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What satellite/rocket did I just see?

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  • 24-07-2014 8:52pm
    #1
    FWVT
    Closed Accounts Posts: 922 ✭✭✭


    I am sitting on a balcony in Alghero, in NW Sardinia (40.6N 8.29E), facing NE, and have just seen a very bright but very fast satellite zipping overhead at 19:40 UTC. It was travelling in a SW-NE direction and entered shadow at an elevation of around 40-50 ° and an azimuth of about 040 °.

    I checked the Sat Track app but couldn't find anything that matched. I've seen several over the past few nights and am well used to them, but what struck me about this one was its speed. At first I thought it was a meteorite but it was a little slower. It was very bright too, impossible to miss.

    Any ideas of what it was and why it is moving so fast?


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    #2
    Popoutman
    Registered Users Posts: 1,363 ✭✭✭Popoutman


    http://www.heavens-above.com is your friend, generally much more comprehensive than most of the mobile apps.

    Chances are though that what you have described was in fact a bolide or fireball, as these are often much slower than the usual meteors. If it was significantly faster than most of the satellites that you usually see it's either a post-launch vehicle or a bolide.

    I saw the last Shuttle launch from Galway, and the speed of the shuttle at low altitude after launch was quite impressive especially after watching the launch live 8 min previous to my seeing it, that's a fast transatlantic crossing.


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