Re: Superbird A, 17 Apr 97 U

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Hi Ron,

You wrote, "Brightest flash at 04:01:19.2 UT (17 Apr 97).  The flash 1.5 revs
earlier at 04:00:44.2 UT was almost as bright."

Excellent!  Your brightest flashes were about a minute and a half after mine. 
This will allow me to refine the rotation axis a bit.  I'm watching it every
night that I can to have the best chance of a handoff to Hawaii (when it gets
dark enough there).  We've been tracking this bird now for 2 months
continuously, and I've got a LOT of data points to show for everyone's
efforts.  They all fall on a nice curve about 20 degrees long, and less than 1
degree wide.  The latest best fit for this curve is a cone centered on RA 17h
01.3m, Dec 15d 07', with a half-angle of 67.3 degrees.  Last night's
observations by you and me will tweak this somewhat.  I should be able to
follow it for at least another week.

> Several flashes appeared to have an orangish tint but the low
> elevation (about 12 degrees) may have been a factor. Note that
> the brightest flashes were not seen with color.

Same thing I saw, though my elevation was 22 degrees, so I think it's safe to
say that the color is real.  I made a point of comparing with Zeta Orionis,
and there was definite color contrast.  But, like you said, for the brightest
flashes the color was white.  --Rob

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