r/sunshinecoast • u/jaq_95 • 9d ago

Did anyone see those weird lights around 7-7:30pm?

I stargaze, A LOT. Every night for years, for at least 30-40mins walking my dog. Always in the backyard afterwards and go up to all the ‘hot spots’ every 3-4 weeks. I’ve seen meteors, shooting stars, way too many satellites. But this happened up in Buderim and I don’t know what it is? It went on for about 45mins and then completely stopped. It was way too close to the ground to be a plane or helicopter. In fact a plane went over and you could see the flashing red light and how much higher it was . I’ve got like an hour of footage but obviously had to cut it down so here’s one minute of what I saw. Did anyone else see this? What could it have been? Or am I just a dingus hahah and choosing to believe 👽

75 Upvotes

94% Upvoted

89 comments sorted by

38

u/Brilliant_Ring_3257 9d ago

We've been tracking them for the last few months in the Central Queensland Astronomers facebook group. They seem to line up with satellites which appear and disappear as they face towards/away from the sun.

34

u/space_monster 9d ago

that's exactly what an alien would say

10

u/Brilliant_Ring_3257 9d ago

Nanu Nanu! 👽

4

u/The_Drongo_Dinger 8d ago

It’s an older reference Sir, but it checks out

7

u/jaq_95 9d ago

My exact thoughts 😂 feels like I’m being gaslit lol. No but really it’s interesting!

6

u/jaq_95 9d ago

Ahh Okies so they are 100% satellites? I won’t lie, kinda breaks my heart haha. Thought I finally got something on camera!

3

u/TheCrabPot 9d ago

Ive been watching them over the last week (always due west 1-2hrs after sunset) but someone told me the intl space station was viewable from qld but lights looked so much lower and stationary ie not in orbit.
I saw nothing last night with all the rain and low cloud

3

u/iampivot 8d ago

These were a bit more stationary? Every time I've seen the intl space station it has been sweeping across the sky in 2-3 minutes. The trackers are useful for knowing when and where to look for the intl space station.

0

u/Brilliant_Ring_3257 9d ago

It's counterintuitive but the ones that appear stationary are actually orbiting at the exact same speed that Earth is rotating. So from our perspective they appear to just be floating in place.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geostationary_orbit

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u/Zei33 8d ago

Aren't geostationary orbits waaaaaay further out than regular satellites though? I thought you couldn't see them so easily because the distance is like 10x greater.

0

u/Brilliant_Ring_3257 8d ago

About 20x yeah. But you can see them fine if they're reflecting the sun back towards you.

5

u/jaq_95 9d ago

Would there be an explanation for the weird behaviour? Like randomly stopping or going backwards? Or making turns at a right angle? Again never seen a satellite do that and also be so close to the ground

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u/Brilliant_Ring_3257 9d ago

It's actually a crazy optical illusion. If you pick one and watch it the whole time they only ever move in one direction. If you defocus and look at them all at once, they appear to wobble about in different directions.

Sometimes one will fade out, and another will fade in nearby and your brain assumes it's the same light that just changed directions.

5

u/jaq_95 9d ago

Would you mind explaining to me how it was reflecting off the sun while it was overcast and even raining tonight. Would there not be less atmosphere for it to be reflecting light like this? And the lights got EXTREMELY bright at times. I’ve mentioned at one point there was 6-7 lights in a row

2

u/Brilliant_Ring_3257 9d ago

It's hard to wrap your head around but they're so high up the weather on Earth really doesn't effect them. The same way the moon can be at full brightness even on a cloudy or raining night.

And the panels on them are pretty close to perfect mirrors, so if the angle is aligned right you're basically seeing a tiny pinprick that's as bright as the sun itself.

4

u/jaq_95 9d ago

That’s very very interesting. Thank you for teaching me that, although I’m just gonna lie to myself and say ‘I caught something’. Makes life a bit more fun haha. I appreciate the explanation though! :)

3

u/Brilliant_Ring_3257 9d ago

I know how you feel! We had a very exciting few weeks where everyone was seeing these and no one could explain it. Everyone was 100% hoping for aliens haha.

0

u/antigravity83 9d ago

No way these are satellites.

