Dancing Satellites?

[haitch]

About to turn in for the night and took the dog down the garden (she's already had 3 good walks today so not guilty about not taking her out) anyway as I looked up in the vicinity of Arcturus, at around 00:45 there seemed to be 2 satellites, one of them seemed to flare like an iridium (much brighter than Arcturus) and change direction almost as if to avoid the other.

I have had a couple but my head isn't that cloudy? Anyone else see it? Am I going mad?

[haitch]

Well looking at H-A iridum 42 fits the timeframe but still not sure about the changing trajectory.

[egeller624]

I saw the same thing, exactly as you describe, about an hour earlier going from the direction of Arcturus heading north westish (towards Vega). I was lookin up at Vega at the time and they caught my eye, especially the "glowing" one. It pulsed once and then seemed to disappear. I actually thought it was a meteorite but then my eyes picked up movement a little further north and there they were again. Weird. Satellites?

[haitch]

They definitely had the look of satellites and the flare up is normal for an iridium caused by it's rotating solar panels catching the sunlight but it was the combination of 2 and my perception of a change of direction that really threw me this time.

Quite eerie seeing these silent manmade miniature moons parading about the sky - I rather like the US military ones that fly around in formation.