XPost: alt.astronomy   
      
   We've been looking at various unusual wide-area lightcurve variations   
   that have been picked up in the TESS dataset.  TESS orbits between the   
   earth and moon on a phase-locked timetable of 2 orbits per lunar month.   
      
   We have looked at both the TESS "central pixel" flux and "background"   
   flux.  It seems there are unusual wide-area fluctuations in each   
   that hint at both dark and bright objects moving between TESS and the   
   various target stars the project is monitoring to look for planetary transits.   
      
   Given the variations we're picking up here involve dozens of stars   
   within the short timestep (we're using 2.4 hrs here; TESS itself takes   
   4 wide-angle pictures of each target star every 20 sec or so) such   
   variations are not likely related to anything happening at the distant   
   stars. We can calculate the light cone involved must be much less than   
   2.4 light hours -- i.e. 2.6e9 km -- and, presumably, inside the moon's   
   orbit given the regular appearance of the patterns at most locations   
   in the sky as seen from TESS's moving position.   
      
   We've tinkered up the previous plotting software to concentrate now on   
   the synchronous variations of strictly the target stars.  As before   
   target stars are randomly allocated to 10x10 deg tiles of the sky so   
   that most tiles have at least 2 stars and no tile has more than 8.   
   (This attempts to "even out" possible light variations so no tile will   
   end up appearing to flash or be more stable than any other tile just   
   because it has more or fewer TESS target stars in it).   
      
   The output now shows the% decline of each part of the sky   
   relative to its long-term average (discarding 10% of outliers at the   
   high and low ends of the flux range).   
      
   Using a "standard candle" of the sun at 10 LY we can use the percent   
   decline in light to calculate the very rough size and range of the   
   object that might be blocking the appropriate amount of light.  Again,   
   since these darkening events can happen over very large areas of the   
   sky over a matter of hours the most likely suspect must be object or   
   objects passing relatively close to earth between those stars and TESS   
   during the relevant time interval.   
      
   I've put up just the first significant darkening event detected in the   
   data between 2018 and 2022: .   
      
   We see from the colour scale the plotting program has found at least   
   one tile in the plot averages a reduction over the stars in that tile   
   of an average 40% of their normal flux. We can see from the colour   
   variations that other regions nearby see similar or less but non-zero   
   darkening within the same 2.4 hr interval in this case in mid 2018.   
   (The "t=" gives the number of Julian Days since the baseline date that   
   is 01 Jan 2015 for TESS data).   
      
   We can therefore calculate some very rough numbers assuming the   
   assumed objects are at average positions inside the moon's orbit   
   relative to earth. An "average value" of distances in the region is   
   likely to be around 200,000 km (plus or minus :).   
      
   Given the target stars are on average assumed to be similar to our   
   "standard candle" (sun at 10 LY) we can calculate the diam of the   
   objects apparently crossing in front of the 100s of target stars in   
   the dark area of the plot as:   
      
   Diam(m) Dist(km)   %FluxChange     DiamAtAvDist(m)   
   1       32000      10.3864         6.2498   
   1       22000      21.9738         9.0905   
   1       18000      32.8244         11.1105   
   1       16000      41.5428         12.4992   
      
      
   I.e. for those square showing a 10% flux decline they might correspond   
   to an object 1m in diam about 32000 km away or   
   (more likely) an object 6.2m in diam 200000 km away.   
      
   Using these rough and ready ideas we can calculate those   
   frames of the movie showing synchronized light declines of   
   99+% over wide regions of the sky may correspond with the movement   
   of possibly many objects with diam >=20m seen from 200,000 km away.   
      
   --   
   "Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood.   
   Now is the time to understand more, so that we may fear less."   
   - Marie Curie   
      
   Unidentified aerial phenomena I. Observations of events   
   B.E. Zhilyaev, V. N. Petukhov, V. M. Reshetnyk   
   Main Astronomical Observatory, NAS of Ukraine,   
   Zabalotnoho 27, 03680, Kyiv, Ukraine   
   ... We present a broad range of UAPs. We see them everywhere. We observe a   
   significant number of objects whose nature is not clear. Flights of single,   
   group and squadrons of the ships were detected, moving at speeds from 3 to   
   15 degrees per second. Some bright objects exhibit regular brightness   
   variability in the range of 10 - 20 Hz.  Two-site observations of UAPs at a   
   base of 120 km with 2 synchronised cameras allowed the detection of   
   a variable object, at an altitude of 1170 km. It flashes for one hundredth   
   of a second at an average of 20 Hz.   
   [Astronomers in Ukraine have undertaken their own independent survey   
   of objects they see flying over the Kyiv region at speeds around 15 km/sec.   
   They are watching the daytime sky.   
   They see many objects --, some bright and some dark, different sizes.   
   They travel often singly but sometimes in large groups.   
   They are not likely to be anything sent by Russia, the US, or any other   
   country].   
      
   US Navy Admits It Has More UFO Videos, But Don't Expect to See Them Anytime   
   Soon   
   ScienceAlert, 11 Sep 2022 03:11Z   
   The US Navy holds unseen videos of unidentified flying objects (UFOs) - or   
   unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP), as the ...   
      
     Classified UFO videos would 'harm national security' if released, Navy says   
     Live Science, 10 Sep 2022 10:59Z   
     The US Navy holds unseen videos of unidentified flying objects (UFOs) - or   
     unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP), as the ...   
      
     Navy tells watchdog site releasing all UFO videos would   
     'harm national security'   
     Washington Examiner on MSN.com, 09 Sep 2022 19:26Z   
     A watchdog website says its Freedom of Information Act request for   
     every UFO video held by the Navy was denied due to national security reasons.   
     The Black Vault says that, since April 2020, it has been attempting to   
     get all videos of UFOs (also called unidentified aerial phenomena)   
     possessed by the Navy via a FOIA request.   
     After receiving several rejections in which the Navy would neither   
     confirm nor deny the existence of the videos, the group says it   
     received a response denying the request for the "sensitive information."   
     "The requested videos contain sensitive information pertaining to   
     Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAP) and are classified and are exempt   
     from disclosure," the letter read. "The release of this information   
     will harm national security."   
     [Every frame apparently contains things too scary to show the public].   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)