Observe an Iridium Satellite Flare

This project must be done by individuals.

There are many satellites orbiting the Earth. One series of over 50 identical craft are the Iridium satellites. They are all in low-Earth orbits, and, since there are so many, there are always one or two or three passing overhead at any time.

Now, what makes these particular satellites interesting are two features:

their orbits are known VERY precisely
they have big antennae; although designed for radio communications, the shiny surfaces of the antennae reflect visible light very well

It turns out that, every now and then, the antenna of one of these satellites will be oriented so that it reflects sunlight down to the Earth's surface, creating a brief "flare" of light.

Animation courtesy of Andreas Moller

If you are lucky enough to be standing at the right location on Earth, you can see a flash of light that lasts for 5-10 seconds and is brighter than any star or planet (but not as bright as the Moon).

But where and when should you look? Fortunately, the good folk at Heavens Above have done all the hard work for you.

Go to their site and enter your location information, or just go to the Heavens Above page for the RIT Observatory.
Click on the "Iridium Flares" item
Choose the time period over which to search for flares

If you find a good candidate, you can click on the link for it to generate a chart showing the location of the flare in the sky.

So, here's your assignment to receive extra credit:

Plan an observation -- print out a copy of the chart for the event
Go outside and observe it!
Try to take a picture of it with a camera
Write a description of what you saw -- how bright was it? How long did it last? Compare its brightness to that of other objects in the sky

What should you do if it's cloudy when your chosen flare is happening? Just pick another night and try again.

Turn in your report and any pictures you took, in hardcopy. In addition, please send me any pictures via E-mail.