Iridium Flare

aero-nut

Ok, an explanation is needed here....

The old Iridium communication satellites are still around...and they produce some cool sights every once in a while. There are approx 78 iridium satellites in orbit, and each one has two very reflective solar panels. When the sun hits one at just the right angle shortly after sunset, a very bright "flare" appears in the sky for about 5-10 seconds. It looks like a very bright, slow shooting star. There are a few programs out there that predict when a flare will occur in your area. There was one here tonight, so I tried capturing a picture of it:




The picture definitely doesn't do it justice. The squiggle on the left part of the flare was because I grabbed the camera trigger instead of my remote trigger release since I was so startled by it....doh! I'll have to try and shoot one again next time...

See these links for more info:
http://satobs.org/iridium.html
http://www.assa.org.au/observing/iridium/



I have always found astronomy photography challenging...:scratch

gus

I watch them all the time A-N...i go to heavans above & select my possie from the data base.

It give heaps on sats/hubble etc. Who built it/when....why...how far away is it & what it looks like. great hobby for the weird :uhoh They will sometimes tell you when its expected to crash.

Good catch btw

aero-nut

Humungus wrote:

I watch them all the time A-N...i go to heavans above & select my possie from the data base.

It give heaps on sats/hubble etc. Who built it/when....why...how far away is it & what it looks like. great hobby for the weird :uhoh They will sometimes tell you when its expected to crash.

Good catch btw

Thanks. Yup. A friend pointed out Heavens Above to me yesterday. I enjoy being weird. :