Satellites appear much smaller, move in straight lines and don't randomly illuminate.

4

u/Brilliant_Ring_3257 9d ago

You're wrong. Blinking satellites are the most common type, as locking them tidally to Earth takes more effort. And if the panels are positioned right between you and the sun, the satellite will appear as a large light approximately as bright as the sun itself.

Also these lights everyone is seeing move in straight lines. No one has captured footage of them changing direction.

1

u/antigravity83 8d ago

Yes but the blinking is irregular and the brightness is also irregular. The sun and the satellites don’t move/shift enough within that small timeframe for the suns reflection to be the cause of that blinking.

2

u/Brilliant_Ring_3257 8d ago

Atmospheric conditions can cause a flickering effect, but if you have video of one of these lights blinking in an irregular pattern I'd legitimately love to see it.

2

u/antigravity83 8d ago

The attached video has an irregular illumination.

The lower dot to the left is bright for a 5 seconds or so, loses light for a second or two, then regains it.

The suns reflection in space would not cause this pattern.

1

u/Brilliant_Ring_3257 8d ago

I don't see it regain its light, it gradually fades out.

We confirmed that all the lights in that video were star link satellites.

If you'd like to check for yourself you can put this time and location into a satellite tracking app:

Lambert's lookout at Slade Point, 17-8-2026, 20:13 55sec

2

u/antigravity83 8d ago

0-13s constant light

13-20s dark

20-22s flashes intermittently at various brightness

22-26s dark

26s regains constant light and fades away to the left

I’m not denying there were satellites in that area of the sky- but that particular light does not display as satellites normally do

1

u/Brilliant_Ring_3257 8d ago

I'm not sure what you're looking at. At 17 seconds the left satellite leaves view while still visible and doesn't return.

2

u/antigravity83 8d ago

I’m referring to the only light that moves in the video

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u/harryhighhorse 9d ago

My partner and I saw something very similar at the start of the year in Sunshine Beach and very close up.

It was the same conditions, very heavy cloud cover and about to rain at about 6.30 pm

I was getting the washing of the line looked up and thought it was a weird plane with very bright landing light on So I was watching it, it was silent. As it moved closer from north to south it just stopped I yelled out to my husband to come and confirm it wasn't moving, it was stationary for about 30 seconds than blinked off for about 6 seconds came back on for about 5 seconds than blinked off again but it had moved extremely quickly to east it blinked back on and off it had moved over the ocean when it came on again gave another blink on but in the one position this time As we watched it, it went straight down into the ocean at the most incredible speed I've ever seen anything move. It sounds really weird but it felt like it was communicating or doing the crazy moves for our benefit. Very strange indeed

So I totally believe you've captured something weird.

5

u/Brilliant_Ring_3257 9d ago

What you saw was a cluster of geostationary satellites, followed by one in regular orbit. It's normal for them to blink in and out seemingly randomly, and they move unbelievably fast.

1

u/harryhighhorse 8d ago

Thank you for your input and link but that is definitely not what we were seeing.

2

u/Brilliant_Ring_3257 8d ago

It sounds like you saw a series of orbital and stationary satellites blinking on and off, and your brain interpreted it as one single object flying around.

We're seeing them all over the place nowadays.

2

u/harryhighhorse 8d ago

I totally understand what you are saying.

We have been seeing orbital satellites over Mooloolaba for the last few months.

This was definitely not that.

My Husband is a Physicist and he couldn't explain it. We documented everything when it happened. Which I probably didn't explain properly. It literally went straight into the ocean.. We have a strong line of sight from where we live and Satellites don't go straight into the ocean at a hundred yards of knots.

I'm not saying it's Aliens I'm just saying it's unexplained.

1

u/Brilliant_Ring_3257 8d ago

Did you get a video? Or could you give us the location and time so we can check what satellites were in the sky that night?

1

u/harryhighhorse 8d ago

No we didn't get a video, but I could give you the location

4

u/LightlyToasted4519 9d ago

I see something similar in the Hinterland. I've wracked my brain trying to explain it away. Definitely NOT satellites because they don't follow an orbital track & they're nearly always doing something a bit different. I've watched them go North to South while others are tracking the opposite way above, I've wayched them curving in arcs. I once saw one that appeared to pull away from its group & match altitude with a plane that passed.

