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Was it an Iridium flare I saw?

Four or five years ago, my friend and I were on a six-day backpack. We camped in a stream, and looking for some Perseid meteors, when we both noticed a spot of light appear suddenly disappeared in the course of about a second. During this time, the intensity of light was so bright – I would say perhaps triple the brightness of Venus, at least. As disappeared, a point much more weak light seemed to shoot out of this position and travel across the sky. I guess this must have been just a satellite, whose solar panels perfectly reflected sunlight in our direction for the duration of a second. Is this what an outbreak of iridium is? What do we see?

It sounds like an Iridium flare. They usually last a few seconds and can eclipse Venus. As they fade, you can often track the satellite for a short time later, but almost the limit visibility to the naked eye. The reflection comes from one of 3 antennas attached to each satellite flat. The surface of each of these antennas is very reflective. It is possible also it was another (non-Iridium) satellite and went on to take a glint of sunlight on its solar panels. To find another Iridium flare, you can get predictions from this website: http://www.heavens-above.com/

Solar Panel charging Batteries for Camping

Sundanzer Solar-Powered Refrigerator – 1.8 Cubic ft 24.5inL x 27.5inW x 36.5inH $699.00 High efficiency Sundanzer solar-powered 12-volt DC freezer provides exceptionally low energy consumption and durability, requiring less expensive power systems and providing lower operational costs. Can run on a 110-watt solar panel, 100 AH 12V deep-cycle battery and 10 Amp charge controller (not included) in most areas. Some situations may require more power depending on ambient temperature, inte…

P3 International P4400 Kill A Watt Electricity Usage Monitor $29.99 Empowers You to Save Hundreds on Electric Bills Electricity bills are rising. Now you can cut down on costs and find out what appliances are actually worth keeping plugged in. Simply connect these appliances to the Kill A Watt, and it will assess how efficient they really are. The large LCD display counts consumption by the kilowatt-hour, the same as your local utility. You can calculate your elec…

HYBRID SOLAR POWERED FLASHLIGHT WITH EMERGENCY BATTERY BACKUP BLACK (*2-pack*) $24.98 Hybrid Solar Powered Flashlight! Doesn’t Need To Be Left In The Sun! Once Charged It Can Be Stored Anywhere And Holds A Full Charge For Over 3 Years! The Hybrid Solar Light uses revolutionary technology that generates power from sunlight and stores it. When fully charged the Hybrid Solar Light can hold a charge for years. It is environmentally friendly, durable and guaranteed for life*. Features: …

Solar / Hand-Crank Powered Emergency Flashlight, Radio, & Cell Phone Charger $29.95 The unit uses a rechargeable Ni-Cad battery: a rechargeable battery that has the ability of recharging over 500 times. This remarkable radio and light recharges these batteries using either the hand crank and/or solar panel to charge them. You can simply charge the battery in the sun, charge it in artificial light, or charge it using the hand crank. After the battery has been fully charged and dis…

Solar Powered Battery Charger with Meter Charges 2 D – C – AA – AAA Batteries $26.90 Brand New Universal Solar 11-in-One Battery Charger with Meter Charges 2 “D” – “C” – “AA” – “AAA” Batteries Designed for charging most popular types of rechargeable batteries: D size (UM-1), C size (UM-2), AA size (UM-3), AAA size (UM-4) and 7 different size GUM (Prismatic) Batteries! Description: This is the most versatile battery charger available on the market today. The solar panel is incorpe…