How to see the outbreak of Iridium?

Around our planet revolves a huge number of satellites. Each of them has its own purpose. The series of satellites "Iridium" revolves around the Earth for data and voice transmission. This equipment is covered with a smooth surface and is capable of reflecting the sun's rays, which our eyes perceive as quick glare. The outbreaks of the Iridium are quite a frequent phenomenon that every inhabitant of our planet can observe. Sometimes, this phenomenon is confused with the falling star, and with the flight of a UFO, and even with a visible companion, however these are erroneous opinions. How can you see such a glare and how do you know when it will be and where to watch it? Let's figure it out.

Such different satellites

Before we calculate the time the appearance of the nearest flash of the Iridium, let us recall what satellites are and what they are. So, the satellite (IS) is an artificially created aircraft that rotates around the Earth. The height and speed of this space equipment depends on its purpose and technical characteristics. Distinguish: communications satellites, astronomical, biosatellites, space stations and ships, meteorological satellites and experimental ones.

Spacecrafts are usually located in a low reference orbit. For example, the "Iridium" satellite, whose flares we can see, is moving in low orbits with an incline of 86 ° and a height of 780 km. This allows him to receive signals from stations located on Earth, to amplify them and to radiate back. The series of satellites "Iridium" includes 66 space vehicles, the service area of which covers the whole Earth. Initially, it was planned to create 77 satellites. This number is the atomic number of Iridium, that's where the name of the company came from, and, although the spacecraft were launched for 11 less, the name remained.

A beautiful phenomenon

The outbreak of Iridium is a very beautiful phenomenon lasting about 10 seconds. The position and movement of each aircraft is clearly fixed by the system, which means that the appearance of highlights can easily be counted and seen. This is one of the most striking celestial phenomena reminiscent of the appearance of a falling star. Of course, not all Iridium flashes are equally visible, because the satellites are in constant motion and the angle of reflection can be too small, which means that the phenomenon itself will be almost invisible. In addition, to prevent this phenomenon can clouds, fog, rain, strong wind.

How does the flash occur?

If you include a slow-motion picture of this phenomenon, you can see how the point in the sky lights up, starting the movement, it gains maximum brightness and then goes out. The reflection of these rays can be 2 times brighter than that of the planet Venus. In astronomy, the zero-magnitude standard of the brightness of the celestial body is the Vega star. Everything that is brighter than it is negative numbers, which are paler - positive. The most visible outbreaks of "Iridium" from -6 to -9.5 m. For example, in the Sun this value is -26.7 m, for the Moon -12.74 m, for Venus-4.67 m.

Not even the satellite, but its antenna, almost two meters in length, located at an angle of 40 ° from the axis of the spacecraft, is glistening. It is decorated with a silver coating for thermal control. The very axis of the satellite's body is supported vertically with respect to the Earth's surface, and this allows one to see the flashes of the Iridium. The photos below show the fact that this phenomenon is similar to a falling bright star. An example of such glare can serve as an ordinary mirror: when a sun ray hits its surface, on the wall we see its reflection, popularly called the "sunny bunny."

How to calculate the time of appearance of a flash

As already mentioned earlier, the location of each satellite of "Iridium" is known very accurately. This allows the calculation method to calculate the time of occurrence of such flares. Of course, for astronomers and scientists to calculate the time and place of the appearance of highlights will not be difficult, but for the rest a huge amount of mathematical calculations can be a difficult task. There are various programs and sites that calculate the time of occurrence of flashes with an accuracy of seconds. Also there are special applications on the phone, for example, the program Iridium. This utility is convenient because the phone, including the camera, also shows the location of the flash. One of the best sites is Heavens-above. It automatically calculates the time of the appearance of the Iridium flash and its exact coordinates. The resource even displays information about which particular satellite gives glare.

Choose a location

After you go to the site, you need to specify your location. To do this, the context menu has a section "Configure location". At this stage, it is necessary to select exactly the city, street and even the house from which the observation will be conducted. If the entered data is not accurate, you probably will not see a flash. In addition, you need to check the time zone, as well as the clock in the phone, because the flash time is important. After all the parameters have been entered and saved, a rectangular frame with the entered data appears in the upper right corner. It will indicate the location (latitude and longitude), time and time zone. If the frame displays all the data correctly, you can proceed to the next step.

Calculating time

In order to see when the next event will be, go to the section "Iridium outbreaks" in the main menu. The schedule of these highlights is indicated here. At the very top you can select the search interval, and also enable the "daylight flashes" option. If the glow is bright (from -7 to -9), then it can be seen even during the day. In the table presented on the site, for us are important: brightness (the first column), height and azimuth. These data are necessary in order to know at which point of the sky the outbreak is expected. So, from the table, select the brightness by the highest digit (greater than 6.5) with a negative sign. Next, look at the date of this outbreak and click on it. The new page shows all the detailed information for a specific number.

Where to watch the flash - orient in the sky

To begin with, we will define the side in which we will wait for a glare from the Iridium. Azimuth is the angle between the point that we need and the north. If the azimuth is 0 or 360 °, then the flash will occur strictly towards the north, if 180 ° means in the south, 90 ° in the east, and so on. In order to accurately navigate, you need to take a compass. If there is no such device nearby, then the line on which the flash will pass is clearly visible on the map - you can navigate through it.

We need the elevation angle in order to determine where the flash will be in the sky. For an accurate definition, you need a protractor. Since the appearance time is known up to seconds, you can go out into the street a little earlier, so you definitely do not miss the flash of "Iridium". What is this phenomenon, know not all, and therefore, you can surprise friends and acquaintances, saying that here and now the star will fall for them.