New member intro

Robert (astrobob@twol.com)
Sat, 13 Mar 1999 23:34:28 -0700

  Greetings from the newest member of the satobs community.
  I am a college transfer student (less than a year from transferal to
the University of Colorado at Boulder) majoring in astrophysics.
Unfortunately, I have yet to encounter the most intense courses, so I'm
not yet NASA material--although my classmates seem to think so.
  My first memorable encounter with a satellite was on a mid-summer
night stargazing session, somewhere between '89 & '91. My 10x50's were
directed near zenith when an almost translucent trio of very closely
spaced objects crossed my field of view bearing 180 degrees. The
individual objects were triangularly-shaped and in equilateral formation
(one in lead, two trailing). I was astounded at the sight, especially at
the ghostly appearance of the objects. I'm still not quite sure what
they were, although I'm leaning toward a Whitecloud explanation.
  Nevertheless, I've only recently delved into the more technical aspect
of this pastime. So I'm still a bit naive, and still trying to hammer
down those flash timings! But I suppose everyone must start at the
bottom. Even astrophysicists.

---
Robert Rodriguez Jr.
  40.2716 Lat. / -103.8297 Lon. / 1309.8 m
"Physics is a completely irrational answer to an entirely reasonable
question."