed very brightly before disappearing.
A week later he saw the object come up from the south, and as it passed what he thought was a satellite, it flashed again.
"I called my wife, but she didn’t see it. I have been looking at the sky again, but have not seen it again. It was so bright, like a bright torch flashing."
Another city resident said in an email that, three to four weeks ago, while answering the call of nature just after dark, he looked northwards "and in the west at about 22:00 was a very bright 'star' moving slowly".
"Next evening, same procedure, same movement. The third evening I rang an amateur stargazer and asked her to locate and identify the 'star'. She located it, was unable to identify it, but confirmed that the 'star' was moving across the sky."
Satellite
The man believes the "star" is a satellite.
Bono Mkhize of Eastwood has seen "the same light, but only twice on Thursday last week and on Tuesday the week before. It shone a bright orange colour, then it dimmed, then went bright again."
He said it did not move.
A Scottsville couple, Roy and Phyll Geyser, saw a "bright sparkling light" on Saturday, September 11. "It definitely appeared to be a lot brighter and larger than the stars we are used to seeing," said Phyll.
Burt Seabrook of Scottburgh reported seeing a "huge white light" over the sea in the north-east between 20:00 and 21:00.
The man who originally called The Witness said he is now convinced the bright star-like object is a satellite.
He said he has since tracked it moving from east to west towards Pietermaritzburg.
"The question now is, what satellite is it?
Jupiter?
A reader sent in a link to the website SkyandTelescope.com, which says that Jupiter is far brighter than any true star in the night sky at the moment.
"Jupiter is always bright, but if you think it looks a little brighter than usual this month, you're right. Jupiter is making its closest pass by Earth for the year. And this year’s pass is a little closer than any other between 1963 and 2022."
Jupiter was nearest to Earth on Monday night - a mere 592 million kilometres away.
But it remains nearly this close and bright throughout the second half of September.
Another reader, Andrew Hall, sent an email saying the strange "light" in the evening sky is Jupiter.
"It is currently very bright and can be seen rising in the evening, in the east at about 19:00.
"It will be visible all night, because at the moment it is in opposition to the Sun. If you look carefully with a pair of binoculars you will see four of its moons.
"Venus is also visible, but it is in the western sky at sunset. Below it and difficult to see are Mars and Saturn."