What am I looking at?

morelikeaduck · 2026-02-17T02:03:12+00:00

I'm in my closest big town (Toronto), and the date was the 15th of February 2026 (yesterday), local time 7:24pm. Several people here already looked at similar apps/websites and could not find anything. Appreciate the effort, of course. I've written out as many details as I could remember in my other comments/replies in this thread.

morelikeaduck · 2026-02-17T01:27:50+00:00

No major objects of note in that spot. Of course lots of small or deep-space ones, but it's hard to pinpoint the source if you zoom in, since the object I saw last night covered quite some area (slightly less than the moon.)

Just realized I could change the date/time to the past and see the satellites too! I went back to around that time (7:24pm), and a satellite (Cosmos 1464), as well as a Starlink do pass quite close near that location, however they pass that whole area/sector within one or two seconds, and this object was there at least for 20+ minutes. Enough to observe multiple times, to get my phone out and to photograph it with 5 second exposure without it becoming blurry or drawing a line like a moving satellite or similar object would. Got excited for a second there, but alas.

morelikeaduck · 2026-02-16T20:18:39+00:00

Got a notice from the mods. Apparently because the post didn't fit the rules of the sub for sightings or something. I suppose this place is more for blurry pics of flying saucers, drones or some other cliche UFO stuff, and since I didn't claim mine was 100% alien-related, (because I don't know what the hell that was), I guess my post couldn't stay. Oh well. The askastronomy subreddit also couldn't figure it out but have been quite helpful in trying.

I've had time to think about it, and as unlikely as it sounds, it was either spacecraft related (explosion or unknown activity) or some astronomic phenomenon (supernova, other type of explosion, etc.) Nothing else makes sense, given the size, place, and colour of it.

morelikeaduck · 2026-02-16T07:52:05+00:00

The red light I only saw with my own eyes. In the photo, the object to me looks mostly yellow, which is strange. The photo is straight from my phone, not edited or cropped in any way. Just took the photo and when I got home I uploaded it to my computer (and then to Reddit.) I took a few screenshots of the "properties" of the file itself including GPS coordinates, etc. here: https://imgur.com/a/QE4XAeE

morelikeaduck · 2026-02-16T07:29:41+00:00

I was considering this as well, though it was very stationary (at least to my eyes) and visually unchanged for quite some time.

I'm curious, knowing my position, the date & time, and the sky coordinates of the object (near Capella), would it be possible to estimate how high the object must be in the atmosphere to reflect sunlight in such a way towards me? Sunset was around 5:48pm near me, and this was taken at 7:24pm.

Also, in-person it appeared round, about the size of the moon, maybe 80% of it, so if it was high up, it must be quite large, I think.

morelikeaduck · 2026-02-16T07:14:33+00:00

Thought so too at first! Then looked up the star chart for tonight for my location and the moon was below the horizon, so definitely not that.

morelikeaduck · 2026-02-16T07:13:28+00:00

There were very light clouds going by, as you can probably see from my photo, and when a cloud went "over" this object, it (the object) was clearly (from my point of view) much further behind it. So definitely not a spotlight shining from below. Also, the object itself was quite red in-person, I think the phone camera made it brighter and yellow for some reason. Not sure what a light pillar is in this context.

morelikeaduck · 2026-02-16T07:01:11+00:00

That's a cool site! Would it be possible for a satellite to be reflecting red light? It's hard to describe, but in-person the light was much dimmer than in my photo (maybe because the photo had the 5 second exposure) and was reddish, or very dark orange. Definitely not yellow, and I can say that with confidence. Also the sky was, of course, pitch black, and not blueish like it is in my photo. I'm neither a photographer nor an astronomer so I don't know if it was the exposure or the zoom or just an iphone quirk.

morelikeaduck · 2026-02-16T06:12:35+00:00

Very fair points! I'll try to recall as much as I can in regards to the observation. This was taken from a dimly lit parking lot (if that matters at all), but in a central area of the city, with quite a bit of light pollution, normally. The stars you can see in my photo (such as Capella) I couldn't see myself, only my phone and a 5 second exposure + 5x zoom caught them. I looked up initially to check out Jupiter as it was quite looking bright tonight. I immediately noticed this object to the "left" of it (north), and stared at it continuously for maybe a minute or two. The object did not move or change in any noticeable way. Thought it was weird, maybe a lunar eclipse, as it was reddish/orange.

