Re: Was this an iridium flare?

From: Patrice Scattolin (scattol@videotron.ca)
Date: Wed Mar 06 2002 - 17:56:06 EST

  • Next message: Pinizzotto,Russell: "Was this an iridium flare?" 

    gacrowell wrote:

>
>19:05:51 EST, magnitude -5, altitude 23 degrees, azimuth 317 degrees, from
>Iridium 31.
>
>I also found that the flare track would be ascending, headed from WNW to N.
>If the aircraft were headed NW towards the airport (I don't have those
>details of the report), the flare would have been directly in front of him.
>I figure the time reported in the article might have been the time the
>report was made, so it matches pretty well.
>
>So, its my thought, that to the pilot, the flare might have looked like a
>small rocket exhaust nearby.  Is this plausible?  I would value any
>opinions.
>

I am not a guru SatObs but I have seen Iridium flares from the ground.

    yes: according to your position and magnitude it's plausible
    no:   an Iridium flare is really a "beacon lighing up" just like a 
bright star or venus
            so there would be no contrails or size to the object. It 
really depends
            what the pilot saw exactly.

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