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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.

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You should seek out a flare if you can, it's much much brighter than seeing a satellite or the ISS, as impressive as those are.

Hmm, so an Iridium satellite is much brighter than a satellite or the ISS (a satellite). Got it!

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.

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