Iridium flares by the Moon
Matson, Robert (ROBERT.D.MATSON@saic.com)
Wed, 20 Oct 1999 10:05:24 -0700
Hi Ed,
> First, at about 1:16 UTC (20 October), not too far above the
> Moon there was a very bright flare of Iridium 19 (24965,
> 97-56A). This one rivaled the Moon in brightness, and then
> it became obvious that it was going to go VERY close to the
> Moon. ...
We had the same show in Rancho Palos Verdes last night,
but from Iridium 37 (two satellites away in the same
plane as 19). Predicted magnitude -7.9 about 5 degrees
above the Moon. This is the first time that I've seen
a "trans-Venus" Iridium flare in the immediate vicinity
of the Moon, allowing magnitude comparison. The Moon
was brighter, but not by much, so the magnitude prediction
was probably pretty close.
This brings up a question that perhaps someone out there
can answer: just what ~is~ the magnitude of the Moon at
first-quarter phase? Clearly it is much less than half
the brightness of the full moon (-12.3), and last night's
gibbous moon falls somewhere in between. --Rob
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