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Bright light moving South to North (2/6/10)

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  • 02-06-2010 12:07am
    #1
    Evo
    Registered Users Posts: 147 ✭✭


    Just went out to the garden (11:40pm) and looked up and saw a star or something moving south to north, and it suddenly got very bright, even brighter than the ISS then faded away instantly, by the time it had gone to my right I couldn't see it (still sunlight on the horizon). The brightness only happened for a split second.

    Satellite getting a hint of the sunlight for a split second? I couldn't believe how bright it got and it was a blue/white light, not glowing white like the ISS.


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    #2
    buchalanbui
    Closed Accounts Posts: 2 ✭buchalanbui


    Yes, I saw it too...
    ISS not in the area.

    Anybody know what it might have been?..not very shooting star like.


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    #3
    robbie_998
    Closed Accounts Posts: 4,222 ✭✭✭robbie_998


    is it still visible in dublin ?


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    #4
    buchalanbui
    Closed Accounts Posts: 2 ✭buchalanbui


    No, it was just a brief event.. caught my eye as it looked like a satellite, it then got brighter..may have slowed down but that may have been the effect of the brightness..like the other poster said it was as if it caught sunlight for a moment..but then it disappeared... a moment later we could see a satellite but that was moving almost at right angles from the course of the original object.


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    #5
    robbie_998
    Closed Accounts Posts: 4,222 ✭✭✭robbie_998


    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vdmtY0vux30


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    #6
    iceage
    Registered Users Posts: 3,533 ✭✭✭iceage


    Iridium Flare maybe?


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    #7
    Evo
    Registered Users Posts: 147 ✭✭Evo


    I've never seen an Iridium Flare but from my reading thats like a long line of light? This was a dot, just like the ISS

    CORRECTION:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1PFUP5LPyuA

    guess it was an Iridium Flare.. was just like that..


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    #8
    Calibos
    Registered Users Posts: 7,807 ✭✭✭Calibos


    Evo wrote: »
    I've never seen an Iridium Flare but from my reading thats like a long line of light? This was a dot, just like the ISS

    CORRECTION:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1PFUP5LPyuA

    guess it was an Iridium Flare.. was just like that..

    I know you've already realised it was in fact an Iridium Flare you saw. I think your impression that they were like a long line of light comes from photo's of Iriduium flares which are usually taken with a several second exposure time. The longer the exposure the brighter and more detail you capture and if the object is moving in the sky it appears as a line. People photgraphing these set this length of an exposure on purpose to get the attractive thin dim line getting brighter and thicker and then dim and thin again

    The iridium Satellites have 3 big Antenna and when the sun catches them at just the right angle they act like a big mirror. Go to Heavens-above.com pick you country and town from the map database, then click on Iridium flares and you can get information to the minute, where in the sky and when you will see a flare. The brightest magnitudes have a minus figure. EG a -8 mag flare is uber bright!


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    #9
    iceage
    Registered Users Posts: 3,533 ✭✭✭iceage


    Evo wrote: »
    I've never seen an Iridium Flare but from my reading thats like a long line of light? This was a dot, just like the ISS

    CORRECTION:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1PFUP5LPyuA

    guess it was an Iridium Flare.. was just like that..

    As I thought. Funnily enough I've never seen one because I'm a bit of a random skywatcher. Must check out the list of timed events. mystery solved call me mulder. :)


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