hehe I often wonder what people make of these when they spot them!
Hi Dan,
As Rajah has suggested, the Heaven's Above site is brilliant.
Those iridium flares are so addictive!
On the Heavens Above main page, click on iridium flares then you will see a table for the ones coming up. You can click on the date of any of them which will bring up a chart which shows the flight path. In my short experience from viewing them, the flight path line looks long on the map, but I only get to see the satellite when it's close to the flare centre where it brightens dramatically. They can range from magnitude -1 up to magnitude -8
. If you're close to the flight path, they can be really bright. There's a google map you can click on which shows where it is (but also tells you in the table how far you are from it anyway).
There's also apps for your smartphone which will alert you. I like the
ISS Detector app (does iridium flares too).
Make sure you set it for twilight times & choose, say, over mag. -1, otherwise that alarm will be going off all day.
I have my alerts set for 30 mins notice which gives me plenty of time to study the map but not long enough that I'll forget.
If you figure out how to use the navigator arrow (I can't, but I prefer maps anyway), it'll tell you where to look along with a beeping sound which gets louder the closer it gets.
Happy new addiction
.