--------------F0F093A80C5875C1EB142275 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Sounds akin to the "Aries Flasher" sightings of the late '80's. To quote from John Sanford's Observing the Constellations: "...Aries was in the news for being the home of the 'Aries Flasher', a peculiarly ephemeral object seen by several amateur astronomers as a slow-duration (about 1-3 seconds) bright flash located in northern Aries or southern Perseus. It appeared at slightly different places in the sky, and could not be identified as an astronomical object (because nothing known has such a period or brightness). The 'flasher' was finally identified as a reflection off an artificial satellite. Certain satellite orbits have their apogee, i.e. highest point, at about 700 miles up, at which point the satellite is moving so slowly that it can appear as an almost motionless stellar point for a few minutes." While there are differences between this and the current sighting, the concept is similar. Just one of the many things, natural or artificial, that make night sky observing delightfully unpredictable. Eric Vondra Wampum PA 40.8538N 80.3292W --------------F0F093A80C5875C1EB142275 Content-Type: text/html; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bitSounds akin to the "Aries Flasher" sightings of the late '80's. To quote from John Sanford's Observing the Constellations:
"...Aries was in the news for being the home of the 'Aries Flasher', a peculiarly ephemeral object seen by several amateur astronomers as a slow-duration (about 1-3 seconds) bright flash located in northern Aries or southern Perseus. It appeared at slightly different places in the sky, and could not be identified as an astronomical object (because nothing known has such a period or brightness). The 'flasher' was finally identified as a reflection off an artificial satellite. Certain satellite orbits have their apogee, i.e. highest point, at about 700 miles up, at which point the satellite is moving so slowly that it can appear as an almost motionless stellar point for a few minutes."
While there are differences between this and the current sighting, the concept is similar. Just one of the many things, natural or artificial, that make night sky observing delightfully unpredictable.
Eric Vondra
Wampum PA
40.8538N 80.3292W
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