For those in southern California, there will be a nice flare from Iridium 73 tonite (Thursday, December 17) between 5:22:20pm and 5:22:35pm PST (exact time depending on your location), about 30 degrees above the south-southwest horizon. This is about 12 degrees to the right of (and slightly above) 1st magnitude Fomalhaut -- the only bright star in the vicinity. Favored cities include Belmont Shore, Sunset Beach, Huntington Beach, Seal Beach, Fountain Valley, Newport Beach, Costa Mesa, Anaheim, Cerritos, Garden Grove, Hawaiian Gardens, Westminster, Fullerton and Azusa. From all these cities, Iridium 73's brightness will briefly exceed that of Jupiter. Peak predicted magnitude is close to -7. --Rob