Observations from Borrego Springs CA within a few miles of lat 33.256, long -116.374, altitude est. 1000'. 3-22 PST = 3-23 UTC. For the first time I saw an Iridium flare cast a shadow! Predicted mag -6 MMA flare from Iridium 90 ? at az 133 elevation 51, sun altitude -17 deg, 19:23:18 PST = 3:23:18 UTC. As the flare approached peak brightness I turned round & took a step. It helped that the desert sand was light-colored. If you don't have sand you could use a light cement surface or paper ... It also helped that the flare was bright in a dark sky, well after nautical twilight, and that I took a step so I could see my shadow move. Also ISS flared to about mag -0.5 a few s before shadow entry low in the South, thus rivaling Sirius and Canopus. About 19:19 PST = 2:19 UTC. Mark ----------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe from SeeSat-L, send a message with 'unsubscribe' in the SUBJECT to SeeSat-L-request@satobs.org List archived at http://www.satobs.org/seesat/seesatindex.html
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