Don observed Gorizont 16 (19397, 88-071A) and Cosmos 2282 (23168, 94-038A) on March 25. I haven't been able to find Cosmos 2282 with my 10x50s the last few opportunities, but I did find Gorizont 16 from BCRC just a few nights ago. However, on Sunday evening (early March 24 local time), from a dark-sky site with near-perfect weather and no moonlight, I couldn't find it. So apparently it fades out at some point during the evening (?). Flashing geosat mystery -- Since January, as the Sun has moved north from near December solstice to March equinox, the DSP USA 39 (20066, 89-046A) has continued to have a peak flash time *here* for a few minutes right around 10:00 PM (local, 4:00 UTC), such that I've been able to see it with my 10x50s a number of times, on very good nights. So, what hypotheses are offered to explain how it can continue to flash at the same time each night? (The latest obs was at the dark-sky site, which is about 100 to 120 km northwest of Austin.) A museum's mock-up of DSP 1 is pictured here: http://www.wpafb.af.mil/museum/space_flight/sf17.htm This fact sheet has an illustration from a different angle: http://www.af.mil/news/factsheets/Defense_Support_Program_Satel.html I think that USA 39 probably is fairly similar in design. Ed Cannon - ecannon@mail.utexas.edu - Austin, Texas, USA ----------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe from SeeSat-L, send a message with 'unsubscribe' in the SUBJECT to SeeSat-L-request@satobs.org List archived at http://www.satobs.org/seesat/seesatindex.html
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