I saw Mir!

From: Walter Nissen (wnissen@freenet.tlh.fl.us)
Date: Mon Apr 02 2001 - 16:14:39 PDT

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                      Farewell to a Faithful Friend
    
    Ok, ok, it's true I'm pulling your leg, with that subject/title.
    
    But I did see Mir.
    
    There can be no doubt that Mir was, for many people and in many ways,
    the most fabulous Earth satellite of them all.
    
    Including us.  We've lost our brightest, most reliable object.
    
    molczan@home.com ("Ted Molczan") writes:
    
    > I made what was likely my final observation of Mir tonight,
    > 2001 Mar 12 at 00:48:46 UTC  ...
    
    > I followed it using mounted 11x80 binoculars, until it disappeared
    > into Earth's shadow.  It became invisible at about 00:50:09
    
    I, too, was watching then; my final opportunity.
    
    It may have been a combination of better eyes, larger aperature, greater
    stability and less light pollution which accounts for you following her
    for more than 6 seconds longer than I.
    
    Just as it makes me feel proud to be a member of the species with the
    pioneering spirit to conceive of, design, launch, assemble and operate
    Mir, I am proud to know that I was watching Mir, with finality, at the
    same time as such a distinguished observer and analyst as yourself.
    
    
                              Update Now
    
    Those of you who only update your elsets every couple weeks or so will
    find now is an excellent time to refresh them.  With the high solar
    activity, satellites passes are coming very early compared to prior
    elsets.  See the earlier discussion about the size of the atmosphere for
    the rationale behind this.
    
    
    Cheers.
    
    Walter Nissen                   wnissen@tfn.net
    -81.8637, 41.3735, 256m elevation
    
    ---
    
    (This is a reprise from a year ago this week.  It may help to know that
    Deutsch "kurz" means English "short", and "kurz" and "Kurtz" both end
    with the sound "ts").
    
    Ralf Kurtz, tech investor, age 28, reflects on a lifetime of investing
    in high tech stocks:  Mistakes?  You won't make mistakes, because tech
    stocks only swoon to recover and exceed their old highs.  The market has
    its own rhythms.  If your stock goes down 10 or 15%, it's time to take
    out a second mortgage on your house and buy more.
    
    
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