Have you ever heard of iridium flares? Light reflecting from the main mission antenna on the Iridium communications satellite (since it’s a big shiny aluminum plate-type piece) makes brilliant flares in the sky, mostly at night. A great page at the Visual Satellite Observer says that the flares are about thirty times brighter than the reflection from Venus.
Now I’ll be looking for these things – and now I want to go camping in the mountains to get a very bright sky to see one.
Thanks, BoingBoing and Visual Satellite Observer!
