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Hi Paul,
Chances are you observed a geo-stationary satellite. They are in very high orbits
and hence can be illuminated by the sun even very late at night. As they spin,
the solar panels reflect light back toward you every few seconds. We have
observed this routinely over the years, often at times naked eye. We have
observed the same phenomena whereby there will be a series of dull flashes and
then a brighter one as each facet of the satellite had different reflectivity. From
our latitude, I recollect we use to see one in Leo pretty regularly.
You may then ask, "Well, if it were geo-stationary, why did it move?"
The question is, did you observe it move relative to the local horizon or did you
perceive it seemed to move relative to the background star field?
As the Earth rotates, the stars appear to move East to West overhead. If
you watch the satellite in the eyepiece, it can be easy to believe that it is
moving East with respect the background stars when in fact it is the other way
around.
Best Regards
Gary
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