Latest news with #RobertLamontagne
Economic Times
4 days ago
- Science
- Economic Times
UFO seen in Canada? Bright luminous object spins across night sky
Synopsis A strange light appeared in the sky over southern Quebec. People thought it was a UFO. Social media was full of photos and videos. But, astronomers say it was a rocket. The rocket launched a European weather satellite. It was visible because of its polar orbit. The spinning rocket released gases, creating the swirling light. Many people saw the event. TIL Creatives Bright luminous spiral in night sky turns out to be Ariane 6 rocket stage A mysterious light streaked across the night sky over southern Quebec on Tuesday(August 12), leaving stargazers and casual skywatchers alike scratching their heads. Observers described a luminous spiral of light, seemingly floating and spinning in the darkness, sparking speculation on social media about UFOs or extraterrestrial visitors. Photos and videos quickly went viral, capturing a glowing trail with a fuzzy halo that lit up the night. But astronomers say there's no need to call the X-Files just yet. According to the Facebook post of Astrolab du parc national du Mont-Mégantic, the spectacle was 'in all likelihood the second stage of an Ariane 6 rocket igniting its engine to de-orbit after releasing a European weather satellite.'The European Space Agency confirmed the satellite on their website, Metop-SGA1, was launched from Kourou, French Guiana, at 9:37 pm local time, marking the beginning of a new era in polar-orbit weather Robert Lamontagne explained why the rocket was visible from Canada to CBC News. 'Most launches are equatorial and barely visible this far north. But a polar orbit means the rocket circles the Earth over the poles, making it visible from Montreal and southern Quebec.' Timing played a key role. The rocket, soaring high above the Earth, remained illuminated by the sun even as the ground below was in twilight. 'As the second stage re-entered the atmosphere, it was spinning and releasing exhaust gases, that's the swirling light people saw,' Lamontagne Canadian Space Agency confirmed the event, noting that numerous witnesses captured videos and images. The moment left many skywatchers awestruck.
Time of India
4 days ago
- Science
- Time of India
UFO seen in Canada? Bright luminous object spins across night sky
A mysterious light streaked across the night sky over southern Quebec on Tuesday(August 12), leaving stargazers and casual skywatchers alike scratching their heads. Observers described a luminous spiral of light , seemingly floating and spinning in the darkness, sparking speculation on social media about UFOs or extraterrestrial visitors. Photos and videos quickly went viral, capturing a glowing trail with a fuzzy halo that lit up the night. But astronomers say there's no need to call the X-Files just yet. According to the Facebook post of Astrolab du parc national du Mont-Mégantic , the spectacle was 'in all likelihood the second stage of an Ariane 6 rocket igniting its engine to de-orbit after releasing a European weather satellite.' by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Suffering From Pain After Age 50? Do This Every Morning Wellnee Undo The European Space Agency confirmed the satellite on their website, Metop-SGA1, was launched from Kourou, French Guiana, at 9:37 pm local time, marking the beginning of a new era in polar-orbit weather monitoring. Astrophysicist Robert Lamontagne explained why the rocket was visible from Canada to CBC News. 'Most launches are equatorial and barely visible this far north. But a polar orbit means the rocket circles the Earth over the poles, making it visible from Montreal and southern Quebec.' Live Events Timing played a key role. The rocket, soaring high above the Earth, remained illuminated by the sun even as the ground below was in twilight. 'As the second stage re-entered the atmosphere, it was spinning and releasing exhaust gases, that's the swirling light people saw,' Lamontagne said. The Canadian Space Agency confirmed the event, noting that numerous witnesses captured videos and images. The moment left many skywatchers awestruck.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Science
- Yahoo
Was it a plane? Was it a UFO? Bright light over Quebec captivates stargazers
With eyes turned to the skies, stargazers taking in the Perseid meteor shower on Tuesday night witnessed something out of this world. In a publication on Facebook, the Astrolab du parc national du Mont-Mégantic in Quebec's Eastern Townships described it as "a magnificent and luminous spiral streaking across the sky at around 10:40 p.m." Several people in the Montreal area also witnessed the strange phenomenon and reached out to CBC News describing a bright light enveloped by a fuzzy halo and warning of a UFO sighting. While it was certainly unusual, it wasn't really an unidentified flying object, but more likely the result of a rocket launch, according to the Astrolab. "It was in all likelihood the second stage of an Ariane 6 rocket which was igniting its engine in order to de-orbit itself after having released the European satellite Metop-SGA1 in a polar orbit," the Facebook post explained. The European Space Agency confirmed on its website that a weather satellite was launched Tuesday evening at 9:37 p.m. local time, from the European spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana — an overseas department of France located in South America. The new satellite is meant to usher in "a new era of weather and climate monitoring from polar orbit." WATCH | What was that bright object flying in the sky over Quebec: According to astrophysicist Robert Lamontagne, the rocket's orbit is what allowed for the spectacle to be visible in Quebec. Most of the time rocket launches are on an equatorial orbit and so will be visible near the equator, he said. In a polar orbit, the rocket has to go around the earth circling each pole of the planet. "So the the trajectory of that the rocket made it so that from our latitude it could be seen in Montreal or the south of Quebec," he said. But to witness the phenomena, other factors also need to align, according to Lamontagne, including the time of launch and the altitude reached by the rocket. "From our point of view, we were in the dark, the sun was low below the horizon, but the rocket itself was so high that it was still lit by the by the sun," he said. And as the second stage of the rocket re-entered the earth's atmosphere, he said, "it was spinning a little bit, there was exhaust gases coming out from it and that's what people saw in the sky." A spokesperson for the Canadian Space Agency told CBC News that many observers captured video of the event, with the agency confirming it was the ESA's Ariane 6 rocket.
