Re: Superbird A flashes from Austin, TX
Ron Lee (ronlee@pcisys.net)
Mon, 17 Feb 1997 08:57:51 -0700 (MST)
>Two "episodes" of bright flashes were observed: the first
>was centered about 02:35UT and the second was centered
>about 03:40UT. (Possible memory error up to 10 minutes?)
>
GREAT!!!! This shows that you are seeing a set of bright
flashes about the same time that I am. Last night I elected
to stop observing after my set of flashes centered at about
2:32:55 UT. Excellent agreement there. By also seeing the
0235 UT set of flashes, you should eliminate a source of
frustration in analyzing the orientation (right Rob?).
>The flashes had a 23.4 second period and there were never significant
>flashes seen at the half-way time of 11.7 seconds.
This remains a significant difference in our obs. I do have
equally bright (or close to it) flashes at 11.7 second intervals.
The 5.8 second set of flashes may have been observed two nights
ago but that is not certain.
>It appears that someone out west has sent us some thin cirrus clouds
>this morning. Even thin cirrus may prevent observations this evening
>since the moon is so bright.
I may be the guilty party. However, last night I observed through
those clouds and had a good session. If you assume that the clouds
cut out the fainter flashes (11.7 sec interval), and that it was
the same on both ends (no guarantee), then I was able to get a
reasonable center time for the bright flashes.
>
>Mike McCants
>mikem@fc.net
Rob Matson,
You will notice that I did not include all flash timings last night.
I am trying to provide essential info in a more compact manner that
still allows folks to analyze this satellite. My question for you
is: What information do you feel is relevant and how much detail
is wanted?
Ron Lee