Possible gamma ray burst
Matson, Robert (ROBERT.D.MATSON@cpmx.saic.com)
Thu, 18 Mar 1999 16:40:34 -0800
Hi Roland,
I did a search for any satellites that might have produced your
glint on 16 March, but came up empty. Nothing in the catalog
(over 8100 objects) was close to the coordinates in question.
However, a number of objects have outdated ephemerides, so
it could still conceivably be a satellite, or piece of satellite
debris. One candidate in this category is #01317 (Early Bird):
Early Bird (Intelsat 1-1)
1 01317U 65028A 98199.37801111 -.00000142 00000-0 10000-3 0 5034
2 01317 13.7516 335.0972 0024251 323.7376 33.1545 1.00177170 24956
These elements are old enough (241 days) that the predicted
position could be off as much as half an hour along-track. Still,
the satellite would also have to have a significant cross-track
shift (a little under 1 degree) to match your observation.
So, the good news is you may indeed have a gamma ray burst. --Rob