At 19:19 26/01/98 -0800, Dale Ireland wrote: > I am betting the design they have will require >binoculars and good eyes like the sputnik does. Dale, this object is meant to be observed by school kids, helping to turn them onto science. Its GOT to be naked eye. A specularly reflecting sphere like Sputnik 40 would indeed be about mag 5.5 at 180miles range. But one square inch of mirror surface at 1000 miles range = mag 2. One of the mirrors is bound to reflect the sun to the observer for every rev. of the satellite, and so i concur with Rob matson's estimates Tony Beresford