Re:New Subscriber--Introduction /Question
Chris Peat (grc@spica.usno.navy.mil)
Mon, 08 Jun 98 11:45:34 -0500
Andy:
I'd betcha dollars to donuts that you saw Iridium 20, which is one of the
"Iridia" which is suffering attitude control problems. It would have followed
Ir 17 by a few seconds, along a virtually identical path.
At the same time last night we had a pass of the docked Mir/Shuttle combo, a bit
over 20 degrees in the northeast. I was "clouded out" for the Iridium flare(s),
but had a great view of the Mir flyby (which I caught on video as it passed by
Altair).
Here are a few other potential candidates, generated with Mike McCants'
excellent QUICKSAT program:
38.922 77.072 200. USNO, Washington, DC 2000 6.0 35 F F T T T
*** 1998 June 7 Sun evening *** Times are PM EDT *** 2128 445
H M S Tim Al Azi C Dir Mag Dys F Hgt Shd Rng EW Phs R A Dec
24870 Iridium 17 17
10 20 1 .0 38 50 66 21.2 4 1 487 307 734 1.0 79 1918 51.1
10 20 33 .0 41 64 76 20.9 4 1 487 269 690 1.0 68 1839 42.2
10 21 4 .0 43 80 C 88 20.7 4 2 487 226 672 1.0 56 18 8 31.7
10 21 36 .0 42 97 100 20.6 4 2 487 178 681 1.0 44 1745 20.6
10 22 7 .0 39 112 111 20.6 4 2 487 126 716 1.0 33 1726 9.8
24871 Iridium 20 13
10 20 7 .0 38 50 66 21.2 4 1 483 303 729 1.0 79 1918 51.0
10 20 39 .0 41 64 76 20.9 4 1 483 265 685 1.0 68 1838 42.2
10 21 10 .0 43 80 C 88 20.7 4 1 484 222 667 1.0 56 18 8 31.7
10 21 41 .0 42 97 100 20.6 4 2 484 175 676 1.0 44 1744 20.5
10 22 12 .0 39 112 111 20.6 4 2 484 124 711 1.0 33 1726 9.8
11586 Cosmos 1141 Rk 7.4 2.4 8.7 3.4 5.0
10 22 37 .0 46 175 349 5.9 4 3 611 264 804 1.2 40 1434 -5.3
10 23 17 .0 57 170 345 5.6 4 3 611 312 707 1.3 45 1441 6.4
10 23 57 .0 71 158 333 5.4 4 3 612 356 642 1.4 54 1451 20.7
10 24 37 .0 81 98 C 273 5.5 4 3 612 396 618 1.4 66 15 5 37.0
10 25 18 .0 72 33 209 5.7 4 3 613 434 640 1.3 78 1528 53.1
11630 Cosmos 1145 Rk 3.8 2.6 6.2 4.0 3.5
10 23 57 .0 45 137 304 3.1 4 7 342 33 465 1.7 27 1617 2.4
10 24 19 .0 51 120 291 3.0 4 7 341 60 430 1.7 36 1638 13.5
10 24 41 .0 54 99 C 272 3.0 4 7 341 85 415 1.7 48 17 4 25.7
10 25 2 .0 52 76 253 3.2 4 7 341 109 423 1.7 60 1739 37.5
10 25 24 .0 47 58 239 3.5 4 7 340 132 453 1.6 72 1822 47.6
10 25 46 .0 40 46 229 3.9 4 7 340 154 500 1.4 82 1913 54.9
BTW, I have a home page dedicated to bright satellites visible over the DC Matro
area, including Iridium flashes. The URL is:
http://www.usno.navy.mil/pao/BRIGHTSAT.html
I update it every Monday morning, and more often when the Shuttle is visible (as
it will be this week...)
Cheers,
Geoff
+=========================================================================+
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| US Naval Observatory |
| (202) 762-1438 3450 Massachusetts Avenue, NW |
| (202) 762-1516 (FAX) Washington, DC 20392 |
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____________________Reply Separator____________________
Subject: New Subscriber--Introduction /Question
Author: <SeeSat-L@cds.plasma.mpe-garching.mpg.de>
Date: 08-Jun-98 11:13 AM
Hi. I am new to the list. My name is Andy Porth age 30, married with 1
daughter age 2 and another kid on the way. I live in the suburbs outside
Washington DC.
I have been interested in Astronomy and especially space exploration for
some time, but only recently have figured out some of the major
constellations. In other words, I am a complete novice. Seeing MIR
numerous times and other satellites in the past got me really interested
in satellite observation. Naturally, the Iridium flares accelerated this
interest. Since I live in very light polluted area, I can only see Mir
and Iridium.
Now my question. ( I don't know if this has been asked because I only
have web access at work, and will not be able to get to it for awhile.)
At approximately 0220 UT June 8, I saw Iridium 17 flare to -6 near Vega.
About 1 or 2 minutes later I saw an object in the same area blinking on
and off. Naturally, I assumed it to be an airplane. However, it
disappeared quickly just like satellites do. What could that have been?
Don't fry the novice. I will probably be a reader only after this.
Curiosity overwhelmed.
Andy Porth
38.50N 77.0828W
tporth@juno.com
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