How far apart do the two components of TiPS get? How bright are Ralph and Norton (the two components)? Eric Briggs TiPS consists of two small bodies connected by a 4 km long tether. The lower body is called "Ralph" and has a mass of 37.6 kg, and the upper one is called "Norton" (10.4 kg). I have seen Ralph flash at times to a 5 mag. Norton at times at 8 to 9 mag, at other times not visible. I have been observing with an 8 inch dobs using a 40mm eyepiece for 30x. Tether is easily visible. I would guess the visual angular separation at 45 degree elevation is .15 degree. On an upward pass the tether appears to shrink. Once observed near 80 degree elevation and would guess the separation to be .05 degree or less. At zenith with one sat above the other tether is at zero lenght visually, although I have not been able to track this high. It has an apogee of 1193 km and perigee of 789 km with inclination of 63.4. Info from Heavens Above. With the additional info above will someone provide me with the formula to calculate apparent visual length of tether depending on elevation above horizon and altitude? I think with some time I could figure it out. On the horizon the 2 sats are 4 km apart and x far away with a visual tether angular separation of y... Lat. 39.4707 Lon. -79.3388 Alt. 2753 ft. -4 UTC ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subscribe/Unsubscribe info, Frequently Asked Questions, SeeSat-L archive: http://www.satobs.org/seesat/seesatindex.html
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