Iridium Flare

Last week Cheryl and I went to Tampa Theater with some friends who told us about the Iridium Flare, a phenomena that occurs when satellites pass over head after dusk and catch the sun at a perfect angle to light up the sky, like the brightest shooting star you've ever seen, lasting for about 10 seconds.

We walked from the theater to a street corner to wait for the Flare, which hopefully would appear in a gap of tall buildings. Because my friend had checked a website to calculate the timing and location of the flare over downtown Tampa (you can get find a calculator for your location here) we were able to do a countdown, which was fun. And the flare showed up right on time, tearing a big flash in the night sky. A few people walked by as we stood there, staring into the sky, but they paid no attention to us. How un-curious can you get?

Pretty cool. The movie was good, too, but I'm sure the memory of that simple flash in the sky will last longer for me.

In other good news, the two nights of frost did not seem to harm our mango or papaya trees, and the Tibouchina seems OK. Maybe the gods are feeling benevolent this week.