Pete's Photoblog
Jet or Comet Enlarged - You Tell Me
Posted by Portland (Portland, United States) on 6 February 2007 in Miscellaneous.
Matt Trujillo Photography from Portland, United States
Experts say jet. I say aliens. Definitely aliens.
6 Feb 2007 6:46am
Daniel from Austin, United States
Hi again, Pete. As I mentioned previously, this isn't Comet McNaught. It still looks like a jet to me, but regardless, it's demonstrably not the comet. Based on the date and approximate time of the frames that you've posted, McNaught would have appeared a mere 5° or so off the horizon at sunset, and only 8° from the Sun. The object (jet) in your photo is many times higher off the horizon, and does not match other imagery of the comet taken the same day (e.g. the appearance of its nucleus and dust tail). Please note this criticism isn't idle speculation on my part, but based upon the verified astronomical data for the comet's orbital path (for what it's worth, I'm also an experienced observer). The location of the object present in your images simply does not match the known position of McNaught in any way.
I'm thinking perhaps you were out taking pictures of the sunset or whatnot, and learned about the comet after the fact, then revisited your images looking to see if you'd captured it, misidentifying the object in the process. In terms of visual observation, there's just no confusing a passing aircraft with a comet. If you wish to provide the specific time(s) of your exposures and the EXIF data, I could calculate the field of view from the focal length and post a corresponding screenshot from my astronomy software illustrating the comet's position exactly so you may more clearly see the (glaring) difference.
6 Feb 2007 10:22pm
@Daniel: Hello Daniel,
It's great to hear from you again. As I said before, I heard about the object flying over Key West on the early news (approx 5:00 pm eastern time) and rushed to the western waterfront hoping to see the object. The photo shown was taken in Key West at (Thursday, January 11, 2007, 3:02:32 PM).
You sound very sure of yourself and I continue to appreciate your input but it continues to look unlike any jet that I have ever photographed.
Thanks again...Pete
Johnno from Sweden
A jet is a jet no matter what you think it should look like. The fact that you say it looks unlike a jet doesn't change the fact that photo comparison (your own pictures you've posted) proves that it's not a comet. You can clearly see the split contrails that's charasteristic for larger jets. There's only so much you can tell from these pictures, if you're going to photograph flying objects then maybe it's time you get a telephoto lens or a camera with 10x+ zoom. I have a 12x zoom camera myself, when zooming in on airliners you can see them even when they're flying at 30,000 feet, that is I can make out what kind of aircraft it is.
You might as well just stick to saying it's a UFO since you didn't have a telephoto lens, and start the debate wether it's aliens, planet x or just a stray comet controlled by aliens..
7 Feb 2007 7:43pm
Daniel from Austin, United States
Johnno's comments are spot on.
Pete, I'm sorry that you're so reluctant to accept it, but you didn't photograph the comet. Whether I "sound very sure of myself" or not is, frankly, irrelevant. You don't have to take my word for it -- with a bit of investigation you can arrive at the same conclusion based upon the evidence. The comet did not appear at that altitude given the date and time, and that's the end of it. Photographic manipulation/enhancement serves no purpose. Your photo shows something else, and it's most likely an ordinary aircraft, which you can see move just like a jet between the images you've posted.
8 Feb 2007 2:42am
