Does anyone know what Planet this is is the picture on the webcam from the south pole

http://www.phys.unsw.edu.au/southpol...es/webcam.html

Whatever it is, it isn't a planet:

1. That camera doesn't look as though it could magnify to that degree. The only candidate bright planet there is Mars at that time and date (I just ran a star map for the location)

2. That was a moot point anyway, because according to my map, the Sun was below the horizon at that time. The lighting source is plainly higher in the sky than the object, so that object is distinctly local

My guess: if you look at the photo of the cam, you will see a disc-shaped object on a pole behind it. It's possible that this is a calibration target, or another piece of instrumentation lit by artificial lighting. It won't be the same one as in the photo, because the 'planet' is distinctly spheroid. But local and artificial, yeah...

By the way - aren't you grasping at straws here? Again, if this was PX it would be being imaged in many other places in the world, not just the South Pole. It doesn't exist, give it up.

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Fin
Skep-ti-cult® member #488-28303-790

I don't know anything about cameras. I set my software to the same time and date, and it shows Mars, Neptune, and Uranus above the horizon. I can't prove it couldn't be Mars. Yes, it looks like it is illuminated from above, but since we don't know how the cameras is set up, it is impossible to tell.

My best guess is that, indeed, it is a local object, but it might be Mars. It is not Venus.

I doubt it is Mars since the object shows what appears to be a phase (like the Moon), or eclipse like shadow.

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"Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known." Carl Sagan

I didn't read those pages well enough. That is just an ordinary webcam pointed at the actual Astrophysical Observatory. It could not pick up Mars (or any stars) in fact. The reason we can see next to nothing, I think is this:

My best guess is that what we are seeing is one of those lamps on poles - see here: http://www.phys.unsw.edu.au/~mcba/aasto.html but hugely dimmed down because of the camera filter. It's odd that it seems to be visible in reflected light, though...

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Fin
Skep-ti-cult® member #488-28303-790

Again, I ask you, skywatcher: are you really frightened, or is this just an elaborate game you are playing with us?

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"My show's not a comedy; it's a horredy" - Zorak

I saved this capture and blew it up to have a better look. It looks very much like the moon to me.

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"There is no greater illusion than fear. Whoever can see through all fear will always be safe. " --Lao-Tsu

n/m

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"There is no greater illusion than fear. Whoever can see through all fear will always be safe. " --Lao-Tsu

Yeah, I blew it up too. A bit like the moon, but the problem is 1) that the Moon wouldn't be up at that time and date 2) That was 3/5/2003 - two days after New Moon. Wrong phase.

It's a fixed ordinary webcam pointing low (at a building), with a strong protective filter. I really think that has to be a lamp of some sort (If that were reflected light, why wouldn't we see light reflected off the walls of the actual observatory it's pointed at)? Basically it's intended as a daytime camera, I'd guess.

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Fin
Skep-ti-cult® member #488-28303-790

The picture has a title. That is what it is a picture of, isn't it?

Spoilsport No, it still raises the question as to why only that blob, no doubt part of the building, is visible. I stand by my last post.

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Fin
Skep-ti-cult® member #488-28303-790

Darkness. Fisheye lens. Building lit up?

Okay, how about this thermometer?

http://www.phys.unsw.edu.au/~mcba/huge980410half.jpg

Well, you're right about that, can't be the moon, since the new moon was May 1st, and the pic in question was taken on May 3rd. I didn't see the date until I clicked to expand the photo, after your mention of the date.

I suppose it could be the "temperature-controlled plastic dome" lit up at night.

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"There is no greater illusion than fear. Whoever can see through all fear will always be safe. " --Lao-Tsu

I think you're on to something here.

Isn't this also the same object Grand Vizier pointed to earlier in the post?

http://www.phys.unsw.edu.au/~mcba/aasto.html

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"There is no greater illusion than fear. Whoever can see through all fear will always be safe. " --Lao-Tsu

Yeah. It seems a little more spheroid in the night image - but that may be an illusion, perhaps caused by the enclosure bubble over the camera

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Fin
Skep-ti-cult® member #488-28303-790

Hi all, look at the type of webcam used and You'll see it's a Neteye 200
It needs 5 lux to show anything. So it only shows a really strong lightsource. The rest is not visible for it. It has no zoom on it.

Then like Vizier said, that would pretty much rule out any planet or star. Thanks for the info, victor.

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"There is no greater illusion than fear. Whoever can see through all fear will always be safe. " --Lao-Tsu

Okay, Skywatcher, is this clear now? The webcam isn't even pointing at the sky--the picture is captioned, "A view of the AASTO at the South Pole", the AASTO being the observatory. So the camera has taken a picture of the outside of the observatory, which, it being Autumn Night there, happens to be in total darkness--except for what is probably either an outdoor street-lamp type fixture, or the large thermometer with light reflected oddly off it.

Again, the webcam isn't even pointing at the sky. So how could it take a picture of Mars, Venus, or Planet X?

(If the inserted image doesn't show up, try this page:
http://de.geocities.com/otto_zork/stray_images.html)

I overlayed the image in question with a daylight frame from an animation on their site (http://www.phys.unsw.edu.au/southpol...mpg/anim_s.mpg).

The blob of light is well below the horizon and is most likely a light hung on the corner of the building.[/url]

Perhaps we're seeing a dim image of this:

Note the large dome building. Also note the magnification level by way of seeing the moon.

PS: No wonder we had trouble locating PX... There's 2 of um! This would also explain the lack of pole shift as thier pull on the earth canceled each other out. :P
http://www.phys.unsw.edu.au/astro/ph...es/99092sU.jpg

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I must not PX. PX is the mind-killer. I will face my PX. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the PX has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.