Hot Summer Days and Cosmic Rays: Skyfish Revealed

February 22, 2007 7:48 PM

Skyfish have been well documented on the interweb. Want to capture your own as a pet? Lure them into your home by replicating their natural environment. Warning: three Youtube links and only the third is really cool, but at least they're all pretty short. Related.
posted by Area Control (24 comments total)

Are you suggesting that "skyfish" are cosmic rays? (Wikipedia thinks they're video artifacts.) Or is this some kind of poetic prank?

Oh well; cloud chambers are awesome.
posted by grobstein at 7:56 PM on February 22, 2007

Ok, cloud chambers are awesome. Skyfish? Not so awesome.

Although I do find a wikipedia article titled Rod (cryptozoology) to be pretty entertaining.
posted by killThisKid at 7:59 PM on February 22, 2007

Skyfish are toast.
posted by unSane at 8:14 PM on February 22, 2007

Naw, man. I've had toast, and trust me, it's a different thing entirely.
posted by nebulawindphone at 8:21 PM on February 22, 2007

skyfish are delicious.
posted by quarter waters and a bag of chips at 8:25 PM on February 22, 2007

It's called the Webinet now. Get with the times.
posted by secret about box at 8:28 PM on February 22, 2007

Wikipedia says toast is the result of a form of Maillard reaction.
posted by tellurian at 8:39 PM on February 22, 2007

Ha, I remember seeing a documentary on the so-called "Roswell Rods" and thinking, "Occam's Razor just nicked a ganglion somewhere."
posted by brownpau at 8:43 PM on February 22, 2007

Indisputable Google Video proof of Skyfish (pause at 1:05.)
posted by cenoxo at 8:44 PM on February 22, 2007 [4 favorites]

Mikey-san, you're so 23 minutes ago, it's the interblags now.

ontopicfilter: what's the scale of the cloudchambers? why don't these things show up in fog? (too small droplets, I presume)
posted by Kattullus at 8:51 PM on February 22, 2007

I'm really curious as to whether anybody is willing to go to the places where "rods" are frequently seen, and try doing some high-speed photography for a few days, along with traditional camcorder-ing. When they find a rod in one, go to the high speed, to see what the hell it is. You know, science and evidence.
posted by potch at 8:59 PM on February 22, 2007

That night fishing video cenoxo posted is great! Is there any background information about where that video was made and what kind of fish they are?
posted by xiojason at 9:02 PM on February 22, 2007

Riba (youtube) has a good skyfish.
posted by spasm at 9:09 PM on February 22, 2007

potch said: ...whether anybody is willing to go to the places where "rods" are frequently seen, and try doing some high-speed photography for a few days, along with traditional camcorder-ing. When they find a rod in one, go to the high speed, to see what the hell it is. You know, science and evidence.

Sol's Rods Study has many video examples and tests showing that 'Roswell Rods' are nothing more than motion-blurred flying bugs.

(As part of the Pentagon's full spectrum dominance, flying rods were apparently enlisted in the shock & awe bombing campaign on Baghdad.)
posted by cenoxo at 9:43 PM on February 22, 2007

xiojason said: Is there any background information about where that [night fishing] video was made and what kind of fish they are?

The video and flyin' fish are from Brazil — see the Snopes Urban Legends post Fish Fly.
posted by cenoxo at 9:54 PM on February 22, 2007

And everyone knows the Maillard Reaction is caused by skyfish. Problem solved.
posted by wanderingmind at 10:05 PM on February 22, 2007

This is why I love the intervlogs.
posted by sourwookie at 12:16 AM on February 23, 2007

Why can't these people make porn with their cameras like everyone else?
posted by stavrogin at 12:19 AM on February 23, 2007

> Why can't these people make porn with their cameras like everyone else?

Say, what do you think pantsfish become when they escape and fly away?
posted by jfuller at 2:57 AM on February 23, 2007

That was awesome, cenoxo.
posted by Bugbread at 5:25 AM on February 23, 2007

I am not so much suggesting that skyfish are cosmic rays as much as I am suggesting that the Earth is just a big cloud chamber.
posted by Area Control at 8:22 AM on February 23, 2007

interesting... i found out how to make a cloud chamber

someone needs to web2.0ize this DIY ASAP, SVP
posted by sxtxixtxcxh at 8:46 AM on February 23, 2007

I made a cloud chamber post last year, neat stuff.
posted by jessamyn at 11:08 AM on February 23, 2007

God, that Exploratorium video is just gorgeous. I could sit there for hours.
posted by quite unimportant at 11:52 AM on February 23, 2007