Observed all three KeyHoles on Mar.23 ?
Bjoern Gimle (bjorn@tt-tech.se)
Tue, 24 Mar 1998 11:30:09 +0100
Thanks to the Russell Eberst observations 980317:
9208301 211952.86 200253+480330 6.5 6.5 0 S
9208301 212006.83 201814+463755 6.7 6.7 0 S
I could easily find USA 86 near the predicted time and position,
after adjusting B* and ndot2 to match his obs.
My preliminary obs are:
9208301 205132.0 025030+5108 4 4 S
9208301 205143.2 022200+5010 4 4 S
9208301 205145.3 021730+5000 4 4 S
Earlier, at 19:07 UT, I verified the pass of USA 129.
This is now near MM=14.83, and should be due for a major reboost any
day or week. It ought to be observed daily !
likely offset from the USA 129 pass time. At about 21:49 UT, I saw
an object matching the speed and brightness of USA 116, on a track
parallell to the prediction. No other object in molczan.tle, above
mag.+7 and within +/- 3 min, matched this track.
To match the track with a simple extrapolation from the Sep.1997
elset, I had to increase RAAN by about a degree. I set MM to match
the current value for USA 129, though it is more likely .002 above
or below it - and due for a reboost when USA 129 is raised.
9506601 214827.6 191800+5200 1 1
9506601 214854.8 201200+5350 4 4
9506601 214922.5 210840+5332 4 4
9506601 214934.5 212830+5254 4 4
The first two points do not have a good reference star ID.
Two chance observations: One at 20:08, mag.+4 steady, moving in 45
seconds from near del UMa to eta Dra - possible ID is Cosmos 1842;
one moving 6.5 degrees straight down (or 190 degrees) through Lyra
at 21:20:40-21:21:25, mag.+6
Remarkable about the Keyholes are that all three flared or glinted !
I went out very late for USA 129, and saw immediately three flashes
around mag.-1, separated by 8 seconds, near culmination. 18 seconds
later there was a small brightening, about one magnitude.
USA 86 had a single flare near phi Per at mag.+0.
When I detected USA 116 (?) in binoculars, it was fading from about +1.
USA 129 15.0 3.0 0.0 5.1 v 979 x 265
1 24680U 96072 A 98070.83701467 .00022000 00000-0 21865-3 0 06
2 24680 97.8430 132.1314 0510000 154.5534 205.4465 14.82197530 07
USA 116 15.0 3.0 0.0 5.1 v 986 x 255
1 23728U 95 66 A 98082.89686557 .00022000 00000-0 21865-3 0 34
2 23728 97.8755 195.3942 0522345 331.0949 26.2224 14.82729204 35115
USA 86 15.0 3.0 0.0 5.1 v 1010 x 409
1 22251U 92 83 A 97265.84784039 .00001180 00000-0 78400-4 0 02
2 22251 97.7722 349.4000 0423996 241.2649 118.7349 14.54976309 00
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