Thread: Black lines crossing the moon?

About a year ago I was outside gazing at the moon on my break at work when I saw what appeared to be a black line coming from the bottom of the moon going upward, it went all the way across. I was in shock and told my boyfriend who I was on the phone with about it and he couldn't explain it either. Not only was it one black line but when it was almost at the top another line appeared from the bottom following it. It almost looked like some thing scanned the moon. Like the black lines that go across a tv when the channel blacks out...it was very very strange, there were no clouds at all around the moon, I was viewing it when my own eyes so there is no way it could be some kind of camera glitch or anything of the sort....someone, help me understand this.

Planes, leaving contrails that cast lines of shadow over the moon.

But there were no planes. And the lines were only across the moon, perfectly straight, moved at a constant speed... I saw nothing in the sky other than the moon. Like I said, there were no clouds. No planes, no contrails. That's why it has my mind so boggled haha.

How do you know there were no high altitude planes? And if the moon light is behind the control, you will not see it except where it crosses the moon

Because the sky was insanely clear and I looked really really hard for anything that could have caused it and there was nothing no blinking lights for a plane in the sky no small clouds No Big clouds nothing clouds are there was nothing. Just the Moon

Not to mention how perfectly straight the lines were there is no way any type of cloud or contrail could have been that symmetrical

And contrails aren't straight?

Typically you won't see or hear a highflying jet, and at night brightness is a moot issue

Is there any possibility of a thin layer of opaque gas forming in the atmosphere?

No.

Originally Posted by Phantisee

Because the sky was insanely clear and I looked really really hard for anything that could have caused it and there was nothing no blinking lights for a plane in the sky no small clouds No Big clouds nothing clouds are there was nothing. Just the Moon . . . And the lines were only across the moon, perfectly straight, moved at a constant speed.

Right. Contrails last a long time after the airplane has departed. And they are almost perfectly straight, and impossible to see at night (unless they are passing in front of the Moon or something.) The 'constant speed' is a giveaway - you were watching the Moon pass behind a contrail.

It's fascinating that every time this comes up there are people (including me) who think every single aspect of the description confirms contrails as the cause and, on the other hand, people who think those same factors rule out contrails as a cause!

Originally Posted by PhDemon

No.

Like (but I just hads to ask)

To turn it on its head:
If two passing airplanes left contrails, in a light, high-altitude wind, and the Moon passed behind them, the OP's description is exactly what it would look like.

So, OP, in what way is this phenomenon not explained?

No...
You don't understand. I saw it too.
I know this is a 5 year old thread so forgive me but I believe this is of great importance.
I have been searching for years since that night for a picture, a video, a post somewhere, anyone else who witnessed what I did that night. Well, early morning to be exact. About 2am. This is it, this is the post I have been desperately searching for. OP, are you still out there? PLEASE reach out to me, let's talk about this.

First let me start by saying that I am an educated man, a rationalist, and absolutely the LAST person to jump to fantastical conclusions about anything. I tend to think of myself as a man of science and have little time for nonsense or naivety. Therefore I carry about my daily tasks with the assumption that when I see or experience something I do not immediately understand, that the most obvious explanation, is probably the correct explanation.
This however, this was different.

As the OP stated, there were no clouds in the sky, no planes near this area or contrails. At the time, I lived directly behind a small seldomly used private airstrip, with my backyard facing the Pacific Ocean.
The moon was full and bright, and all sides of the sky very well illuminated.
These black lines she's talking about were not contrails, looked nothing like and had no characteristics of contrails whatsoever. They were solid, and appeared to be just above the moon's surface, or maybe even ON the Moon's surface. What I mean is, there was no parallax. These lines appeared to be wrapped and revolving around the entire sphere of the moon. (Sort of a weird way to say that but I am trying to paint a picture in your mind here)
The lines were symmetrical, and moved horizontally starting from the bottom up, one following after another in visually perfect timed synchronization.


In all my years I have never seen anything like it.
The feeling it gave me is beyond words, because I immediately knew I was seeing something extremely unusual.
You would have had to see this. I am bewildered that this hasn't been plastered all over the news, that NASA never mentioned it, and that apparently no footage has yet surfaced.
The best explanation I can come up with is that those of us who saw it could have witnessed a once in a lifetime lunar phenomenon unbeknownst to science.
Please, if there is anyone else out there who witnessed this confounding event, you MUST come forward, we need to initiate this conversation.
I for one have GOT to know what the hell was going on.


I saw it too op, I know EXACTLY how you feel.
This was WEIRD.

Better than contrails……Not the best example/image but I’ve seen this before without the vertical structure that’s included in this pic. Lines can appear to move up or down depending on location, direction, conditions. An illusion until you realize where you are. Just another explanation but perhaps not for all sightings. Regardless most people won’t see what’s seen in this pic which could explain the lack of eyewitnesses.

https://www.shutterstock.com/da/imag...ines-786769312

Originally Posted by charlie123hufft

In all my years I have never seen anything like it.

They were almost certainly distant "persistent non-spreading" black contrails since no other logical explanation exists, though some might suggest aliens. What you saw was probably quite rare, which is why there are few reports of this. You were in the right place at the right time under the right conditions. Two other forms of contrails are "short-lived" and "persistent spreading", and neither would account for this. All of the apparent observations of them appearing to be on the moon etc. are artifacts of the sharp, non-spreading nature of the contrails on a clear night.

Contrails can last for many hours depending on atmospheric conditions. Upper winds and movement of the moon would cause them to drift across its face. And there are very black contrails. This wiki link shows two spreading contrails crossing the moon, and there is no doubt as to their origin :


https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/F...2019-07-16.jpg