I have seen iridium flares cast shadows on the ground-they can be extraordinarily bright, and with well-adapted dark vision, and a moonless night (such as the 14th) I believe it must have been an iridium pass. -----Original Message----- From: seesat-l-bounces+paulgrace=lookoutranch.com@satobs.org [mailto:seesat-l-bounces+paulgrace=lookoutranch.com@satobs.org] On Behalf Of Dave Leighton Sent: Tuesday, August 17, 2010 09:05 To: seesat-l@satobs.org Subject: Bright flash - Iridium flare? I was camped in the backcountry in the Sierra Nevada near Lake Tahoe on August 14, 2010. Around 10:00 pm PST directly overhead there was a very bright pinpoint flash that lasted 2-3 seconds. It was so bright that my son saw the ground light up from inside his tent. I was looking directly at it when it occurred and there was no sign of any object in that location prior to or after the flash (no moving satellite, no smoke, debris, trail, etc.) We spoke to another backpacker then next morning who saw the flash and he assumed it was an Iridium flare. Could this have been an Iridium flare? Any other ideas? I've see satellite flares, but never anything close to this magnitude. _______________________________________________ Seesat-l mailing list http://mailman.satobs.org/mailman/listinfo/seesat-l _______________________________________________ Seesat-l mailing list http://mailman.satobs.org/mailman/listinfo/seesat-l
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