Lights

So one of the nice things about this place I live at is how the lack of nearby lighting offers a great view of the night sky, coupled with a weird acoustic effect many have noticed here, within which you can hear ordinary conversations from literally a mile away if the speakers are outside, at night I can easily hear the train go by the closest town even though the train track is 7 miles away, when DHS practices at their firing range I can hear the guns going off. That range is 19 miles away (pop,pop,pop,pop, etc.).

Ever go out at night and just stand there in the dark in the night air and quietly watch and listen?

Mars sits there South South East at about 11 o'clock as I face to the Weat. Little Dipper at 12 O'clock high. It is 2330 here Hey, if you really know your stuff those three alone put me somewhere in NA up in the Mid Atlantic, nu?

Somewhere in the NW a little while ago there were flashes on the horizon. Bright ones. I start counting. More flashes about 6 seconds later. I know what day it is and that some places do the light show a little early. Clearly that is one such place. I listen carefully. Figure the speed of sound at sea level is 0.211446403 miles per second. A little slower at this altitude. 73 Seconds later I hear the very faint booms and thuds. Figure 15 - 16 miles away. Somewhere between Clearbrook or Inwood I am thinking...

I got invited to 2 July shootenfest & BBQ tomorrow. Toying with it. Friend with a place like mine has invited about 30 folks to bring guns and try out his new shooting range (he just finished the berm last week) and also participate in the BBQ. Girls, music, guns, noise, etc. Thinking of it.. I called the State Police for his state this afternoon and confirmed there would be no legal issues in my bringing some toys to the BBQ. A .22 for the girls of course, but for me? 44, 45? Why not a wussy 380 instead? Decisions, decisions. Someone else is supposedly bringing a Barrett. Weirdly I just happen to have a can that would fit that which has just been sitting around collecting dust.. Unlinked too. Hmmm

Anyway, studying the sky. See a pinprick flash. Very fast like a strobe. I have seen such before, but mostly when staring up through one of my better NVDs. Unusual to see it with a naked eye. 3 seconds later, there it is again. It has moved maybe a half inch. Another 3 seconds, there it is again. I briefly toy with dragging the Meade down from the attic and coupling one of the PVS devices to the Meade so I can get a better look. Nah, too much dusty work and for what? I already know things circle and watch us. I can see it. No one putts a visible strobe on a satellite. Electricity is too precious up there. So it is a glint. What the sky watchers call an Iridium Flare. It is tumbling at a constant rate and every now and then the sun reflects off of it at regular intervals until the angle for me to see it is wrong. I notice a second one far to the West but dimmer. Approximate the azimuth and come in and do some research. Gotta love the Internet where everything is just a few key clicks away.

I now think maybe I was seeing the rocket booster from Cosmos 2333 and maybe SL-16 R/B. The paths are right..