Observing iridium flares

[heaven31]

Can anyone tell me how to properly observe these? I used Heavens Above to see when one was due but I didn't see anything. It showed a distance of 30 something miles between me and the centre of the the flare...........would I have to get closer to that centre to see it or wait until one shows with a centre that's right overhead? I'd like to see one but havening no luck so far

Jo x

[André]

Hi Jo

No, you don't have to move. If you want the flare to be the maximum brighness, then you need to go in this direction. If it is in H-A, then it is visible from your place.
For Liverpool I see some quite nice -6er and -7er in the next few days.
www.heavens-above.com/iridium.asp?Dur=7&lat=53.416&lng=-2.940&loc=Liverpool&alt=10&tz=GMT
Just look at the right time in the direction (Alt, Az) and you will see it. Normaly you can just ignore the last three columns (Distance, Mag at Center and Name of Stallite)

Have fun with them ... it's quite cool!

André

[heaven31]

Thanks Andre My only problem now is that I don't know how to measure alt and az ( I know I'm a complete amateur lol) but I 'd really love to see one of these. Is it something that would stand out if you happened to spot one accidentally or are they quite feint?

Jo x

[André]

Hi Jo

That depends on the magnitude. Venus is -4.5mag, Jupiter about -2mag. So you can compare the brighness with these two planets.
So you do not have to be too accurate with the position on the sky. You just have to remind: North: Az=0°, East: Az=90°, South: Az=180°, West: Az=270°. So just try to interpolate in mind where approximately to look at.
You can do the same with the altitude. Horizon is 0°, Zenith is 90°. A Flare on 45° is halfway between horizon and zenith.

André