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DPChallenge Forums >> Individual Photograph Discussion >> What am I looking at?
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Showing posts 1 - 19 of 19, (reverse)
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 03/24/2014 12:22:13 AM · #1
This weekend I took a little road trip to see the sandhill cranes on their migration north. I headed out to one of the nature reserves in the area before sun up as the cranes are very skittish. They spend the night hours wading in water (ponds, rivers or otherwise) to avoid predation. As I was there well before sun up I figured I would play around a little and took a 20 second exposure of Saturn (I think, haven't really looked it up yet). I haven't done much to this picture other than adjust white balance and some minor adjustment from RAW. The full size shot is:



Now look closely in the lower left corner. There are some power lines that run diagonal, and along the power lines there appears to be something light traveling the length of the power lines? Here is a close up:



It doesn't have the same shape or texture as normal light. From being in the power industry, I know power lines show light well in to the UV spectrum in bright flashes, especially when there is something wrong, and it doesn't look like this. Anyone have any idea what this is?

Message edited by author 2014-03-24 00:22:40.
 03/24/2014 08:42:00 PM · #2
Bumping for you, because I'm really curious.
 03/24/2014 08:49:04 PM · #3
Orbs.

03/24/2014 09:05:33 PM · #4
Here is a video from BBC news that may explain the lights.

Powerline charge meets resistance
03/24/2014 09:09:07 PM · #5
//www.strangerdimensions.com/2013/11/03/video-electric-fireball-travels-power-lines-quebec/
 03/24/2014 09:30:29 PM · #6
So, 20 seconds, ISO 2500, f/8, correct?
Given this, they are very dim, probably next to invisible to the naked eye. Also, if they were moving at any speed at all, in 20 seconds they would have left streaks, not appeared stationary.
What I suspect you have here is a set of markers to make the wires visible to aircraft.
 03/24/2014 09:39:04 PM · #7
I haven't been able to find much. Some of the guys at work suggested coronal discharge and / or Jacobs ladder. I found this article here that explains bits of corona effect. Apparently one of the effects is a glow discharge, not sure if it would look the same. All the examples I see look like those plasma lights. Still open for suggestion though!

SDW I think those lights are the ones in the UV spectrum. I don't think that this would be the same, though I am intrigued by that as well. I have read about ways to convert a DSLR to see that spectrum, but don't want to sacrifice mine for curiosity sake (though maybe at a later date). Working in the power industry we have used both UV and IR cameras to trouble shoot issues with various parts of the electrical systems. Those both have a different look though, this looks like combustion of sorts. Must have been very fast though, I never saw or heard a thing.
 03/24/2014 09:56:26 PM · #8
Originally posted by kirbic:
So, 20 seconds, ISO 2500, f/8, correct?
Given this, they are very dim, probably next to invisible to the naked eye. Also, if they were moving at any speed at all, in 20 seconds they would have left streaks, not appeared stationary.
What I suspect you have here is a set of markers to make the wires visible to aircraft.


That is the right settings. It wasn't visible to me at all, nor did I hear anything. Reading on the coronal discharges they can be in the micro second range. I think markers for aircraft would be visible to the naked eye.
 03/24/2014 10:27:05 PM · #9
Originally posted by kirbic:
So, 20 seconds, ISO 2500, f/8, correct?
Given this, they are very dim, probably next to invisible to the naked eye. Also, if they were moving at any speed at all, in 20 seconds they would have left streaks, not appeared stationary.
What I suspect you have here is a set of markers to make the wires visible to aircraft.


I thick Kirbic is right. I didn't even think about that before his post.
 03/24/2014 10:48:08 PM · #10
When I think marker, I think of the lights on top of posts or lines that blink to warn aircraft. I think that would be visible. I went in to Google maps and moved around the street view a little and found this here. I don't know what it is, or why they are on the lines, or why they would glow at night though...
 03/24/2014 10:54:44 PM · #11
Better look.Are the markers you guys refer to the big orange plastic ball things you see on lines from time to time?
 03/24/2014 10:56:30 PM · #12
On long stretches of power lines, there can be large plastic balls clamped onto them so that pilots can see them -- I'll try to get a picture of some near me tomorrow ... also, sometimes there are separators where there are long stretches of line to keep the wires from touching each other in high winds.
 03/24/2014 10:59:53 PM · #13
Originally posted by kirbic:
So, 20 seconds, ISO 2500, f/8, correct?
Given this, they are very dim, probably next to invisible to the naked eye. Also, if they were moving at any speed at all, in 20 seconds they would have left streaks, not appeared stationary.
What I suspect you have here is a set of markers to make the wires visible to aircraft.


is that what those orange orbs i always see are for? i always thought that if it was for when a line broke, to swing it to the other side of the road, out of the way.
 03/24/2014 11:01:13 PM · #14
Like these? Here?
 03/24/2014 11:04:46 PM · #15
Originally posted by LanndonKane:
Originally posted by kirbic:
So, 20 seconds, ISO 2500, f/8, correct?
Given this, they are very dim, probably next to invisible to the naked eye. Also, if they were moving at any speed at all, in 20 seconds they would have left streaks, not appeared stationary.
What I suspect you have here is a set of markers to make the wires visible to aircraft.


is that what those orange orbs i always see are for? i always thought that if it was for when a line broke, to swing it to the other side of the road, out of the way.


I'm stealing that. It'll be fun to mess with people and try to convince them that they really aren't for airplanes.. ;)
 03/24/2014 11:04:54 PM · #16
I *think* those coils you see on the google streetview are there to damp down harmonic resonance due to wind and reduce the chance of the wires coming down. They're always experimenting with different ways of doing this.
 03/24/2014 11:12:09 PM · #17
Here is a video of one being installed. Power ball I think this is what you captured in your picture.
 03/24/2014 11:25:06 PM · #18
Originally posted by Bear_Music:
I *think* those coils you see on the google streetview are there to damp down harmonic resonance due to wind and reduce the chance of the wires coming down. They're always experimenting with different ways of doing this.


That is right about the spot I was shooting, definitely not one of the orange balls. Looking at my picture, the glow shape matches the wire coils too. I'll ask around at work and see why they put them on, though the harmonic resonance makes sense to keep them from touching and arcing in wind. The area is well known for high wind. That still begs the question though, why the plasma ball around the coil (assuming it is plasma)? Static? It was kind of dry, and very windy the day before.
 03/24/2014 11:58:20 PM · #19
Originally posted by kirbic:

What I suspect you have here is a set of markers to make the wires visible to aircraft.


Also so the lines are visible for truck drivers...especially with the oversize loads.
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