stars getting bigger and brighter.....

[Dscorpionking]

<p><strong><font size="3">September 19, 08:50pm looking south east , a star or something is getting brighter and bigger in a 5 seconds time zone and then just dims out to nothing.&nbsp; Compared to jupiter which was on the right, (to the west off) this star got 3 times bigger and 5 times brighter. Never before in all of my years of watching the sky have I ever seen something like this with the naked eye.&nbsp; Can anyone explain this ?</font></strong></p><p><strong><font size="3">(only had one beer that night <img src="http://sitelife.space.com/ver1.0/content/scripts/tinymce/plugins/emotions/images/smiley-wink.gif" border="0" alt="Wink" title="Wink" />)</font></strong></p><p><strong><font size="3">Dscorpionking</font></strong></p><p><strong></strong></p>

 

[MeteorWayne]

<p><BR/>Replying to:<BR/><DIV CLASS='Discussion_PostQuote'>September 19, 08:50pm looking south east , a star or something is getting brighter and bigger in a 5 seconds time zone and then just dims out to nothing.&nbsp; Compared to jupiter which was on the right, (to the west off) this star got 3 times bigger and 5 times brighter. Never before in all of my years of watching the sky have I ever seen something like this with the naked eye.&nbsp; Can anyone explain this ?(only had one beer that night )Dscorpionking <br />Posted by Dscorpionking</DIV><br /><br />It was most likley a flare from an Iridium Satellite. They act exactly as you described, and can be much brighter than Jupiter or even Venus. If you can give us your location, we can look it up, or you can do it yourself.</p><p>Go to this page:</p><p>http://heavens-above.com/</p><p>Select your location as accurately as possible either from the town database or the map.</p><p>Under Satellites, select "Iridium Flares for the next 7 days".</p><p>Then when the list comes up, select "previous".</p><p>That should include the 19th.</p><p>If you need help, just give us your location, and I'll set up the page for you and look it up.</p><p>MW</p> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#000080"><em><font color="#000000">But the Krell forgot one thing John. Monsters. Monsters from the Id.</font></em> </font></p><p><font color="#000080">I really, really, really, really miss the "first unread post" function</font><font color="#000080"> </font></p> </div>

 

[Dscorpionking]

<p><BR/>Replying to:<BR/><DIV CLASS='Discussion_PostQuote'>It was most likley a flare from an Iridium Satellite. They act exactly as you described, and can be much brighter than Jupiter or even Venus. If you can give us your location, we can look it up, or you can do it yourself.Go to this page:http://heavens-above.com/Select your location as accurately as possible either from the town database or the map.Under Satellites, select "Iridium Flares for the next 7 days".Then when the list comes up, select "previous".That should include the 19th.If you need help, just give us your location, and I'll set up the page for you and look it up.MW <br />Posted by MeteorWayne</DIV><br /><br />Thanks MeteorWayne !&nbsp; I did not know satellites could do that. My location is 42" 51.25' N latitude and 80" 48.317'w longitude.&nbsp; According to starry night, Iridium 70 or 74s passed by at that time so you know you stuff ! I love learning about this infinite world of ours and the more I learn the more i want to know.&nbsp; </p><p>Thanks so much, <img src="http://sitelife.space.com/ver1.0/content/scripts/tinymce/plugins/emotions/images/smiley-cool.gif" border="0" alt="Cool" title="Cool" /></p><p>Dscorpionking</p><p>&nbsp;</p>

 

[MeteorWayne]

<p><BR/>Replying to:<BR/><DIV CLASS='Discussion_PostQuote'>Thanks MeteorWayne !&nbsp; I did not know satellites could do that. My location is 42" 51.25' N latitude and 80" 48.317'w longitude.&nbsp; According to starry night, Iridium 70 or 74s passed by at that time so you know you stuff ! I love learning about this infinite world of ours and the more I learn the more i want to know.&nbsp; Thanks so much, Dscorpionking&nbsp; <br />Posted by Dscorpionking</DIV><br /><br />OK, I set up your location in Heaven's Above. The advantage to using it is that the info is more current.</p><p>For satellites, Starry night is only as accurate as your last download of satellite orbits, from what I understand.</p><p>Here's the link to your location:</p><p>http://heavens-above.com/?Lat=42.854&Lng=-80.805&Alt=0&Loc=Scorpionking.&TZ=EST</p><p>Click on it, then save that page. When you go back your location will be loaded in all the time.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>I assumed you are in the eastern time zone, and that seems to be correct, since it shows for the 19th:</p><p><table border="1" cellpadding="5"><tbody><tr><th>Date</th><th>Local<br />Time</th><th>Intensity<br />( Mag)</th><th>Alt. </th><th>Azimuth </th><th>Distance to<br />flare centre</th><th>Intensity at<br />flare centre<br />(Mag.)</th><th>Satellite</th></tr><tr><td>18 Sep

 

[Dscorpionking]

<p><BR/>Replying to:<BR/><DIV CLASS='Discussion_PostQuote'>OK, I set up your location in Heaven's Above. The advantage to using it is that the info is more current.For satellites, Starry night is only as accurate as your last download of satellite orbits, from what I understand.Here's the link to your location:http://heavens-above.com/?Lat=42.854&Lng=-80.805&Alt=0&Loc=Scorpionking.&TZ=ESTClick on it, then save that page. When you go back your location will be loaded in all the time.&nbsp;I assumed you are in the eastern time zone, and that seems to be correct, since it shows for the 19thateLocalTimeIntensity( Mag)Alt. Azimuth Distance toflare centreIntensity atflare centre(Mag.)Satellite18 Sep20:53:21-256&deg;122&deg; (ESE)21.0 km (W)-8Iridium 6719 Sep05:45:02-153&deg;203&deg; (SSW)31.8 km (E)-8Iridium 5619 Sep20:47:20-655&deg;123&deg; (ESE)6.1 km (E)-8Iridium 72So you saw Iridium 72, with a magnitude of -6 (that's brighter than even Venus ever gets) in the ESE at about 8:47:20I should point out that if you are going to look for Iridiums, it is essential that you have a very accurate timepiece. They only last from 10 to 30 seconds, so if your watch is off by a minute, you can easily miss it.I see you have another one in the same general area at 8:20 tonight and 8:14 tomorrow. (both are a little further to the south)You also have a pretty good pass of the ISS tonight at ~ 7:30 with the ISS passing below the north star. <br />Posted by MeteorWayne</DIV></p><p>Thanks again MeteorWayne.&nbsp; Yes, I was able to see quite a few more iridum flares satellites, but I was&nbsp; not able to see ISS till tonight.&nbsp; At 20:15:57, I was surprised to see how bright it was going across the NM to ENE sky.&nbsp; Thanks for the link of heavens above, so now I know that it is not a satellite going by.&nbsp; With the moon set on the western sky, it was just a perfect night to gaze the stars .&nbsp; </p><p>Thanks again, </p><p>Dscorpionking</p>