Iridium Flare!

It is fun to watch bright satellites, especially the super bright and super fleeting ones known as Iridium flares. Last night might have been the brightest Iridium flare I've ever seen. It checked in at magnitude -7 and here's how it looked shooting across the stars of Hercules:

Canon T3i, 18mm, ISO 1600, f/5.6, 30 sec - cropped from the full frame

I use CalSky to get my satellite predictions. The free service provides lots of details, including not only where and when to look in the sky from your location, but also where to go to get the best possible view of the event.

I was a mere 2.8 km from the center line, best view of this Iridium flare. If I had set up there it would have been 0.3 magnitudes brighter, not enough to make me move from the convenience of my back yard. The view from there was certainly good enough.