On 10/08/2010 05:33, Chris Zietkiewicz wrote: > On Sunday evening I observed a violet appearing satellite. A portion of the > track was captured with a DSLR and can be seen here. > > > > http://www.flickr.com/photos/52513173@N03/ > > > > I also observed this object through binoculars and verified the violet > appearance; this was not a digital camera color mapping error. Note that > the color saturation is stronger in the image than seen by direct > observation most likely due to a "VIVID" camera optimization setting. I > have not been able to identify this satellite; perhaps others have seen this > colored satellite before and can make a rapid identification. > > > > The violet appearing satellite was captured on August 8, 2010 in North > Central Colorado near Estes Park (Lat.=N40.27941 Long.=W105.35824 > Elev.=2073m). I did not see the initial portion of the track so I cannot > provide a maximum elevation and bearing. I am in the process of matching > the star field but do not have any results to share at this time. What I do > know accurately is the starting time for the photographed track. The > shutter opened at 2314.03 +/- 5 seconds local time (MDT = GMT-0600) by a GPS > disciplined clock. The satellite continued out of the frame before the 30 > sec shutter time elapsed but I expect that it would end at a N or NNE > bearing. The approx. camera direction was 330 degrees (i.e. NNW) with an > elevation angle between 20 and 40 degrees. Captured with a Nikon D70, 35mm > 1:2 lens, 30 sec exposure, and long exp NR=OFF (bat low). > > > > I could not find any discussion of violet satellites on the SATOBS.org site. > Can anyone explain the unusual color? I recall a recent discussion about > red satellites so I hope this observation is not too far off topic. Thank > you in advance for any thoughts anyone has to share. > > > Hi Chris, The image field is in Hercules. Obvious triangle (left centre) is Rho, Pi, and 69 Herculis. Vega at top of picture. A point on track is about R.A. = 16hr, 48 mins, Dec = +46.8 (1950.0). regards Russell _______________________________________________ Seesat-l mailing list http://mailman.satobs.org/mailman/listinfo/seesat-l
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