Strange sighting!

[stargazer1980]

Well earler hours of this morning..half way through watching the grand prix i was looking up to the sky (as you do) whilst outside having a cigarette and i saw this bright light which i thought was a star at first until it moved downward slightly and the over about 10 secs just faded to nothing! Now being an experienced pilot aswell as a beginner to astronomy i know that this was no plane or star!

I saw it as if you were looking at the tail of the plough and to the left alittle!

Can anyone shed any light please

Thanks

Darren

[Kai]

Satellite pass would be my best guess

The brightness comes from the solar panels catching the light from the sun for a second or so (brightening) then then the angle changes and it dimms.

If you look naked eye at night you can star to see loads of these passes

[Andrew*]

Yeah, probs a satellite. I couldn't believe my eyes at first when I saw stars moving across the sky, but satellites are quite frequent and easily visible naked eye.

Andrew

[Caz]

Hi Darren,

If your saying it was bright, you may have been lucky enough to have seen the 'International Space Station'. If you know the rough time of your sighting and your co-ordinates, perhaps someone could look it up for you.

Thanks for sharing

Caz

[proflight2000]

by the sounds of how quickly it went, im wondering if it was a Iridium flare, a communications satellite. they flash back the light they pick up off the sun. They are a great catch at anytime of the day or night, sunset or sunrise are the best times to view. If you stand outside long enough on a good night (or can lay back in a deckchair) just look at the widest bit of sky you can see and just keep looking, you will see all sorts of satellites pass over. I have seen Iridim flares go on for up to 15 seconds and be ultra bright. Visit http://www.heavens-above.com/ and register, its free and gives you sighting times for loads of space stuff.

18 Mar 04:03:46 -3 47° 233° (SW ) 18.4 km (W) -8 Iridium 29

18 Mar 05:40:22 -2 51° 173° (S ) 18.1 km (W) -8 Iridium 34

The two above were detailed to be seen in the UK this morning.

For anyone interested in the UK, these are detailed to be seen from my location, wiltshire.

18 Mar 20:30:49 -4 17° 2° (N ) 14.7 km (W) -6 Iridium 52

19 Mar 03:57:39 -5 48° 235° (SW ) 9.5 km (E) -8 Iridium 32

19 Mar 05:34:13 -1 51° 170° (S ) 25.4 km (E) -8 Iridium 5

19 Mar 20:24:26 -1 20° 1° (N ) 30.0 km (W) -7 Iridium 10

20 Mar 03:51:34 -0 50° 235° (SW ) 45.0 km (E) -8 Iridium 58

20 Mar 20:18:04 -2 22° 1° (N ) 24.2 km (W) -7 Iridium 13

21 Mar 05:54:42 -8 51° 163° (SSE) 2.4 km (E) -8 Iridium 91

21 Mar 20:11:43 -3 25° 1° (N ) 15.9 km (W) -7 Iridium 50

22 Mar 20:05:26 -5 27° 1° (N ) 7.7 km (W) -7 Iridium 53

23 Mar 05:18:59 -0 55° 187° (S ) 32.4 km (W) -8 Iridium 7

23 Mar 19:59:09 -7 29° 1° (N ) 2.8 km (E) -7 Iridium 54

24 Mar 05:12:54 -5 56° 187° (S ) 7.2 km (W) -8 Iridium 37

24 Mar 19:52:55 -7 31° 1° (N ) 4.8 km (E) -7 Iridium 83

25 Mar 06:06:47 -2 57° 186° (S ) 16.9 km (E) -8 Iridium 34

[The Warthog]

If it was moving N-S or S-N, it was likely an Iridium flare. You can go to heavens-above.com, register and set your location, and check the IFs for the last 48 hours to see if any correspond to the time and direction you were looking up. They can be as bright as -8, and are frequently in the -1 to -4 magnitude range.

[karl]

Yep - if it was bright - and faded dramatically - I'd also edge towards it being an Iridium Flare

I look for bright ones coming up (at Heavens-above) and 'predict' them to friends & family.

My 7 yr old nephew thinks I'm 'magic' - LOL