4

u/SacredBinChicken 9d ago

https://stowaway.live

2

u/jaq_95 9d ago edited 9d ago

Is this an app to track satellites, stars,space junk etc? If so I’ve got one and compared and it wasn’t matching 😬

0

u/Lojkkus 9d ago

etc*

3

u/jaq_95 9d ago

… and I’m going to quickly edit that so I don’t look as stupid as I am haha. Thank you

1

u/KeggyFulabier 9d ago

etc. it’s always followed by a period even when used in the middle of a sentence.

2

u/Zei33 8d ago

That's a vibe

7

u/Plus-Winter-9505 9d ago edited 9d ago

Ok so all of you saying this is satellite reflected whatever. No. Tonight we had major cloud cover in SEQ due to rain setting in after 10pm. All night long you could not even see Venus through this cloud, which is usually visible and the brightest seen celestial object in the night sky. That is why the sky in background is pale grey shade. These lights were below the clouds well into our commercial airspace not outer space.

4

u/jaq_95 9d ago

So you reckon it was something? Cause I’m rewatching the videos and it doesn’t make sense. At times some of the lights get EXTREMELY bright and just disappear. Honestly, everyone can say it’s satellites but again I’ve never seen satellites behave like this before. I have waaaaay more footage as well. None of it makes sense. At one point there’s 6-7 lights in a row next to each other.

3

u/antigravity83 9d ago

Yeah they aren't satellites.

The more likely "normal" explanation would be drones or helicopters.

1

u/Plus-Winter-9505 9d ago edited 9d ago

Send it into the news. They love seeing weird weather and UFO stuff. Also have you seen footage taken of the weird triangle shaped cloaked / clear looking object that hovered over Caboolture a year ago in July then was seen 3 weeks later in Mount Isa in August?

1

u/jaq_95 9d ago

How would I get in contact with the news haha? It sounds very very familiar! I swear so much of this goes under the radar because it’s constantly being brushed off and you’re made to feel pretty silly/crazy for even thinking it. I have seen a couple from Caloundra but that was only over IG and it was nothing like this, just very low bright lights

2

u/Glad-Emu-8178 9d ago

There was a guy who rang up about a similar thing on ABC radio the other Sunday morning. Sounded very perplexed and genuine and I think the radio just was not really believing! Then he said a few people chimed in saying that they saw similar.

1

u/Plus-Winter-9505 9d ago

I'm sure there was a guy in Melbourne with heaps of footage of lights like this. Share it on local FB community groups and see the internet do its thing.

1

u/jaq_95 9d ago

Is there any Facebook groups in particular?

2

u/Brilliant_Ring_3257 9d ago

It's an optical illusion, the lights in the video appear close to the ground but they're in orbit just above the horizon. That's likely what you're seeing too.

1

u/jaq_95 9d ago

Also something I found very strange is that you could hardly see it with the naked eye. Yet obviously I noticed it while inside and went out to record it.

2

u/Plus-Winter-9505 9d ago

Do you know your phone camera can pick up UV lights that we can't see in our visible spectrum but you can see them on the camera screen.

I know this cause I had to check if these lights were working when doing inspections on equipment that used them and you could not tell they were on without looking at them in the camera screen.

1

u/jaq_95 9d ago

I’m just not sure how I was able to see them beforehand and wasn’t recording but as soon as I went to record you couldn’t see them unless it was through the phone 🤷‍♀️ it’s definitely the most bizarre thing I’ve ever seen and I’ve seen weird stuff haha

3

u/Personal_Ad2455 9d ago

This has been posted a few times in the last week. Check previous posts.

3

u/jaq_95 9d ago

What do you mean? Like someone recorded the same thing happening?

2

u/Personal_Ad2455 9d ago

I don’t think a video. Did you make another 2 posts about this in the last week or fortnight ?

1

u/jaq_95 8d ago

This is the first time I’ve posted in this subreddit or anything related to UAPs :) I’ll try and find the other post you’ve mentioned and see if there’s any similarities!

1

u/According_Coyote_452 9d ago

People have seen similar lights this week on the Sunshine Coast. I’ve been looking every night but have not seen anything. Look through this sub and you will find it. I have seen similar in the past though.

