Crazy.. I've never seen a satellite flare until a couple of weeks ago. Camping in New Mexico and I decided to sleep out in the open. As I kept waking up in the night worrying about critters, I was watching the stars make their way through the sky. I was surprised at the number of satellites I saw, including one glint which I've never seen before. I had to look up if that was actually a thing.
An Iridium flare can be much brighter than any other satellite including the ISS.
The Iridium satellites are not very bright most of the time - you would be lucky to see one with the naked eye. But when they flare, they can be the brightest thing in the night sky for a few seconds.