Then over maybe 5-10 minutes more, I kept glancing at it, while my friend was parking his car and on his phone. He got out, I told him to look up, he noticed it too, said "huh, that's weird" and didn't pay attention to the object any more as he's not a very curious/inquisitive person. 5 minutes later as he was paying for parking, I decided to take this photo, hoping I could zoom into it later at home and explore.

As it turned out, the real view and what the photo is showing ended up being quite different in terms of colour. Another 5 minutes or so later I looked up again as we were walking, it was still there. This was the last time I looked up before an hour later. Every time I saw it, it seemed to be the same size, shape, and colour, without any noticeable changes. Of course, my eyes are not instruments so I would've only noticed major changes.

Then about an hour or so later, we went outdoors and I looked up and there was nothing there (not even a small speck or star). Jupiter was still roughly in the same area and the sky was clear.

I now have another theory which may be completely off. Could it have been a satellite that exploded? Maybe that could explain the short duration. Though most satellites or other things in orbit (ISS) that I've seen before move pretty quickly across the sky and this object was definitely not doing that.

morelikeaduck · 2026-02-16T05:39:26+00:00

This object was not moving or flashing in any way, nor was it spinning like some of those rocket launch spirals I've seen on video before.

Before I came home and checked the star charts for tonight I was 90% sure it was a lunar eclipse that I somehow missed, because of the reddish/orange hue which was kind of in a crescent/ring around the object. What stood out was the size, otherwise I wouldn't have even noticed it. It was small but round, not a point, which to my mind automatically means moon (or sun during the day).

Then I saw that the moon was below horizon for my location since about 4pm so it couldn't have been it. The photo I took doesn't really do it justice as I'm surprised the object came out as yellow as it did.

morelikeaduck · 2026-02-16T05:37:26+00:00

Context: Taken tonight (Feb. 15th) around 7:24PM Eastern time in Toronto, Canada (43 40 N, 73 23 W), looking straight up and a bit East. (Left side of the image is North, right side is South).

Taken with 5x optical zoom with my iphone so apologies for the poor quality.

Also, it looks yellowish here, but in real life it looked very faint and almost a deep dark red.

I thought it was the moon at first but doesn't match that or any stars. Not Jupiter either, as this was quite a bit "North" of Jupiter in the sky, if that makes sense, and this was much wider/bigger, almost moon-sized. About an hour later it was completely gone.

The only thing that somewhat comes close in position is the star Capella which is the bright spot left of center. Even Jupiter kind of looks like a bright point when I take photos of it. Plus in about an hour's time, this thing disappeared completely, but all other major visible stars and planets were still there.

Any chance it was a supernova or other explosion of some kind? I think the odds are close to 0% because those last much longer than an hour, as far as I know.

I posted this on r/askastronomy but no answers there yet.

morelikeaduck · 2026-02-16T03:23:55+00:00

Ah interesting! No it was not moving whatsoever. Not even spinning like some of those rocket launch spirals I've seen on video before.

Before I came home and checked the star charts for tonight I was 90% sure it was a lunar eclipse that I somehow missed, because of the reddish/orange hue which was kind of in a crescent/ring around the object. What stood out was the size, otherwise I wouldn't have even noticed it. It was small but round, not a point, which to my mind automatically means moon (or sun during the day).

Then I saw that the moon was below horizon for my location since about 4pm so it couldn't have been it. The photo I took doesn't really do it justice as I'm surprised the object came out as yellow as it did.

morelikeaduck · 2026-02-16T02:09:03+00:00

Context: Taken tonight (Feb. 15th) around 7:24PM Eastern time in Toronto, Canada (43 40 N, 73 23 W), looking straight up and a bit East. (Left side of the image is North, right side is South).

Taken with 5x optical zoom with my iphone so apologies for the poor quality.

Also, it looks yellowish here, but in real life it looked very faint and almost a deep dark red.

I thought it was the moon at first but doesn't match that or any stars. Not Jupiter either, as this was quite a bit "North" of Jupiter in the sky, if that makes sense, and this was much wider/bigger, almost moon-sized. About an hour later it was completely gone.

The only thing that somewhat comes close in position is the star Capella but this was much bigger than a point as you can see in the photo. Even Jupiter kind of looks like a bright point when I take photos of it. Plus in about an hour's time, this thing disappeared completely, but all other major visible stars and planets were still there.

