Have our local experts solved Earlston UFO mystery?

A green cigar-shaped object captured in the skies above Earlston is most likely a meteor or a satellite flare, according to a local expert.

One of our readers sent in a photo she took earlier this month of the moon, saying she only noticed the strange shape when she zoomed in on it later.

The photo caught the attention of our readers online, with a variety of possible explanations, some more light-hearted than others.

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However, we sent the photo to a group of people who spend a fair bit of time searching the stars – Ancrum Astronomy Club.

The group’s secretary Neil Bird told us he was more into astrophotography – capturing images of deep space – but would pass the photo round.

On getting back to us he told us: “I asked our chairman to have a look as he is far better than me at astronomy in general.

“He says this was probably taken somewhere around August 4, and if so, that’s probably Saturn and Jupiter to the right of the moon.

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“When zoomed in, both are slightly elongated vertically, which means there was slight camera movement.

“This means the ‘cigar’ was actually thinner than it appears in the picture, and the fact that the person didn’t know the object was there when they took the pic also suggests that the object was either fleeting or not actually very noticeable.

“My only suggestions are that it is either a small fireball from a meteor, as these do sometimes appear green in pictures, or a satellite flare.

“However, this still doesn’t solve the mystery.”