Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Iridium Flares for June 2, 2010

I thought I'd post information for local iridium flares.  These flares are the phenomenon caused by the satellites reflecting sunlight towards the Earth, and appear as a bright "flare".  They're just one more neat object you can see as you look up at night. 

Tonight, June 2nd, at 8:58:26 PM the Iridium 18 satellite will appear be about magnitude -2 with the flare brightening to approx -8.  Location should be about 67° Alt 77° Az (ENE).

What do those coordinates mean?  Well, Alt means altitude, or vertical.  Your fist at arms length is about 10°, so from the horizon, about 6.5 fists will get you to around 67°.  Az is Azimuth, or horizontal.  This is the direction you'll face.  North is 0°.  East is 90°.  77° will be ENE above Pegasus.

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