Three Satellites

I was very surprised to find that we were to experience not one, but two, Iridium satellite flares, a little over a minute apart and in almost exactly the same part of the sky. I'd always thought the Iridiums were well separated. The only problem was that it was at an ungodly hour of the morning.

And that hour and slow preparation are my excuse for missing the main flaring of Iridium 94 (the centre track) - by a second or two. Not a problem though, as Iridium 23 flared at the much brighter magnitude of -7 just a little later (the lower track). I must admit that the third (top) track was a complete and unexpected bonus, found when I reviewed the photo on the camera. A quick check on the satellites at that time showed that it is the rocket body associated with the 1992 launch of Cosmos 2227. I went back to bed feeling pleased. :)

Two minute exposure with 50mm lens, photo cropped. Satellite information from www.heavens-above.com