(meteorobs) Point Meteor or Flaring Satelite

Marco Langbroek marco.langbroek at wanadoo.nl
Fri Oct 14 03:57:40 EDT 2011


Op 14-10-2011 07:13, orink at t6b.com schreef:
>
>    While looking at the bowl of the big dipper, I noticed a white, star-like object, with a size and magnitude similar to the four bowl stars, in the center of the bowl. It remained centered in the bowl, not getting brighter, or weaker, for 10-20 seconds before it occurred to me that it wasn't moving in it's position.  Hmmm, maybe a new Nova, and better than KT ERI !! I turned away to walk over to the car and get my camera, taking several more seconds. As I returned and attached my camera to one of the tripods, it vanished. Nuts!!

This certainly sounds like a flare from an object in HEO (High Elliptical Orbit).

It is my impression that sites like heavens-above and Calsky frequently do not 
show all possible candidates in an area, possibly because of parameter 
selections by the person searching. So when "nothing comes up" on heavens-above, 
it still can be a satellite nevertheless.

Note that it are not just Iridium satellites that flare. Many satellites flare 
occasionally.

- Marco

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Dr Marco (asteroid 183294) Langbroek
Dutch Meteor Society (DMS)

e-mail: dms at marcolangbroek.nl
http://www.dmsweb.org
http://www.marcolangbroek.nl
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