NUFORC Sighting 23102
Occurred: 2002-06-01 21:38 LocalReported: 2002-06-02 00:31 Pacific
Duration: 20 seconds
No of observers: 1
Location: Phoenix, AZ, USA
Shape: Orb
Possible Iridium Flares,…strange
I believe I witnessed 2 Iridium flares.
On the evening of 06/01/02 I was sitting in my backyard (ZIP 85014) facing east, at approximately 21:00 Hours.
At roughly 21:28 Hours I observed what I believed to be a polar orbiting satellite moving from North to South. I caught it just before it reached its zenith relative to my position. It looked very much like all the other satellites I have seen over the years, a faint but definite, tiny orb of soft white light, with just a hint of orange.
Just as this object hit it's zenith, it flared, quite brilliantly, and faded back to what I would describe as "Normal" for a satellite. The flare lasted approximately 3 seconds.
At 21:38 Hours I saw a re-play of the first event.
The second events flare seemed quite a bit brighter, and possibly as a consequence, I could not track the second object after the flare.
I very firmly believe these objects were "Man made", and not some sort of "Alien Spacecraft".
What troubles me is that they do not seem to conform to Iridium orbits.
Am I wrong?
NUFORC Note:
Witness can check
Posted 2002-06-12
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