Any ideas?

[Caz]

At approx 12.35am this morning, James and I witnessed something floating across the northern part of the sky, it was brighter than Venus, and approx the size of Jupes with the naked eye. James informs me it travelled from Camelopardalis heading toward the Lynx then disappeared. Whats cool about this siting is, James was on the phone to me 65 mile away, but we spotted the same object, it disappeared from my view first then at James' location! We have no idea what it was....

So the question is, what was it? Answers on a post card please...

ps... and no it wasn't an iridium flare

[Ambermile]

ISS most likely. Seems to be around here a lot lately.

Arthur

[Ambermile]

Ah. Must've been the green ones after all then...

Arthur

PS - this obviously means I am out of rational ideas

[FLO]

... James informs me it travelled from Camelopardalis heading toward the Lynx

Showoff

It was probably, according to StarryNight, the Orbview 2 (Seastar) satellite. At its brightest it would have been about 0.6 magnitude, overhead around Cygnus, fading until it dissapeared in the North at Lynx at about 1am. (Everything else is too faint and travelling in the wrong direction).

http://tinyurl.com/okxvu

[Tinkerbell]

Lo Caz

If your timing is correct the only Sat it could be is the Cosmos 1656 r/b(2).

Object name: COSMOS 1656 R/B(2)

Magnitude: 0.0

Equatorial: RA: 07h 03m 50s Dec: +66°46'57"(current)

Equatorial 2000: RA: 07h 03m 11s Dec: +66°47'32"

Horizon: Azim: 354°08'22" Alt: +32°02'45"

Phase (%): 0.00

RA rate (arcsecs/sec): -1515.7905

Dec rate (arcsecs/sec): 664.0078

Click distance: 2.0000

Celestial type: 40

Index: 50

Satellite name: COSMOS 1656 R/B(2) (#15772U)

Satellite TLE1: 1 15772U 85042D 06183.82098045 -.00000148 00000-0 -46435-4 0 1235

Satellite TLE2: 2 15772 71.1061 135.8473 0035202 144.9893 215.3558 14.20635467 92942

Latitude: 64°02'20"

Longitude: 03°35'22"

Earth altitude: 813.2732

Range: 1358.6687

Range rate: -4.3092

Depth of eclipse: 786.5333

It will be underlit as it heads for the Northwest horizon, maybee its panels were positioned just right :shock:

[Tinkerbell]

Lo Caz

In the northern sky at that time of night it is still quite light up here so that all the carp in the atmosphere could change the appearance of the Sat.

Also could have been doing a controlled roll to re-orientate the panels. How fast was it moving.

[OXO]

Yes it was Slower than a Sat not just because of the Position in the sky either strange really :?

Checking the Locations of each sat none have come up trumps...

[Tinkerbell]

How fast was it moving.

Hard to say really, but at a guess, slightly slower than a SAT......

That probably means it was a Sat. Anything rising from or descending to the horizon always seems to be travelling slowly compares with stuff seen overhead.

Just had a thought, has there been any launches recently it could be a stage of a launch vehicle or a new Sat being pushed into its new orbit.

[Tinkerbell]

I Have just done a quick check on the latest launches and non of them fit the flight profile of what You have seen.

So it seems to be a mystery. :?

[OXO]

Things is i have traced the Sat's and none well known Sats have lined up with what was observed the size and speed dont match up with a Sat either tiz a Strange one..

[The Warthog]

If it was nything but a satellite, both Caz and James wouldn't have seen it. There are some uncatalogued military satellites up there, playing cowboys and indians with us.

[FLO]

So, a UFO

[OXO]

There are some uncatalogued military satellites up there, playing cowboys and indians with us.

It was john wayne shaped :shock:

[Astroman]

I'm guessing a weather balloon, or scientific package on a balloon of some sort. You don't mention how fast it was moving. (?) It'd be easily visible from the distances mentioned, and could have been very far away indeed, even hundreds of miles, but being very, very high in altitude, may seem to move and disappear. I've seen these type of balloons in the States-they're enormous, hundreds of feet high. I watched one on my 1.25 hour journey to work one morning, and it remained visible for another hour. Turned out, it was heading more or less straight for me the whole time. Another one was seen much closer up, drifting above the Grand Canyon star party a few years back. We all just stood there gawking, so I asked, "Say, anyone have a telescope or long camera lens handy?" You should have seen the scramble after that.

Again, just a wild guess.

[OXO]

Astroman, it was slower than a Sat. Hadn't thought about a weather balloon you maybe onto something with that

Thanks

James