Is there an astronomer in the house?

[Dave Richards]

I just saw something strange outside and I'm wondering if there's anyone around who is familiar with astronomical phenomena or perhaps the various satellites up there.

At approximately 8:35 I happened to look up into the sky toward the northeast and saw what appeared to be two very bright stars, one to the north of the other. It seemed that they were exceedingly bright relative to the surrounding stars. I think I saw them to the left of Cassiopeia.

While I watched, they faded out to nothing. They didn't move or anything, they just faded out. At first I thought maybe a cloud passed in front of them but the other stars in the area weren't affected. I watched for about 10 minutes and didn't see them reappear although an airliner went over in approximately the same part of the sky about 5 minutes after these things disappeared.

I'm not inclined to believe these were alien spacecraft and I wouldn't think there would be two weather balloons that close together.

Anyone got any ideas?

[Doug Shepard]

I'll hazard a guess that it might be satellites in geo-stationary orbit. At 8:35, while it would have been dark on the ground, satellites might have been high enough up to still catch and reflect light from the sun. The fadeout may have just been due to finally falling into darkness. Either that or the mother-ship has arrived.:D

[Dave Richards]

Doug, I thought about satelites in geostationary orbits but it seemed they were too close together. Maybe that was it and maybe it was just perfect timing to see them go just seconds before they were engulfed in the earth's shadow.

If it was the mothership, I'd better go see if I have some clean underwear for the trip. :D

[Doug Shepard]

Doug, I thought about satelites in geostationary orbits but it seemed they were too close together. Maybe that was it and maybe it was just perfect timing to see them go just seconds before they were engulfed in the earth's shadow.

If it was the mothership, I'd better go see if I have some clean underwear for the trip. :D

Like I said - I'm guessing. I'm not an astronomer and I didn't stay at a Holiday Inn last night either. I do know that altitude can have a pretty dramatic effect on the amount of sunlight that's able to reach things. The coolest thing I ever saw was on a trip back from Europe over the Atlantic at 30K. I woke up really early and out the plane window was almost a vertical line dividing the sky. Totally dark with a full moon on one side, and bright light with the sun visible on the other side. I was pretty much forced to give up my theory that the earth really was flat.

:eek: If it IS the mothership, I'll be lining my FoL's with aluminum foil for shielding those areas they like to scan and probe. You can never be to safe there.

[Lloyd Frisbee]

Could have been an Iridium flare from one of the Iridium satelites. They are cool. Almost like a lighthouse in the sky when the solar panels reflect the sunlight towards the earth. You can check here to see whats up at night.
http://www.heavens-above.com/

[Andy Hoyt]

If they appeared to be flying in formation - constant speed and relationship to each other - perhaps it was only one object and you were seeing some sort of reflection.

Or..... the movie Serenity (which has lots of spaceships in it) premiered today. Perhaps this was nothing more than Hollywood doing a promotional stunt.

[Frank Hagan]

I'll hazard a guess that it might be satellites in geo-stationary orbit. At 8:35, while it would have been dark on the ground, satellites might have been high enough up to still catch and reflect light from the sun. The fadeout may have just been due to finally falling into darkness. Either that or the mother-ship has arrived.:D

Nope, that's too far away. To be in geosynchronous orbit they are 22,241 miles away. You would have better luck being able to see a golf ball in New York City while standing in Los Angeles.

It could be an Iridium satellite; they are in low earth orbit, but are usually only seen right at twilight. And the ones I've seen are fast ... they flash by while you're looking through a telescope.

My guess would be an aircraft or two headed toward you, then turning away, especially since you identified an aircraft in that spot a bit later. The bright forward light is visible from the front at a long distance, but the nav lights on either side are not as bright to the naked eye. When I first got my telescope, I picked up an "expanding star" that I watched grow progressively brighter for about 20 minutes. I found out that night that I am in the flyover for the landing pattern for LAX, and they head straight down the California coast to my house, then turn to port for the approach pattern. When they make the turn they "disappear" and I can only make out the green light on starboard with the telescope.

[Lee DeRaud]

I'll hazard a guess that it might be satellites in geo-stationary orbit.Er, no. If they're in geo-stationary orbit, they're over the equator, i.e. somewhere to the south.

[Lee DeRaud]

I'm not inclined to believe these were alien spacecraft and I wouldn't think there would be two weather balloons that close together.Actually, I don't think anyone except aliens use weather balloons anymore. Now...stare into the blinky thing...:cool:

[Loy Hawes]

If it was the mothership, I'd better go see if I have some clean underwear for the trip. :D


Don't forget your Nike's! :D

P.S. Stay away from the punch.

[Dave Richards]

Well, I checked out Heavens Above (thanks for that link) and it wasn't an Iridium flare. Besides there was a pair. I thought about something like the ISS but I've seen it go over before and it was stroking right along. Besides, if it was the space station it could have only been abouta mile away considering how far apart these lights were. I've seen other satelites, even one on Monday evening, moving right along. They're never as bright as what I saw last night.

Not airplanes. I'm familiar with those. (I'm a pilot)
The one I saw later was at a very high altitude and I could see the flashing strobes.

Loy, there was punch last night? How come no one invited me. Maybe It was that weird frozen burrito thing my wife fed me for dinner. It kind of tasted strange. :eek: :D

[Brad Tallis]

Well, I checked out Heavens Above (thanks for that link) and it wasn't an Iridium flare. Besides there was a pair. I thought about something like the ISS but I've seen it go over before and it was stroking right along. Besides, if it was the space station it could have only been abouta mile away considering how far apart these lights were. I've seen other satelites, even one on Monday evening, moving right along. They're never as bright as what I saw last night.

Not airplanes. I'm familiar with those. (I'm a pilot)
The one I saw later was at a very high altitude and I could see the flashing strobes.

Loy, there was punch last night? How come no one invited me. Maybe It was that weird frozen burrito thing my wife fed me for dinner. It kind of tasted strange. :eek: :D

Could it have been the russian spacecraft and ISS? I read on the news that they just docked, so maybe the two were next to each other in orbit getting ready for the dock.

I was up in the rockies a few years ago and saw the ISS fly over and I couldn't believe how bright it was. So, maybe that is what you saw?

PS. I like watching the Irridium Flares too. They are quite amazing to watch.

Brad