From C Martin GASKELL
@. . . . . . Subject: High-quality images of flashes
As part
of my search for events similar to the flashes seen and video-taped by the US
observers in the Florida keys in early June and similar events in previous
years reported by observers in Japan and elsewhere I have found a couple of
similar flashes in Galileo fly-by imaging of the earth in 1990.
These flashes
are VERY similar to the flashes on Mars.
Similarities include:
- Similar duration
- Similar brightness (brighter than typical clouds)
- A non-horizontal inclination of the reflectors.
- Apparent flickering and change in location on the
surface
I have been
unable to locate any previous description of these Galileo flashes in the
literature. Because the earth, unlike
Mars, has many white clouds all over it, the flashes cannot be noticed in
individual images, but a couple of them are quite spectacular when images taken
close together in time are compared. The time evolution seems to match accounts
of the visual appearance of the June 2001 Mars flashes very well.
For the
earth, of course, we have excellent knowledge of the surface terrain and meteorological
conditions at the times and locations of the flashes so the Galileo flashes can
potentially provide a definitive understanding of the flash phenomenon. No comparable flashes are seen in the Galileo
lunar flyby imaging.
(
C Martin GASKELL (NE,