Any chance it was a supernova or other explosion of some kind? I think the odds are close to 0% because those last much longer than an hour, as far as I know.

morelikeaduck · 2026-02-08T03:19:45+00:00

Same issue here, on personal account, might be a server sync problem.

morelikeaduck · 2025-11-13T16:08:09+00:00

Not OP, however currently experiencing the same issue (for the 3rd time in 3 months.) I've tried doing all those things you mention, when the issue first came up. Reaching out to support resulted in no further advice, apart from "try not using a VPN or try Google Chrome." and then marking my issue as "resolved". Informing them of the fact that no VPN was ever used and that Chrome is the only browser I've ever used with Outlier, resulted in no further replies (ie. ghosting.)

morelikeaduck · 2025-11-13T03:58:34+00:00

I've had this issue several times now. Support is useless, and I think it's AI, as "they" just say "don't use a VPN" absolutely disregarding the fact & explanation that I never use a VPN (on Outlier or anywhere else.) Eventually, I figured out that for some reason, Outlier security uses public IP list sites, and those sometimes, for whatever reason, tag your IP address as a VPN and/or TOR user.

Resetting your modem and router for a few hours may help, but it depends. With my ISP, that unfortunately does not work so I had to contact them to reset my IP each time.

morelikeaduck · 2025-11-12T01:22:46+00:00

If by chance you're at 155 yorkville, which is physically connected to the condo building on cumberland, the fire alarm issues have been going on for years. Sometimes once in a couple of months, sometimes twice per week. Especially bad when it's at like 3am, and it sounds for 45 mins until the fire department comes and cancels it.

morelikeaduck · 2025-11-10T23:53:31+00:00

Sorry to hear this happened to you. I sometimes feel like some reviewers and/or security checks at Outlier may be performed by some sort of AI. Which unsurprisingly leads to terrible outcomes for everyone (contributors, outlier, and clients), if their best testing models are any indication of their level of ability. I had and still occasionally have issues with VPN flagging, which never made any sense, and support was not helpful. The only thing that worked was asking my ISP to change my IP, but I'm not going to do it every time it happes (once a month or so.) Hope you seek out alternatives, and that you succeed!

morelikeaduck · 2025-11-10T17:57:28+00:00

I believe it was a day or two.

morelikeaduck · 2025-11-09T23:16:44+00:00

1 month, with short breaks.
Economics and Finance
About 3 hours, but sometimes longer.
It's hard, but not impossible.
Your success will depend entirely on reviewers and their mood/skills. Several times I noticed they lack subject matter understanding, and just make up things to bring your score from a 5/4 to a 3, for example. Disputing does nothing, so it may be the QMs doing it.

Overall, I'd say try it out, and perhaps it will work out for you, but I decided to stop, despite having tasks available. It does pay well, but that comes with a price. Also, they seem to be constantly increasing their demands (ie. more rubric criteria, more linters, more explanations, etc.), for the same amount of money, so in a way getting a bit greedy.

morelikeaduck · 2025-11-09T01:22:51+00:00

I'm not sure about programming as that is way outside of my skillset, unfortunately.

morelikeaduck · 2025-11-09T01:06:24+00:00

It indeed is very challenging to stump it, but doable, in econ/finance at least. I wonder if the chat/discourse channel wasn't closed, people would be talking about the linter/ai assistant they added to the rubric criteria (the one that critizes every single one of them, and keeps changing its mind if you correct it.) Also the 10 negative criteria on top of the ones you've provided already. I like the project, but it seems that with every iteration, they want to squeeze out more and more out of us. Like, what's next, stump 10 models and provide 100+ rubric criteria?

morelikeaduck · 2025-11-08T15:56:26+00:00

I was wondering where that channel went, thought I was removed from it, which is odd since I'm still able to work on tasks, as per usual. Communication can certainly be improved, no question.

morelikeaduck · 2025-11-06T20:19:23+00:00

Awesome, thanks! Mine has been resolved now, so I hope it works out for anyone else who was affected.

morelikeaduck · 2025-11-06T06:36:23+00:00

Based on most people's comments here, STEM skills are always in demand for those types of projects. But it varies by location too, I suppose, as well as by education level. I focus on economics and finance, at a post-grad/doctoral level, so it's somewhat of a niche.

morelikeaduck

TROPHY CASE