On Wednesday evening April 1^st at 7:37 pm, the Mad River Valley will be treated to a very bright (-8.3) “Iridium Flare”!   These “flares” are caused when one of the Iridium satellites passes overhead and catches the sun as if it were a mirror and flashes the sunlight down to earth.  This pass will be very interesting because it occurs when the satellite is near the planet Jupiter and will be very easy for everyone to locate.   (see chart below)

On Monday evening April 6^th at 8:44 pm, the MRV will be treated to a pass overhead by the International Space Station. The chart below shows the ground track of the 8:44 – 8:50 pm pass of the ISS over northern New England.