The other night I was viewing with my telescope and right over the area that I was viewing some neighbors let off some fireworks. Very startling... So I guess the question is what would be the most startling moments some of you have encountered during observations?? P.S. it wasn't the fourth of July either... so I wasn't expecting it

I guess I have been lucky so far,,, all my viewing sessions have been nice and peaceful. Hope it stays that way.

Al

Wild pigs!  We have these wild pigs that are nocturnal and they are stealthy.  On a couple of occasions now, while out at my favorite dark site enjoying the heavens, one has suddenly snorted and grunted from nearby.  Scares the daylights out of me and I snort and grunt back to try to scare him (and his family, since they tend to travel in groups) off.

Must've been when I saw the Orion Nebula through 10x32s. They were about the worst pair of binoculars you can imagine, with fully coated glass (by my standards that's unacceptable) and sported roof prisms. Not to mention, they had been very badly treated (By me, cuz i didin't know better.) Still, since I was 10, and that was the first time I found a celestial object, I was startled, mystified, captivated, etc. at the same time.

In fact, I'm always awed whenever I see a faint fuzzy something lurking in the sky.

While I was observing with a 12.5" f/6.5 Cave Astrola Newtonian one summer many years ago (when it was still dark at the ASH Naylor Observatory), a lightning bug flew down the optical tube and did its thing.  I wasn't startled but the result was rather interesting.

Dave Mitsky

A few years back on one of those rare clear dark summer nights, I was in a large open field on a plateau above the White Oak River. All alone far off the highway away from any homes with the only noise around being the sounds of nature. The occasional mosquito buzzing the ear, and the chirping of crickets and croaking toads. The kinds of sounds that can make you quite relaxed in those surroundings. 
With my eye at the eyepiece completely immersed in observing the night sky, a small brown bat flew into the side of my head.   I guess he wanted some of those mosquitoes that were buzzing my ears.

Startled?  Yes most definitely. But I didn't let that stop me.

 

Have A Nice _________

I would imagine the bat was just as startled as you were!LOL

I'll take a few fireworks over attacking bats any day.

Would a mosquito actually flying into your ear count? 

 

 

Bats, when I was stationed in Arizona. You can sometimes hear them pinging you with their sonar.

Most of the frequencies they use are beyond human perception, but not all.