Name that flash
December 4, 2016 12:09 PM   Subscribe

Typical Northeast US suburban neighborhood. Every night, between 11:30 and 11:50 PM, a bright flash, like from a camera, is visible through the windows of two rooms.

The rooms are adjacent, one window faces South, the other faces East. Street is all residential except for a church. Nearest intersection is not visible, and does not have a traffic light.

Time varies within 20 minutes, every night for at least 3 months, and did not change with the end of daylight saving time.

What could this be?
posted by OrangeVelour to Grab Bag (23 answers total) 2 users marked this as a favorite
 
the headlights of a car as it comes around the corner?
posted by katieanne at 12:14 PM on December 4, 2016 [4 favorites]


I understand not wanting to put your address on a public site, but you're probably not going to get many useful answers unless you're able to show people a map of where you're located so they can search for possible causes...
posted by MsMolly at 12:28 PM on December 4, 2016


I agree with katieanne that it sounds like car headlights - probably LED headlights on a neighbor's new car. These can definitely look like a "camera flash" if the high beams are on. Maybe it's just a neighbor coming home from work at the same time every night?
posted by Seeking Direction at 12:33 PM on December 4, 2016 [3 favorites]


why not look out the window between 11:30 and 11:50 and see?
posted by andrewcooke at 12:36 PM on December 4, 2016 [8 favorites]


Red light camera?
posted by thatone at 12:37 PM on December 4, 2016


Response by poster: I don't want to threadsit and I get MsMolly's point, I just thought someone might say "some neighborhoods have a ... that might ...." or "your neighbor is probably ...ing their ..."

I don't think its headlights because it is so fast. It's more like the last flash of a bulb going out.

Thanks for the answers so far.
posted by OrangeVelour at 12:38 PM on December 4, 2016


A trail camera?
posted by Seeking Direction at 12:43 PM on December 4, 2016 [1 favorite]


Or a garden pest-deterrent device?
posted by Seeking Direction at 12:45 PM on December 4, 2016 [1 favorite]


Someone could be taking the same picture every day, in order to make a time lapse video.
posted by Too-Ticky at 12:45 PM on December 4, 2016 [3 favorites]


Yeah I'd guess trail camera; do you have deer in your area? They could be showing up to munch at around the same time each night and setting off someone's camera.
posted by spitbull at 12:54 PM on December 4, 2016


The rooms are adjacent, one window faces South, the other faces East.
So...two windows in a single corner room of a home?

It could be something as simple as some sort of time-based art project going on over there. Taking a photo of something (someone?) at the same time every night?
posted by Thorzdad at 1:05 PM on December 4, 2016


Do kids live there? Could it be like a flashlight/code thing to a nearby neighbor friend?
posted by raccoon409 at 1:13 PM on December 4, 2016


Most likely a car, But there might be a neighbor who has some light or gizmo (like an alarm clock), that they shut off by cycling through all the modes, or a 3-way lamp. one is a "very bright" mode. Or else someone has an evening ritual of checking their backyard before going to sleep.
posted by nickggully at 1:13 PM on December 4, 2016


I don't think its headlights because it is so fast. It's more like the last flash of a bulb going out.

That sounds exactly like headlights in certain circumstances.
How dark is the room when you see the flashes?
How high are the windows? 1st story? 10th?
Any chance there's a lighthouse nearby?
If you set a camera recording video for half an hour it may yield some information.
posted by FallowKing at 1:21 PM on December 4, 2016 [2 favorites]


Is the church (or another institutional building) in the right general direction? Possible flash as parking lot lights get automatically turned off for the night?
posted by baseballpajamas at 3:05 PM on December 4, 2016


I agree with those that say it sounds like headlights - the fast flash is because the light is obstructed the rest of the time, like for example if they're driving over a bump in the road, the flash part is just the brief bit of time where the light is visible through your windows.

Someone taking a photo every day also works - explains why its not exactly the same time (no-one's perfect) and why its every day not just week-days. It would have to be very close and very bright to light up windows in 2 rooms of your house though

I would do as andrewcookie suggests and just look out your window between 11:30 and 11:50 - if its really every night within a 20 minute window, even if you don't solve the mystery on the first night, it should get you closer (direction/distance etc), then the next night be closer to where it came from until you find the source.
posted by missmagenta at 3:09 PM on December 4, 2016 [1 favorite]


If it were headlights why wouldn't the OP notice them the rest of the night hours?

My mom's motion activated light is sort of broken so it flashes when you come near and then goes off really quickly.
posted by AFABulous at 4:09 PM on December 4, 2016


Some street lights slowly come on at dusk, and pop a few times as they come on, perhaps it is a malfunctioning street light? It tries to activate, pops, then goes dark.
posted by vrakatar at 6:01 PM on December 4, 2016 [1 favorite]


I didn't see you mention whether the light goes off any other times. This would also be good to know.

I sincerely hope Hercule Poirot will pop in at any moment, but I just wanted to echo Seeking Direction's idea of the pest detector. The variance of 20 minutes and ignoring of daylight savings time seems plausible if it's an animal making its rounds and tripping a sensor, causing the light to go off.
posted by oxisos at 6:28 PM on December 4, 2016


This occurs during a predictable 30 minute window? Point a video camera (point and shoot, phone cam) toward where you think it's coming from. Repeat until you can pinpoint it.
posted by rhizome at 8:17 PM on December 4, 2016 [1 favorite]


You could join Nextdoor and ask your neighbors.
posted by Aha moment at 6:36 AM on December 5, 2016 [1 favorite]


Why all the mystery? Go over and knock on the door.

If you need a pretext, tell them you're concerned about a possible utility malfunction you saw last night coming from the direction of their corner bedroom -- did they see a flash over in that direction?
posted by JimN2TAW at 9:08 AM on December 5, 2016 [1 favorite]


Don't some TV sets flash as they're turned off, for example right after an opening monologue.
posted by JimN2TAW at 9:13 AM on December 5, 2016 [1 favorite]


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