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Nightgazers: Observing Irridium flares
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Daddee
I once was a slug.




Joined: 04 Jan 2003
Posts: 2815
Location: Mesa, AZ

PostPosted: 10/12/2006, 2:35 pm    Post subject: Nightgazers: Observing Irridium flares Reply to topic Reply with quote

If you reacll the Irridium sattelite phone $5 Billion fiasco from the late 90s - well, the satelites are still up there, and thanks to special software, we know exactly when you can catch an Irridium "Flare" - which can last for several seconds and outshine the planet Venus.

Pretty cool.
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Nighthiker





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PostPosted: 10/12/2006, 7:23 pm    Post subject: Reply to topic Reply with quote

Think I have observed these from time to time. The space station is very bright like Venus and I think the magnitude is -3.
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Trishness
The Snake Charmer




Joined: 21 Sep 2003
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PostPosted: 10/12/2006, 8:49 pm    Post subject: Reply to topic Reply with quote

Saw one of these flares at Kitt's Peak last summer during their night observation program. It was really cool!!!

Mr. Green
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~~~Trish~~~

"Eastward the dawn rose, ridge behind ridge into the morning, and vanished out of eyesight into guess; it was no more than a glimmer blending with the hem of the sky, but it spoke to them, out of the memory and old tales, of the high and distant mountains." � J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of The Rings.
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evenstar





Joined: 03 Jan 2003
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PostPosted: 10/12/2006, 9:10 pm    Post subject: Reply to topic Reply with quote

GTG see them all the time! Silly
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evenstar





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PostPosted: 10/12/2006, 9:12 pm    Post subject: Reply to topic Reply with quote

evenstar wrote:
GTG see them all the time! Silly


IGO used to, but now he's just a boring old guy! nutty
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John Richardson and Richie Rich, El Perro de Playero
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http://www.arizonahikers.com
When the Man waked up he said, "What is Wild Dog doing here?" And the Woman said, "His name is not Wild Dog anymore, but the First Friend, because he will be our friend for always and always and always. Take him with you when you go hunting."
--Rudyard Kipling, from Just So Stories, 1902
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Daddee
I once was a slug.




Joined: 04 Jan 2003
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PostPosted: 10/12/2006, 9:25 pm    Post subject: Reply to topic Reply with quote

The Irridium flares can be as bright as -9.5 (with most hitting around -Cool

For those wondering what the -8 means, read this.
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GTG
Was lost but now am found




Joined: 30 Dec 2002
Posts: 2387
Location: Peoria, Arizona, originally from Rocket City, USA

PostPosted: 10/12/2006, 9:39 pm    Post subject: Reply to topic Reply with quote

evenstar wrote:
evenstar wrote:
GTG see them all the time! Silly


IGO used to, but now he's just a boring old guy! nutty


Daddee wrote:
The Irridium flares can be as bright as -9.5 (with most hitting around -Cool

For those wondering what the -8 means, read this.


Does that mean Hooli ends up a shining bright 0 ?

GTG
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IGO





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PostPosted: 10/13/2006, 4:05 am    Post subject: Reply to topic Reply with quote

evenstar wrote:
evenstar wrote:
GTG see them all the time! Silly


IGO used to, but now he's just a boring old guy! nutty

I still see them from time to time. Not as intense and not as frequently but I do see them.
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paintninaz





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PostPosted: 10/13/2006, 4:45 am    Post subject: Reply to topic Reply with quote

IGO wrote:
evenstar wrote:
evenstar wrote:
GTG see them all the time! Silly


IGO used to, but now he's just a boring old guy! nutty

I still see them from time to time. Not as intense and not as frequently but I do see them.


...do they speak to you also? weird!
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IGO





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PostPosted: 10/13/2006, 5:00 am    Post subject: Reply to topic Reply with quote

Not so much anymore.
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"Surely all God's people, however serious or savage, great or small, like to play. Whales and elephants, dancing, humming gnats, and invisibly small mischievous microbes - all are warm with divine radium and must have lots of fun in them." John Muir
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Daddee
I once was a slug.




Joined: 04 Jan 2003
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Location: Mesa, AZ

PostPosted: 10/13/2006, 9:06 am    Post subject: Reply to topic Reply with quote

GTG wrote:
evenstar wrote:
evenstar wrote:
GTG see them all the time! Silly


IGO used to, but now he's just a boring old guy! nutty


Daddee wrote:
The Irridium flares can be as bright as -9.5 (with most hitting around -Cool

For those wondering what the -8 means, read this.


Does that mean Hooli ends up a shining bright 0 ?

GTG


It really depends on if he's wearing a hat or not. Sans hat we're looking at -12.6 minimum.
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- Louis XIV

"...haven't you lived long enough to know that two men may honestly differ about a question and both be right?"
- Abraham Lincoln
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evenstar





Joined: 03 Jan 2003
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Location: SCW by way of CA

PostPosted: 10/13/2006, 9:12 am    Post subject: Reply to topic Reply with quote

Daddee wrote:
GTG wrote:
evenstar wrote:
evenstar wrote:
GTG see them all the time! Silly


IGO used to, but now he's just a boring old guy! nutty


Daddee wrote:
The Irridium flares can be as bright as -9.5 (with most hitting around -Cool

For those wondering what the -8 means, read this.


Does that mean Hooli ends up a shining bright 0 ?

GTG




It really depends on if he's wearing a hat or not. Sans hat we're looking at -12.6 minimum.


Let this blind ya: Moon
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John Richardson and Richie Rich, El Perro de Playero
http://members.tripod.com/~evenstar/index.html
http://www.arizonahikers.com
When the Man waked up he said, "What is Wild Dog doing here?" And the Woman said, "His name is not Wild Dog anymore, but the First Friend, because he will be our friend for always and always and always. Take him with you when you go hunting."
--Rudyard Kipling, from Just So Stories, 1902
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azhiker96





Joined: 05 Jan 2003
Posts: 1419

PostPosted: 10/13/2006, 11:38 pm    Post subject: Reply to topic Reply with quote

evenstar wrote:


Let this blind ya: Moon


Hmmm, I think that's about a -2.3.
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Daddee
I once was a slug.




Joined: 04 Jan 2003
Posts: 2815
Location: Mesa, AZ

PostPosted: 10/14/2006, 10:14 am    Post subject: Reply to topic Reply with quote

Look at the Wikipedia article - that one definitely ranks as a -12.6
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- Louis XIV

"...haven't you lived long enough to know that two men may honestly differ about a question and both be right?"
- Abraham Lincoln
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azhiker96





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PostPosted: 10/14/2006, 12:21 pm    Post subject: Reply to topic Reply with quote

If there's an ignition source we might even see a -22.4 flare!
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