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PoppersOfCorn t1_itoix9b wrote

Have you rules out clouds? Wispy, high altitude, difficult to see at night until they block the light of a star/moon etc..

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fontimus OP t1_itok0d8 wrote

I've seen this phenomena with Jupiter and the moon before, but it doesn't describe what I've seen.

Imagine you're looking at an empty point of sky on a clear night. Then a blip of light appears, just for an instant. Now it's gone.

It didn't move across the sky, didn't shine or flash. It just appeared and disappeared.

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Cute_Consideration38 t1_itok2i7 wrote

I have also seen flashes of light on at least two occasions. I don't know what they are. I suppose they could be any number of things. While I have seen a number of phenomenon, most of them I could reproduce with a little bit of money. The flashes would not be impossible but it would cost more money than it's worth to make just one single flash of light at ultra high altitude.

Yeah those are interesting events for sure.

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the_fungible_man t1_itok5li wrote

It's possible, but Iridium flares are rather rare these days, with the majority of the original constellation having been deorbitted and replaced by satellites that don't flare. There's usually pretty obvious motion which OP didn't mention.

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zomboromcom t1_itop890 wrote

A rotating satellite will light up then fade out. If you didn't get a good sense of its speed and track, you may not be looking in the right spot to see it re-appear.

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shunyata_always t1_itor6j6 wrote

I've seen these, though not very recently, bright flashes appearing for a while moving in a trajectory.

I guess they were expired satellites rotating out of control, or maybe some satellites are allowed to spin around for some reason?

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Bubbagumpredditor t1_itos1qd wrote

Iridium flare? From the satellites? They flash sometimes evidently

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SpartanJack17 t1_itown9l wrote

Hello u/fontimus, your submission "Have you ever witnessed a star 'blip'?" has been removed from r/space because:

  • Such questions should be asked in the "All space questions" thread stickied at the top of the sub.

Please read the rules in the sidebar and check r/space for duplicate submissions before posting. If you have any questions about this removal please message the r/space moderators. Thank you.

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