Another "what did I see?"

[LAW (Murphy)]

I was just out taking some sky flats and aligning for the night when I looked up towards the zenith (out of frustration) and I saw a stationary flash.

The flash was at least as bright as Antares, probably more like Alpha Centauri but it faded within a second. I didn't see it start it just faded as I looked up. Local supernova? That'd be cool Although they tend to hang around in the sky for a few days don't they?

It was somewhere near Capricorn and M75, it's hard to tell exactly because there weren't too many stars yet when I looked up.

[Shiraz (Ray)]

Saw similar about a year ago - exciting eh?. Probably one of these http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satellite_flare

[smithcorp (Brian)]

The black helicopters will be round your place directly!

[andyc (Andy)]

If it only lasted a second or so, it's probably a point meteor - ie a meteor that was headed directly towards you. We're used to seeing meteors as little streaks as they're headed a little sideways from your point of view, but they can appear as dots if the geometry is just right.

[Supernovae last several months, but galactic ones are incredibly rare (last naked-eye one was centuries ago 1604AD) ... if there was a bright one in our galaxy, you wouldn't be able to move in here for the buzz it would create! Extragalactic ones (ie in other galaxies) are almost exclusively telescopic targets, with the notable exception of SN1987A in the LMC, which was moderately naked-eye for a while.]

[LAW (Murphy)]

Thanks, I figured it would be something like that (the supernova bit was thinly veiled sarcasm). I still thought it was pretty cool, but I'm easily impressed.

[LewisM]

Seen dozens over the years. When I was a teenager, I actually rang Stromlo or Parkes (prob Parkes) and spoke to a pommy astronomer. He told me it was a point meteorite.

[pluck]

More than likely an Iridium flare. You can check here:

http://heavens-above.com/