The Flashing Stars
For twenty years, a point in the night sky would suddenly blaze brighter than any star for a few seconds, then fade away.
What was reported
From the late 1990s, people across the world reported seeing a light flare up in the night sky, growing in seconds to outshine everything except the Moon, then fading as quickly as it came. Some took them for exploding stars or UFOs.
The flares appeared at predictable times, and soon astronomers were publishing lists of when and where to look.
Explanations offered
They were 'Iridium flares': the first Iridium communications satellites had flat, polished antennas the size of a door, which acted as mirrors and flashed sunlight down to a small patch of ground. As the old satellites were replaced by a new design between 2017 and 2019, the flares disappeared.
- When
- 1997–2019
- Where
- In orbit: the Iridium satellites, seen from everywhere
- Witnesses
- Stargazers around the world
- Status
- Explained
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.