Quote:
Originally Posted by scottdmann
I was observing the sky between Brisbane 10:05-10:14PM 14th June 2009 and saw two events that I'm having trouble interpreting. I was using 10x50 binoculars at the time.
1) Looking south, a grey/brown trail went across my field of view in a fraction of a second.
2) Looking North-West between Spica and Arcturus I watched a flashing white object (quite bright at first then dimming) over a 5 minute period. It blinked once every 10 seconds.
I'd value the opinions of IIS members as to what these may be.
Also what characteristics of meteors, satellites or other man-made objects can aid in determining views of rapid movements in the sky.
Thanks.
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Hi Scott, welcome to iceinspace
![thumbsup](/vbiis/images/smilies/thumbsup.gif)
Number one was probably a Meteor
![Smilie](/vbiis/images/smilies/happy19.gif)
Number two was probably a rotating satellite, which if you enjoy looking at the night sky you will see many over the coming years.
![Smilie](/vbiis/images/smilies/happy19.gif)
Satellites usualy travel at a sedate pace across the sky, depending on how high they are, the higher they are the seemingly slower they go.
Meteors come in all shades, such as short bright flashes, bright flairs with trails,and all variations in between.
I hope this helps.
Cheers