Iridium Flares

  

  

An Iridium flare is a type of visibility that a satellite produces (also known as satellite glint) when the antennas of an Iridium communication satellite reflect sunlight directly onto the surface of the Earth. Whoever is looking at the right spot at the right time will see a brief but bright flare in the sky which is sometimes brighter than Venus and even the Moon (when it's not full).

However, you don't have to depend on sheer luck to see an Iridium flare. The Skyabove service will provide you with an SMS alert on the brightest flares that occur from time to time and the directions to view it from.

To better experience Iridium Flares, you could follow the below mentioned steps...

1. Use the details provided by the SkyAbove service.
2. Determine your location in coordinates (Predictions are based on SL center line, hence, the angle and time of viewing will differ minutely.
3. Recheck the prediction shortly before observing to reconfirm the time and directions.
4. Make sure your clock or watch is tuned as precisely as possible, otherwise you'll likely miss it or be too early and think it's over. usually, the time variant is + / - 3 minutes for Sri Lanka.
5. Go outside at least a couple of minutes prior to the time listed on the correct date.
6. Look in the direction and altitude listed.

There are Many Satellites that orbit the Earth at any given time.. 

An Iridium flare looks like a star that moves slowly and quickly brightens, then slowly fades away. Sometimes it leaves a visible trail, fades away in less than a second from becoming visible, or lasts more than a minute, it is most likely either a meteor, a fireball or even the International Space Station.

Some terms that we use to provide Exact location to view are as below.

• Azimuth - Measured clockwise around the observer's horizon from north; north has an azimuth of 0°, east 90°, south 180° and west 270°.
• Altitude - Overhead is 90°, directly in front of you is 0°.

Determining the correct altitude to watch is a bit more difficult than the azimuth, especially in the twilight before stars begin to appear, which is the usual time satellites are seen. A handy gauge is your fist held at arm's length - it is approximately 10° 'tall'. I prefer to also extend my index (pointer) and pinky fingers straight out (not 'splayed') to provide a better 0° and 10° gauging point. Place your extended pinky on the horizon in front of you, look up to your index finger & note where it is against the sky -- count "10". Keep your eyes on that spot, and shift your fist upwards until the pinky is where the index was - then up to the index's new position & count "20", & so on. Repeat until you've determined the correct angle - and of course, a 5° (eg, 45° etc.) position falls in the middle between the extended fingers. This 'gauge' is pretty accurate. You can continue up to 90° & if that point is directly overhead, you're doing it correctly.

Below is a video of a recorded Iridium Flare - you can find many such recordings on youtube. Let us know about your experiences too..

 Happy Star Gazing !!!