Friday, September 18, 2015

"Iridium flares" from satellites after sunset this next week

Hi class - One of our students pointed out the following:

I checked heavens above for the upcoming schedule of iridium flares in our area (http://www.heavens-above.com/IridiumFlares.aspx?lat=37.0486&lng=-93.7738&loc=Springfield&alt=375&tz=CST). We have at least 7 straight days where there will be a very bright (mag -7 or better) flare occurring between 8 and 9pm, and all of them are from satellites traveling almost directly overhead, with the flare occurring at anywhere from 30 to 40 degrees altitude in the north. The link above has the schedule for springfield and here is a link that quickly explains what iridium flares are: http://www.rmg.co.uk/explore/astronomy-and-time/astronomy-facts/exploration/iridium-flares
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1 comment:

  1. kasey_gcpSeptember 20, 2015 at 6:50 PM

    It should be noted that you must go by the brightness in the 2nd column, not the one in the brightness at flare center column. The flares on the next few nights won't be very bright, but the ones on the 22nd-24th will be, especially on the 23rd. That will be nearly as bright as you'll ever see one.

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