Amazing Sky Bursts Are About to End—How to See Them Now
Iridium flares will go extinct in the near future due to the launch of a new fleet of less reflective communication satellites.
Earlier this month, SpaceX successfully launched the first set in a new generation of communication satellites—and signaled the end of a popular sky-watching phenomenon.
Known as Iridium flares, the brief but dramatically bright flashes are predictable night sky events easily seen with the naked eye, even under heavily light-polluted city skies. The flares are caused by sunlight bouncing off Iridium communication satellites, a constellation of 72 probes launched between 1997 and 2002.
The new Iridium satellites are designed to replace this aging network and offer a much needed upgrade to global satellite telephone capabilities. But the latest models will not produce the same impressive flares, which means the sky show will cease when the updated network is complete in 2018.
Backyard sky-watchers
