We often get queries about interesting lights occurring in the night sky, so our resident astronomer Jacquie Milner explains some of the possibilities our Western Australian star gazers might be witnessing.

Ms Milner  has 20 years experience as an amateur astronomer and you may already know of her work through our monthly “Sky Tonight” sections.

Ms Milner explains how people often view seemingly strange lights while star gazing, yet there are usually simple explanations of how and why these occur.

“Meteors, satellites and aeroplanes account for most events, with the occasional rocket failure, which can be quite spectacular,” Ms Milner says.

She says often people may see “head-on meteors” which could last a matter of seconds.

“Random meteors, called 'sporadics', can enter the atmosphere from anywhere at any time.”

She also says people often witness airplanes heading toward them which then turn onto another path.

“I live near one of the Perth flight paths and often see the plane lights when they're coming in from the east at night and they can look like stars for several minutes until they get close enough to show movement.

“Most amateurs in Perth know to stop and watch for a while when they see a strange new bright new star low to the horizon and most times it’s just a plane.”

The other possibility is star gazers often witness satellite flares.

“Sometimes satellites can just catch the sunlight at the right angle and send a very intense beam of light down to earth, and it can be location specific,” Ms Milner says. 

“There are a constellation of satellites known as Iridiums that are famous for doing this on a regular basis and you must be in the right place within a kilometre to get the full effect. 

“The easiest website to check for satellites and Iridium satellite flare events is at www.heavens-above.com.”

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ian said:

	... it was still a strange light and I got my first book on astronomy in 1962 and have watched the night sky quite a lot I have 3 telescopes at the moment including the one I got in 1960
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February 02, 2010
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