Meteor or Satellite? A Perseid Mystery Near the Andromeda Galaxy

This post tells the story of an unexpected discovery while attempting to photograph meteors during the Perseid meteor shower. These images were captured on April 13, 2016, around 5:00 a.m. When I reviewed the first photo, I was thrilled — a bright streak appeared exactly where I had hoped to catch a meteor.

The streak seemed to originate near the Perseid radiant and appeared very close to the Andromeda Galaxy (M31). At first glance, it looked like a classic meteor trail.

Andromeda galaxy and meteor-satellite steak during Perseid meteor show April 2016 - photo 2

Camera: Canon EOS 60Da
Lens: EF 16–35mm f/2.8L II USM
Settings: ISO 6400, f/3.5, 90 seconds

While reviewing earlier frames, I noticed something even more surprising — another streak, nearly along the same path. Finding one was exciting. Finding two was extraordinary.

Andromeda galaxy and meteor-satellite steak during Perseid meteor show April 2016 - photo 1

Canon 60Da, EF16-35mm f/2.8L II USM lens, ISO-6400, f/3.5, 120 sec.

However, after closer inspection, something didn’t add up. The two streaks appeared on nearly the same line, but pointed in opposite directions. The exposures were taken only about one second apart.

The probability that this was a single meteor is essentially zero — a meteor would have to be unrealistically slow. The chance of two unrelated meteors following the same path within one second is also extremely small.

To better visualize the geometry, I combined both frames into a single composite image.

Combined image showing two opposite-direction streaks near Andromeda Galaxy

Probability that this is one meteor I think about zero. Difference between these two photos about one second and in this case meteor would be very slow. Probability that there are two meteors also very small. Definitely such situation would look very strange.


After that I googled if somebody had before such photos and can explain it. Immediately got idea that it can be Iridium satellite. When I asked this question on  astronomy forum http://www.astronomyforum.net/ and immediately received recommendation to check http://www.heavens-above.com/ website for Iridium satellites at this time. Actually it was one at about this time!,  but orbit was projected to Orion constellation from my location.

Predicted Iridium satellite pass with flare timing and sky path from Heavens-Above

So continue to search if this is bright satellite. Havens-above web site also have this data. There were a lot of satellite so I got problem with calibration of EXIF DateTimeOriginal values the photos. I did couple of photos of computer time and http://www.time.gov/ time and compare with DateTimeOriginal. Difference about 1 hour (58 min) looks like camera not using summer time. After that I founded two satellites which most close to this time and orbit.

Predicted IRS-P2 rocket body trajectory with timing from Heavens-Above

Predicted Cosmos 2292 satellite path with timing from Heavens-Above

One actually was in opposite direction (IRS-P2 Rocket) other in right direction and really on very close line and right direction (Cosmos 2292). But my calculation time is 4:57 a.m. - difference about 3 minutes. Probably camera clock not stable or not using start time or it can be other not so bright satellite or something other. Could not prove that these sky steaks is satellite but I believe it is most probable explanation. I added link in my blog to  http://www.heavens-above.com/   website – really amazing and very useful data. Hope my story was interesting and help other in such situation

Comparison with Real Meteors from My Astrophotography

To avoid speculation, I compared the streaks in this post with confirmed meteor captures from my own astrophotography archive. These reference images were taken years apart, using similar long-exposure techniques, and show how real meteors appear in photographs.

During the Perseid meteor shower on August 11, 2013, I captured a bright meteor displaying the classic signature: a short, tapered streak with uneven brightness along its path, clearly pointing away from the radiant.

Another confirmed example comes from Cherry Springs State Park, Pennsylvania, where a single meteor was recorded. That image shows the same typical meteor characteristics — a brief, asymmetric trail with rapidly changing brightness that does not repeat in subsequent frames.

In contrast, the streaks analyzed in this post are straight, uniform in brightness, and appear along the same trajectory in multiple exposures — behavior that is characteristic of artificial satellites rather than meteors.