Meteor or what?

[Gazabone]

Hi all,

I'm quite used to seeing meteors when I'm out and about and saw a couple nice ones last night plus one rather unusual. I was near Truro, Cornwall, UK at 23:44BST (22:44 GMT) there was a very bright one at 150 degrees from me that appeared to be falling vertically. Apart from direction (ie appeared vertical) it looked like a highly sped up ISS. It seemed to fade in the same way the ISS does when the sun dips below its horizon.

The speed was nearly that of a meteor, just slightly slower than what I'm used to seeing so certainly not the ISS or any other normal satellite.

Could it be an Iridium flare? Not sure how fast they travel.

Must admit, I was almost expect to hear a loud bang!

[Stu]

I had a quick check on www.heavens-above.com and couldn't see anything obvious.

Iridium flares travel fairly slowly, similar to other satellites in low earth orbit. It seems most likely to have been a bright meteor perhaps?

[Gazabone]

Many thanks BigSumorian,

It certainly was a strange one. Wasn't aware how quickly Iridium Flares went so I think that can be ruled out and I've learnt something so that's really good. Must have been a meteor and a bit of an optical illusion (something to do with rooftops maybe?).

Thanks for your post, happy viewing