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If the weather cooperates, the sky near the North Star will appear to explode tonight as a passing satellite reflects sunlight in a sudden burst.
The Iridium 64 satellite will pass in front of Polaris between 8:08 and 8:09 p.m., generating a bright light just above it.
The satellite has three main antennas — flat, mirrorlike surfaces that can reflect sunlight back to an earthbound observer if the angles are correct. The angles tonight will produce a reflection — or so-called Iridium flare — nearly 100 times brighter than Jupiter.
"It will be fully dark by then, so it should really pop," said Mike Shanahan, planetarium director at the Bishop Museum.
The Iridium satellites are part of a worldwide system for mobile communications operated in low orbit by Iridium Communications.
Jupiter, in the west tonight to the right of the constellation Orion, shines at about a minus 2.1 magnitude. By comparison, the flare will be minus 6.8 on a scale that translates to nearly 100 times brighter.
The flare will fade quickly, so it is important to be looking north at the right time. Opposite the handle of the Big Dipper are two stars that point to the North Star, which at Honolulu’s latitude is 21 degrees above the horizon.
The Iridium 70 satellite produced a similar but fainter flare even closer to Polaris just before 8:15 p.m. Wednesday.
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