Help identify an unknown airborne object In the wee hours of the morning of last Saturday (July 30, 2016), while out stargazing, I saw something odd which I am unable to explain.


The object was traveling with a bearing of about 5-20° east of straight south.
The object flew nearly straight overhead, somewhat near the star Vega, sometime between 1:10-1:30AM local time (6:10-6:30AM GMT).  I was stargazing at the latitude and longitude 44.795614 N, 94.377516 W (https://goo.gl/maps/FB4yDsR8GYv).
The object was moving at a speed similar to an airplane.
The object's light blinked 3-4 times, but at a seemingly lower frequency than a typical airplane.  Also, while planes typically have a very short duration flash, this object had much longer flashes (1-2 seconds, probably), with the light being lit for about the same proportion of time as it was unlit.
I did not hear any propeller sounds, indicating that either that the object was relatively far away or that this was not a plane/helicopter.
The light also seemed brighter than a typical airplane's light, although I can't be entirely sure.  It was certainly brighter than every star in the sky.
After the 3-4 blinks, there were no more blinks (and this is on a wonderfully clear night; it's not possible that it was obscured by clouds, as I could still see the stars along the path it was flying)


From all this information, I am able to deduce that it was not a satellite, as satellites don't blink like this.  It is presumably not a typical commercial or private flight, even though there is a small airport roughly 4.5 miles north of where I was, because the lights stopped blinking, and that is presumably prohibited in nighttime flights.  I have not heard of any plane crashes nearby, which I expect I would have, had this been a plane that went down in flight.

Any ideas what I might have seen?
My best guess is you saw a high altitude aircraft flashing its landing lights.

Landing lights serve a number of purposes. Besides illuminating the landing surface, they can also be used to signal other planes as they are so bright. To experience how bright they are, stand near the approach or departure path of a busy airport at night.

The reason for the pilots flashing the landing lights in your scenario is unknown. It could be signaling another plane on a potential collision course, or just a way of saying hello to other traffic (hey, cruising a commercial airliner is kinda bored, huh?).

Without any visual reference, judging distances on a nighty sky can be tricky. Flashing a light is a convenient way of saying "hey I'm here!" to other planes. It is likely that your judgment of the flying object's distance was also impaired by the night environment. The only reliable observation I would pick is that you did not hear any sound, which suggests the object was very far away.