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What did I see?


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So I am going to keep this short.

Back in December 2014 I was leaving my apartment for work at around 4AM. It was dark with a cloud free sky and three hours until sunrise. 

 

As I walked out the door I took a brief moment to mumble about how much I hate my work while looking at the stars.

Around the area left of the  Orion constellation I happen to spot a single moving white light matching the stars in brightness, it wasn't blinking nor did it have any other lights following it. I figured it was an airplane so I turned around and locked my front door. As I was about to walk down the stairs I looked up and noticed the light still moving across the sky above me when it suddenly started to dim while still moving. 

It took about three to four seconds for the light to fade away completely while I looked at it.  Through out the whole thing there had been no engine sounds or any other noises to be heard from the sky.

Its been puzzling me me a lot as the light doesn't match anything else I have ever seen in the night sky.

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Date/time/location?

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Date: Around 18-23 December 2014.

Time: from 4.15AM to 4.21AM.

Location: Holbeak, Zealand, Denmark.

 

I'm sorry I can't provide an accurate date for the sighting, but it's been over a year and a half since I saw it so an accurate date would start to fade from my mind.

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Sounds very much like a satellite. They tend to go past the same time each night, so look out for it again around the same time.

They travel very fast and will fade out of site...hence the dimming.

You will not hear any sounds, they are too far away. 

On a clear night, it would be stranger if you did not spot a satellite , there are plenty out there and you have described seeing one perfectly:

 

August 2015, there were 4 077 satellites orbiting the Earth, -

See more at: http://www.pixalytics.com/sat-orbit-2015/#sthash.1urnWFyj.dpuf

 

Edited by freetoroam
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1 hour ago, Drax24 said:

Sounds like a satellite but if it where a bright light then it's something else 

As satellites reflect the sunlight, satellites appear as bright lights in the sky especially the ISS which was visible from Denmark a few times near to Orion in DEZ2014.

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Hmm, thanks for clearing it up for me Toast and Freetoroam. Now there is one less issue for me to ponder about in life.

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48 minutes ago, Modochi said:

Hmm, thanks for clearing it up for me Toast and Freetoroam. Now there is one less issue for me to ponder about in life.

:tu:

You can check for your local ISS fly-by forecast here: HeavensAbove

... and you can watch all satellite fly-bys, and a lot of other stuff as well, with the great tool STELLARIUM

EDIT: there is also a Heavens Above App (available for free) and you can set automatic alarms for fly-bys

 

.

 

Edited by toast
Bongo-Bongo!
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12 minutes ago, toast said:

:tu:

You can check for your local ISS fly-by forecast here: HeavensAbove

... and you can watch all satellite fly-bys, and a lot of other stuff as well, with the great tool STELLARIUM

Hey thanks, I can use that to try and see if I can spot some more satellites in the future.

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On 5/30/2016 at 9:28 AM, Modochi said:

So I am going to keep this short.

Back in December 2014 I was leaving my apartment for work at around 4AM. It was dark with a cloud free sky and three hours until sunrise. 

 

As I walked out the door I took a brief moment to mumble about how much I hate my work while looking at the stars.

Around the area left of the  Orion constellation I happen to spot a single moving white light matching the stars in brightness, it wasn't blinking nor did it have any other lights following it. I figured it was an airplane so I turned around and locked my front door. As I was about to walk down the stairs I looked up and noticed the light still moving across the sky above me when it suddenly started to dim while still moving. 

It took about three to four seconds for the light to fade away completely while I looked at it.  Through out the whole thing there had been no engine sounds or any other noises to be heard from the sky.

Its been puzzling me me a lot as the light doesn't match anything else I have ever seen in the night sky.

A bit of rock burning up in the atmosphere. Growing up, I had a skylight window over my bed and saw these on an almost weekly basis. 

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Sounds to me like the ISS. It is the only satellite that would be brighter than most stars.

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Superman.

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On 5/31/2016 at 6:36 AM, Modochi said:

Hey thanks, I can use that to try and see if I can spot some more satellites in the future.

Do it!!  It's fun, and sorta humbling, especially when you see the ISS (which is quite spectacular, like a moving Venus) and consider there are people up there looking down at you..

And yep, your description sounds exactly like a satellite

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Modochi, after reading ChrLzs' comment I reread your post and  have to say it is well written and certainly makes it possible for people to think about what it was you saw. Well done :tu:

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On 5/31/2016 at 3:43 AM, freetoroam said:

Sounds very much like a satellite. They tend to go past the same time each night

Just picking a nit here... You will generally only see satellites within a couple of hours* of sunset because they are catching the sun's rays passing overhead, and later at night the earth puts most of the sky above you in shadow...  So it's true that you will see them at the same sort of time.. but you won't see the same ones at the same time / place.  Maybe that's what you meant, so consider that just as clarification!

 

* - The actual amount of time you have after sunset to do satellite watching, varies depending on your latitude and the time of year - think about it and you can probably work out why..  Also, the higher the satellite, the more time it will be lit by the Sun, but of course it will also be dimmer as it is further away - like all things, this stuff is quite complicated..

PS  Interestingly, while satellites don't normally have a usefully repeating time pattern, the ISS *will* tend to show up for a few nights or mornings over a location in a row, and then not be visible again for quite a long while...  That's due to its orbital speed and path.  If you want to know where it is right now, try these very cool links (the first one shows you why it might appear over a location for a couple of nights in a row):

http://www.isstracker.com/

http://iss.astroviewer.net/

As mentioned above, use Heavens-Above if you want to become a satellite/ISS watcher:

http://heavens-above.com/

Also check out the Iridium satellites - seeing them flash sunlight at you from their solar panels is quite amazing...

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