(Posted 27 April 2014) An Iridium flare approximately 39 times brighter than Venus (currently visible in the morning sky) will dazzle the eyes of early morning risers on the Gold Coast tomorrow morning (Monday 28 April 2014).
The flare will occur at 4:55 am AEST (4:55.02 am AEST to be precise) and last only a few seconds. To see the flare, you will just need to look South (towards New South Wales) at this time and to the left of the two ‘Pointer Stars’ (also known as Hadar and Rigil Kentaurus) at this time. See below finder chart for the location of the flare.
Iridium flares (more information on Wikipedia) are caused by sunlight reflecting off the communications antenna on the Iridium series of satellites. These orbit the Earth in a fixed orientation which allow the flares to be predicted in advance. Information on this specific flare can be found here on Heavens-Above.com.
Note that the further you are from center line of the Iridium flare (Mermaid Beach, Gold Coast, Queensland) the fainter the flare will become.
RT @Nightskyonline: Iridium flare will dazzle early morning risers on the Gold Coast tomorrow (with finder chart): (Posted 27 April 2… ht…
RT @Nightskyonline: Iridium flare will dazzle early morning risers on the Gold Coast tomorrow (with finder chart): (Posted 27 April 2… ht…