Paul Floyd asked about the easiest way of predicting Molniya (or any other satellite that isn't listed in the standard HA set for the observer's location). Like a few on this list, I use Orbitron, which is a free download from http://www.stoff.pl/downloads.php. After configuring Orbitron for your location, you can run a Molniya prediction with these steps: 1 Click on 'Autoupdate TLE', to load the latest elsets. 2 Click on 'Load TLE' 3 Double click on 'Molniya.txt' 4 Right click on the list of Molniyas and click 'Track All' 5 Click 'Prediction Setup' (tabbed dialogue box) 6 Find the check boxes in the group 'Search passes for' and select 'All'. Ensure 'Ignore if magnitude is unknown' is selected. 7 Click 'Prediction' (tabbed dialogue box). 8 Click 'Predict' command button Cheers Bill Frost, Canberra, Australia If you elect to save to a text file, output looks like this: Satellite passes / Orbitron 3.71 / www.stoff.pl Location : Gordon, ACT (home) (149.0872° E, 35.4483° S) Time zone : UTC +10:00 Search period : 2006-06-15 14:36:14 - 3 days 2006-06-18 14:36:14 Conditions : Maximum sun elevation = -5 deg Minimum sat elevation = 10 deg Illumination required Time Satellite Azm Elv Mag Range S.Azm S.Elv -------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2006-06-15 18:08:00 MOLNIYA 1-87 294.0 68.6 ? 5936 288.8 -14.0 2006-06-15 18:34:43 MOLNIYA 3-39 122.1 42.6 ? 3086 285.4 -19.2 2006-06-15 19:28:12 MOLNIYA 1-91 216.3 10.2 ? 3728 278.7 -29.9 2006-06-16 00:45:48 MOLNIYA 3-46 9.4 38.2 ? 10202 140.5 -74.9 2006-06-16 02:43:08 MOLNIYA 3-43 56.8 26.7 ? 4125 98.4 -53.6 2006-06-16 05:21:16 MOLNIYA 1-87 67.8 31.6 ? 5918 76.1 -21.6 2006-06-16 18:03:05 MOLNIYA 1-87 294.0 68.8 ? 5924 289.5 -13.1 2006-06-16 18:31:32 MOLNIYA 3-39 122.0 43.2 ? 3075 285.9 -18.6 2006-06-16 19:23:32 MOLNIYA 1-91 216.4 10.2 ? 3729 279.4 -28.9 2006-06-17 00:39:04 MOLNIYA 3-46 10.7 37.7 ? 10351 145.7 -75.8 2006-06-17 01:07:03 MOLNIYA 1-84 298.6 11.6 ? 11422 127.4 -71.8 2006-06-17 02:37:58 MOLNIYA 3-43 56.8 26.5 ? 4145 99.4 -54.7 2006-06-17 05:16:21 MOLNIYA 1-87 67.8 31.4 ? 5935 76.7 -22.7 2006-06-17 17:58:11 MOLNIYA 1-87 294.1 69.1 ? 5915 290.2 -12.1 2006-06-17 18:28:20 MOLNIYA 3-39 122.0 43.7 ? 3064 286.4 -17.9 2006-06-17 19:18:52 MOLNIYA 1-91 216.4 10.3 ? 3729 280.0 -27.9 2006-06-18 00:12:59 MOLNIYA 1-84 302.3 20.8 ? 9196 170.8 -77.8 2006-06-18 00:32:18 MOLNIYA 3-46 12.0 37.2 ? 10489 151.6 -76.5 2006-06-18 02:32:49 MOLNIYA 3-43 56.8 26.3 ? 4164 100.4 -55.8 2006-06-18 05:11:28 MOLNIYA 1-87 67.9 31.3 ? 5947 77.3 -23.7 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subscribe/Unsubscribe info, Frequently Asked Questions, SeeSat-L archive: http://www.satobs.org/seesat/seesatindex.html
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