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I just saw my first Iridium flare - and totally by accident. I was setting up my telescope and looking up in the right direction when my eye caught an extremely bright object, high in the east. My first thought was Venus, but no, wrong direction for Venus, and even without a basis for comparison, it was clearly brighter than Venus. After perhaps 5 seconds, it dimmed and then I realized it was moving and therefore must be an Iridum flare.
Heaven's Above confirms:
Anyway, I thought this was interesting as a potential UFO sighting. With my frame-of-mind and familiarity with the sky, my first reaction was Venus and after just a few seconds knew what it was. But for someone else, seeing an extremely bright, moving object and not having any clue what it is - I suspect they are the cause of a lot of UFO sightings.
Heaven's Above confirms:
I've also verified that Starry Night doesn't predict flares. It showed the satellite, but not the correct magnitude.Date Local -- 24 May
Time Intensity -- 21:46:58
( Mag) -- -8
Alt. -- 48°
Azimuth -- 68°
Distance to flare centre -- 3.2 km
Mag at flare centre -- -8
Satellite Iridium 32
Anyway, I thought this was interesting as a potential UFO sighting. With my frame-of-mind and familiarity with the sky, my first reaction was Venus and after just a few seconds knew what it was. But for someone else, seeing an extremely bright, moving object and not having any clue what it is - I suspect they are the cause of a lot of UFO sightings.