vanguard

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 With the 40th anniversary of the launch of Vanguard 1 approaching,
here's a list of my observations of Vanguard objects as a guide for you
space archaeologists who wish to find these "orbiting antiques". 
Here's the Quicksat output for these objects (I used a Quicksat
standard magnitude of 10.3 for Vanguard 1), along with my observed
magnitudes.
 VANGUARD
 UT Date   H M Al AziC  Mag   R A  Dec  Name    Obs. Mag.
 95/10/20 0121 43 185C  8.4  19:57-6.8  Vang1Rk 10
 95/10/20 0204 64 197C 13.2  20:2514.6  Vang1   11-14
 95/12/27 0255 50 155C 13.2  3:17 +2.1  Vang1   fl 12
 96/1/12  0232 73 190C 13.5  2:41 22.5  Vang1   fl 10
 96/1/15  0349 54 208C 13.6  3:19  6.6  Vang1   fl 11
 96/1/15  0354 50 244  10.2  2:01 16.1  Vang3   10
 96/4/6   0326 74 189C 13.7  9:13 24.1  Vang1   12-13
 All obs. were made with 12-inch (32.cm) reflector, usually at 63x
magnification.  "fl" means the object flashed briefly to that magnitude
as it zipped through the field of view.  My experience is that I fail
to see Vanguard 1 more than half the times I look for it, presumably
because the reflection off its spherical body is fainter than 13th
magnitude, and that it requires a reflection off its tiny solar panels
to reach 10th to 12th magnitude.
 For those of us who remember the first Vanguard's short and fiery
journey at Cape Canaveral, the successful launch of Vanguard 1 three
months later, and Nikita Khrushchev holding up a grapefruit in mocking
comparison, it is a real thrill to see this little object.  I made a
model of Vanguard 1 when I was in grade school, using a coconut shell
from a Cuban castanet, some tubes from a burnt-out radio, soda straws,
mirrors stolen from my sister's doll case, and aluminum foil.
 And don't forget Vanguard 1's major discoveries, mentioned in other
messages posted to Seesat.
 Vanguard 1 is making favorable evening passes for those of us in the
northern hemisphere.  Here's current TLE's:
 Vanguard 1       0.2  0.0  0.0 10.3 v
 1 00005U 58002B   98063.31977434 -.00000054  00000-0 -62094-4 0  2555
 2 00005  34.2388  63.5477 1861503 141.3793 233.5850 10.81865725321969
 Cheers, Rich Keen
 Coal Creek Canyon, Colorado, USA (39.877 N, 105.391 W, elevation
2728m)
 

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