© YouTube/LadyInKY (screen capture)
The Cloud Camera is an experimental high sensitivity camera mounted to the catwalk of CFHT. The purpose of the camera is to take pictures of clouds and other weather at night, even on moonless nights. It only operates from sunset to sunrise.
The camera takes a picture every 30 seconds and compiles time-lapse movies from those pictures. As such airplanes appear as streaks and ships appear to move quite quickly.
The following YouTube video from LadyInKY shows the strange phenomena with slow motion included.
The original video can be viewed here courtesy of the CFHT.
© YouTube/LadyInKY (screen capture)
Other bright flashes were also captured from the CFHT in June this year. See: Discharge event? Bright flashes of circular 'light' seen via telescope over Pacific Ocean
So what are these mysterious flashing lights over the Pacific ocean. Plasma discharge events? Overhead meteor or comet fragment explosions?
Comment: Some other possible plasma type discharge events in recent times include:
- Rare atmospheric 'crown flash' phenomenon seen above Moscow, Russia
- Plasma discharge event? Mysterious glowing cloud appears near light pillars in Ukhta, Russia
- Ball-lightning? 'Strange light' seen over Canberra, Australia
- Weird glowing light spotted over Netherlands: plasma discharge event?
Update: 4 November 2016We came across other videos of timelapse from this same camera on the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope, and they contain the exact same light anomalies. This suggests that the flashes are artifacts of the technology, not something that is actually happening out over the Pacific Ocean.