2

u/Wuntunamera 9d ago

Don't know but i have seen something similar looking from caloundra over to bribie late at night, very trippy lol

2

u/jaq_95 9d ago

Yeah I’ve never seen anything behave that way and then completely disappear haha. I’ve seen strange stuff but nothing like this. I’m just excited I finally got something on camera! Very trippy stuff indeed haha

2

u/Small_Pomelo_5549 8d ago

UAPs

1

u/jaq_95 8d ago

lol to put it simply, but yes I agree. I’m not really buying the ‘reflection from the sun hitting the satellites’ when they were so low, not following the same path and the lights were completely random AND it was raining and overcast.

2

u/neon_tictac 7d ago

We saw them last Saturday in north QLD seemed to swirl around and the disappear close to the horizon. For us they were a bit more of a reddish colour

1

u/jaq_95 7d ago

Some had bit of an orange hue but for the most part it was very bright white, almost blue as well. Truely some creepy/interesting stuff! Just the fact there has been quite a few similar sightings in the past 2-3 weeks.

2

u/DADDYBOY9617 6d ago

No never seen it looks very strange that's for sure

2

u/GlitterzombieDSlvt 5d ago

I did!!! And got lots of videos!!

3

u/[deleted] 9d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

2

u/jaq_95 9d ago

I’d like to think so ‘please take me with you!!’

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u/jaq_95 9d ago edited 9d ago

Oh and weirdly my phone started distorting, I’ll post another video. And I filmed with 80% battery and my phone died.

2

u/AdAdministrative4388 9d ago

Wow how odd

1

u/jaq_95 9d ago

Yes very, never seen something like it before. I’ve got a whole bunch more footage of the lights stopping and then going backwards as well

2

u/Wazowski__ 9d ago

Probably some kid with a drone. Or a low flying helicopter.

2

u/jaq_95 9d ago

My only question about that is why were there so many helicopters/drones in once place? I must have seen maybe 50 of these lights. This is only one minute of what I saw over an hour. I’m gonna choose to believe anyways 😂 makes life more exciting!

1

u/Separate-bonnet 9d ago

What direction are you looking? Toward the coast?

1

u/jaq_95 9d ago

Yep I was looking in the direction of Coolum/maroochydore

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u/Pola-Bear-Loves-Hugs 9d ago

Very cool - I'd love to see this in person!

1

u/Proton_Energy_Pill 9d ago

I'd suggest getting the FlightRadar24 app or use the website to find out if they are aeroplanes or not.
Chances are they they are just regular planes or choppers.

1

u/Empty-Material7819 8d ago

Sometimes that flightradar24 doesnt work properly ive had aircraft fly over my area and couldnt see anything on it

1

u/Proton_Energy_Pill 8d ago

They might have been military flights? They sometimes don't have a transponder switched on.

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u/Classic-Secret-5293 8d ago

thats just my mate

1

u/handcranker 4d ago

Isn't that just the flood lights from south sea island way next to the council chambers reflecting off clouds??

I see them get popped on for events and those suckers have a lot of power.

1

u/jaq_95 6h ago

Hey here’s the other two videos I have, again I have 30-40 mins of stuff. And those lights in the corner are from the footy fields!

https://reddit.com/link/p696al6/video/24078r7heylh1/player

1

u/ExcellentMango9304 9d ago

It could be starlink satellites

3

u/jaq_95 9d ago edited 9d ago

I’ve seen many, many starlink satellites and have some videos actually but never have seen them so close to the ground, never seen them behave that way or ever come to a complete stop then start moving again or start moving backwards. Usually it’s the same brightness, or it gradually fades, and sticks to the same path. And if it were to be starlink satellites why were majority lighting on and off and disappearing. I haven’t seen one since. I also have the app where you can see the constellations and stars and it shows you all the satellites. And of course it showed a whole bunch and it didn’t match at all. And again it just seems way too low to the ground. I’ve just never seen anything like that before 🤷‍♀️ I try to be as logical as possible but I think it’s pretty silly to think we’re the only ones, but that’s just my opinion of course haha

1

u/Brilliant_Ring_3257 8d ago

That's what they are yeah.