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Members at a skywatch on Thustaston Hill on 9th September 2006 On 9th September 2006, a team from MARA went to Thurstaston Hill on the Wirral to undertake a skywatch. The purpose of the skywatch was to familiarise members with the night time sky and observe satellites in orbit and aircraft on approach to John Lennon airport. As the watch progressed, we observed several satellites using the Heavens Above website http://www.heavens-above.com/ to predict when and where the satellites would appear. We also observed several bright meteors despite the fact that no meteor showers were due. Two photographs of the team are shown below. The one on the left is a normal flash picture whereas the one on the right was an experiment to see what we would look like under torch and moon light. The shutter was left open for 30 seconds with the camera ASA setting set to 1600. The result was surprisingly good but the moon at the top is obviously over-exposed. Photographs courtesy of Jebby Robinson.
Thurstaston Hill gives a 360 degree view of the horizon and allows both the Mersey and Dee estuaries to be observed. It is also close to the flight path for aircraft landing at Liverpool John Lennon Airport. As they approach with their landing lights on, they appear as a bright star which can appear stationary for at least 5 minutes before gradually drifting in direction as the aircraft approaches the observer. It is our belief that many UFOs which fit the description of a star which starts to move after a fixed period of time could be the result of aircraft with landing lights on. Equipment taken on the skywatch included a telescope, cameras with tripods and camcorders. Aircraft were recorded on the camcorder to show the effect of the landing lights and to train members in the importance of using manual focus when recording lights in the sky. Two snapshots from a recording are shown below taken with an optical zoom setting of 22x magnification. The snapshot on the left shows the aircraft approaching head on just before it turns away from us and the snapshot on the right shows the same aircraft about 30 seconds later after it has turned away to show a typical triangular formation of lights.
MARA Skywatch 15th October 2005 at Thurstaston Hill, Wirral
On the evening of 15th October 2005, a team from MARA visited Thurstaston Hill on the Wirral to conduct an impromptu skywatch. When planned late that afternoon, conditions seemed ideal, promising a very clear sky. However, once we had set out, it became apparent that the sky was not that clear after all, with a low lying mist that was hampering skyward viewing from the horizon to about 35 – 40 degrees up. The view overhead, however, was relatively clear and so we unpacked the equipment from the cars and climbed up the hill, trekking along the precarious sandstone path by torchlight. At the summit we set up the equipment: a telescope (NB: used purely to look at astronomical objects!), a pair of binoculars mounted on a tripod and a camcorder equipped with night vision - also mounted on a tripod. The team then got their own personal binoculars, cameras etc at the ready. After a few minutes, some members had spotted a few familiar constellations in the sky with which to orientate themselves, and then the team settled down for a few hours of observing. Mars was highly visible, as a bright red ‘star’ to the south east, and displayed as a pale orange disc through the telescope. A nearly full moon cast a handy glow on the ground, preventing members from falling over the edges of the rocky summit! Throughout the night several aircraft passed overhead, but alas nothing was seen that could be described as a UFO. MARA conduct skywatches for a number of reasons. Usually, we go out if there has been a spate of sightings in the area, with the hope of seeing (and sometimes explaining) the phenomena for ourselves. However, we also go out on good nights to make newer members familiar with the night sky, and to train them to use equipment effectively in the dark. The night sky is rarely a ‘quiet’ place in the terms of things to see, so getting familiar with it, and all the things you can see in it, is always a good starting point for the serious UFO researcher. As well as the stars and planets, on a good night you will also get to see meteors (shooting stars), artificial satellites; even the International Space Station (ISS) puts in the occasional appearance. Being able to clearly identify these is a must! Knowing how these things appear and behave in the sky can help investigators when looking into sighting reports. On this night, however, there were no scheduled passes of the ISS over the UK, nor were there any bright satellites or meteors, and so we used the evening as an informal training night. We did see one thing that we know can be mistaken for a UFO; we observed a pale orange light that appeared to hover motionless in the sky for over three minutes. This was the landing lights of an approaching aircraft. It appears stationary in the sky because it is heading directly towards you. Only when it gets much nearer do you see the light begin to move, and then appear to accelerate. Training a pair of binoculars on the light usually reveals the telltale navigation lights on the aircraft. During the course of the evening we fortified ourselves with cups of hot tea and chocolate biscuits and braced ourselves against the cold as the temperature began to plummet. All in all it was a good night for training but a bad night for aerial anomalies, but this won’t dampen our enthusiasm for active field investigation. The dogged determination of the group will, we believe, reap rewards in the future. Watch this space. Skywatch at Thustaston Hill, Wirral Autumn 2000
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