Many people are familiar with the phenomenon known as "Iridium flares", when sunlight reflects off the flat, polished antennas of an Iridium satellite, creating a very brief but spectacular flash seen from the ground that can easily outshine the brightest stars in the sky. Iridium flares have been well-known for several years by astronomers and other observers, and there are even sites that allow people to view the next predicted flares for their location. However, is it possible to see the flares from orbit, in particular the International Space Station? It appears so, based on a message sent to the SeeSat-L satellite observation email list. Robert Reeves forwarded a message he received from ISS science officer Don Pettit, who, using a modified version of a flare prediction program by Ron Matson, was able recently to observe several flares from orbit. The observations are challenging, given that the station is orbiting at about 8 kilometers a second and there are limited observation ports, but Pettit has apparently become more proficient at spotting them, according to a followup message posted by Reeves this weekend. Spotting Iridium flares is not part of the regular activities on the station, Reeves notes, but he believes that Pettit "is indeed learning to be a better observer, and this will pay dividends in other ISS programs."
Posted: 3:08 PM ET (2008 GMT)