Re: Iridium 27 observation

Walter Nissen (dk058@cleveland.Freenet.Edu)
Wed, 7 Jan 1998 19:13:32 -0500 (EST)

sidereus@rocketmail.com (franco foresta martin) writes: 
 
> I saw my second Iridium 27 strobe-effect from my 
> house in Rome (+41.867, 12.617, Gmt+1) and I was 
> surprised by the intensity of flashes. Iridflare gave 
> me the following prediction: 
 
Yes, it can be quite a bright flasher, indeed.  On Jan 1, I saw numerous 
regular flashes of about mag 0. 
 
I don't think IRIDFLAR will work for this rogue tumbler, which should be 
observed whenever it is above the horizon.  Can anyone characterize the 
flashing behavior exhibited on a typical pass?  Certainly not the single 
glint of the typical Irdm. 
 
> only three very short, consecutive flashes. The first 
> at 5h43m20s, and the following at 3 sec intervals. 
 
I hope to make a couple of PPAS reports soon confirming this. 
 
Cheers. 
 
Walter Nissen                   dk058@cleveland.freenet.edu 
-81.8637, 41.3735, 256m elevation 
 
P.S.  re: Tiros N.  Yes, this has been seen as a spectacular flasher, 
though I haven't seen it make a good display in a few years, I believe.
Perhaps it has spun up recently??