Did I spot an asteroid?

[Gavin chapple]

Hi guys, on my first use of my scope I was just randomly pointing it in different directions and at one point a white dot flew very quickly across my entire field of view. Was this likely an asteroid and is it common to observe this at random or did I get extremely lucky on my first attempt at star gazing? 

[wibblefish]

I have had this previously and tracked it across the sky, my assumption was it was a satellite perhaps but would be interesting to know  

[ScouseSpaceCadet]

Highly likely a satellite. There are approx. 6000 in orbit around Earth and from an urban garden on a clear night several can be seen with the naked eye.  An asteroid would usually require prolonged observation over many hours or days to even notice movement. 

[Cosmic Geoff]

It is not uncommon to see a fast-moving object move across a telescope's field of view. It is almost certainly a satellite.  Asteroids move much more slowly. I once observed an exceptionally fast-moving asteroid and even that required tens of minutes to detect any movement against the star background.

[tripleped]

I’ve seen the same type of thing a few times in just the past few months. When the light of the fast object stays constant I assume I’ve seen a satellite.  When it seems to fade and “burn out” I assume meteor. Does that sound right? Either way it’s a nice “oh cool” random moment which yes is not uncommon at all.