What is an Iridium flare? Iridium flares are often mistaken for meteors because of their notable bright flashes of light in the night sky but they are actually caused by a specific group of satellites that orbit our planet. An Iridium flare is a specific type of satellite flare that is made when the antennas of an Iridium communication satellite reflect sunlight directly onto the surface of the Earth. The satellites are in a near-polar orbit at an altitude of 485 miles and their orbital period is approximately 100 minutes with a velocity of 16,800 miles per hour. The uniqueness of Iridium flares is that the spacecraft emits 'flashes' of very bright reflected light that sweep in narrow focused paths across the surface of the Earth. An Iridium communication satellite's Main Mission Antenna is a silver-coated Teflon antenna array that mimics near-perfect mirrors - the array is angled at 40 degrees away from the axis of the body of the satellite. This can provide a specular reflection of the Sun's disk, periodically causing a dazzling glint of reflected sunlight. At the Earth's surface, the specular reflection is probably less than 50 miles wide, so each flare can only be viewed from a fairly small area. The flare duration can last from anywhere between 5 to 20 seconds and can easily be seen by the naked eye. Sources: http://www.ph.surrey.ac.uk/satellites/main/project2_4.html http://www.space.com/6898-reflections-space-spot-iridium-flares.html http://www.wikihow.com/Find-an-Iridium-Flare This image is one 25 second frame from a time lapse of the Milky Way, an Iridium Flare and other features of the night sky in motion and reflected in the still water at Three Mile Pond, Maine. Nikon D600 & 14-24 @ 14mm f/2.8 - 25 secs - ISO 4000 Processed via LR & PS CC
Traffic crosses the Claiborne Pell Newport bridge in Rhode Island - photographed from Jamestown Island.
The early spring Milky Way rises above a local stream in central Maine. This is an exposure blend of 2 shots, one for the foreground and one for the sky. Sky EXIF data: Nikon D600 & 14-24mm @ 14mm f/2.8 - 25 Secs - ISO 4000 Foreground EXIF data: Nikon D600 & 14-24mm @ 14mm f/2.8 – 236 Secs - ISO 1600
