Comment by latchkey
1 year ago
I actually see them disappear long before they get to the horizon. My guess is just less reflected light on whatever is shiny on the satellite.
1 year ago
I actually see them disappear long before they get to the horizon. My guess is just less reflected light on whatever is shiny on the satellite.
that and/or entering the Earth penumbra.
In higschool we did an experiment with one of our science teachers based on this fact. We measured the duratuon of the iridum flares and could use some basic geometry to estimate how high their orbit is based on where the shadow of the earth is.
I don’t remember the details anymore, but it was one of the coolest practical experiments we did.