possible nova in north sky?

Hi Everyone,

I am new to this group and am not following the basic protocol of
monitoring a group to become with its normal operating issues. Please
pardon this lack of etiquette on my part. However, I would like to
document this event and bounce it off astronomers who may be able to
confirm what I just saw.

While looking toward the North at approximately Thu Aug 14 21:25:0
CDT 2003, I saw a very bright star - extremely bright, in fact, much
brighter than the other stars that were nearby in the sky. It gained
my attention and I wondered what on earth it was - perhaps a star or
perhaps an airplane.

Soon after noticing it, however, it flickered somewhat and then
began to grow dim so much, in fact, that I could no longer see it.

Note that it did not move, at least not to the extent of an
aircraft.

Has anyone documented a nova tonight?

Thank you,
Elizabeth

"cndc" wrote in message
...

Soon after noticing it, however, it flickered somewhat and then
began to grow dim so much, in fact, that I could no longer see it.

Probably an Iridium flare from a satellite. Novae do not grow that dim that
quickly.

Jackie

cndc wrote:
Hi Everyone,

I am new to this group and am not following the basic protocol of
monitoring a group to become with its normal operating issues. Please
pardon this lack of etiquette on my part. However, I would like to
document this event and bounce it off astronomers who may be able to
confirm what I just saw.

While looking toward the North at approximately Thu Aug 14 21:25:0
CDT 2003, I saw a very bright star - extremely bright, in fact, much
brighter than the other stars that were nearby in the sky. It gained
my attention and I wondered what on earth it was - perhaps a star or
perhaps an airplane.

Soon after noticing it, however, it flickered somewhat and then
began to grow dim so much, in fact, that I could no longer see it.

Note that it did not move, at least not to the extent of an
aircraft.

Has anyone documented a nova tonight?

Thank you,
Elizabeth

A NOVA is not so fast, i't may take several days to appear and disappear.

:-)

elizabeth,
I have seen that exact same thing...a very bright starlike point
of light that does not move, and remains for 5-15 seconds, then
dims and disappears.
There are two fine explanations for this...

One is a point meteor coming right at you; these are actually
fairly common among amateur astronomers who watch for meteors
all the time.
The other explanation is an Iridium Flare satellite (reflecting
sunlight) which is on nearly a straight line course toward you,
in fact, that is the most likely explanation for those point events that
persist for over 5 seconds.
As others have stated, nova or supernova do not operate this way....
they persist for hours or days at a time, and do not fade nearly
instantaneously as you reported.
Clear Skies,
FWIW,
Tom W.
Erie, PA






AP wrote:
cndc wrote:

Hi Everyone,

I am new to this group and am not following the basic protocol of
monitoring a group to become with its normal operating issues. Please
pardon this lack of etiquette on my part. However, I would like to
document this event and bounce it off astronomers who may be able to
confirm what I just saw.

While looking toward the North at approximately Thu Aug 14 21:25:0
CDT 2003, I saw a very bright star - extremely bright, in fact, much
brighter than the other stars that were nearby in the sky. It gained
my attention and I wondered what on earth it was - perhaps a star or
perhaps an airplane.

Soon after noticing it, however, it flickered somewhat and then
began to grow dim so much, in fact, that I could no longer see it.

Note that it did not move, at least not to the extent of an
aircraft.

Has anyone documented a nova tonight?

Thank you,
Elizabeth


A NOVA is not so fast, i't may take several days to appear and disappear.

:-)

In article ,
bwhiting wrote:

elizabeth,
I have seen that exact same thing...a very bright starlike point
of light that does not move, and remains for 5-15 seconds, then
dims and disappears.
There are two fine explanations for this...

One is a point meteor coming right at you; these are actually
fairly common among amateur astronomers who watch for meteors
all the time.
The other explanation is an Iridium Flare satellite (reflecting
sunlight) which is on nearly a straight line course toward you,
in fact, that is the most likely explanation for those point events that
persist for over 5 seconds.
As others have stated, nova or supernova do not operate this way....
they persist for hours or days at a time, and do not fade nearly
instantaneously as you reported.

Another possible explanation would be an airplane at great distance
with its headlights on and the beam of light directed towards you.
At such a great distance, the plane can appear stationary for a
minute or more, before you're able to detect its motion. If the
plane turns before you're able to detect its motion, the beam of
light is turned away from you, and the other lights of the plane may
be too faint to be seen at that great distance -- this makes the
plane appear to vanish. Naturally, the plane must appear at a quite
low altitude above the horizon in this situation.

--
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e-mail: pausch at stockholm dot bostream dot se
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bwhiting wrote in message ...

I have seen that exact same thing...a very bright starlike point
of light that does not move, and remains for 5-15 seconds, then
dims and disappears.
There are two fine explanations for this...

One is a point meteor coming right at you ...
The other explanation is an Iridium Flare satellite ...

A head-on meteor may *seem* as though it lasts for 5-15 seconds,
but actually, 1 second is probably longer than average, and 5
seconds nearly unheard of. Iridium flares are *much* slower
than meteors, and tend to have a long fade-out period quite
unlike a meteor burning out.

An airplane turning so that its headlights momentarily face
directly at you can mimic an Iridium flare.

- Tony Flanders