Re: Richard's mystery GEO satellite near Cone Nebula

From: Richard Crisp (rdcrisp@earthlink.net)
Date: Wed Mar 16 2005 - 18:59:29 EST

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    ----- Original Message ----- 
    From: "Matson, Robert" <ROBERT.D.MATSON@saic.com>
    To: <b_gimle@algonet.se>; <rdcrisp@earthlink.net>
    Cc: <bjorn.gimle@tietoenator.com>; "'Seesat-L'" <SeeSat-L@satobs.org>
    Sent: Wednesday, March 16, 2005 2:49 PM
    Subject: Richard's mystery GEO satellite near Cone Nebula
    
    
    >> Though Rob is an expert I tend to disagree.
    >
    > Bjorn is being kind here -- I'm definitely out of practice!  ;-)
    >
    >> My image shows the track of 76-4A inclined 3.9 degrees to the
    >> declination grid (+10 runs just below the glint)  The scale
    >> of UNID_314.gif overlaid on iridium_flare_xga_ov.gif is 1.96
    >> degrees (118') over the 805 pixel vertical.
    >
    > I didn't bother to rotate images and do a slope comparison since
    > I thought the match looked reasonably close in time, location and
    > slope.  However, now that I've done so I see that Bjorn is right --
    > the inclination is off by a couple degrees.  While this doesn't
    > seem like a lot, it is enough to rule out 76-4A as a match.
    >
    > Symphonie 2 was on a parallel track, so it's not a good
    > match for the same reasons.
    >
    > Ekran 8 and OPS 9442 were closer to the correct location in
    > cross track (and on more nearly east-west trajectories), but
    > their intrack positions are poor and the slopes are actually
    > too far the other way (too horizontal).
    >
    > Nearby Kiku 2 (ETS 2) looks to be close to the correct slope, but
    > shifted well to the east.  Bottom line is that none of these
    > is a solid match.
    >
    > Two possibilities to consider:
    >
    > Are the observer coordinates correct and/or can they be provided
    > to greater accuracy?
    
    
    I live in Castro Valley, California. I imaged from my backyard.
    
    
    >
    > Are the reported UTC date and time absolutely certain?
    
    Certain on the day. The time is a function of the timestamp from my laptop. 
    The clock is reasonably close to correct. I am not sure if the timestamp on 
    the FITs file is at the beginning or end of the exposure but I can do an 
    experiment to nail that down.
    
    
    >
    > Finally, answering Richard's questions:
    >
    > "So Bjorn, you say it is 76-4A?  And Rob, you say it is #8585 right?"
    >
    > No, #8585 is the same as 76-4A.  Bjorn didn't identify an alternate
    > candidate (nor can I).  It remains an unknown unless the location, date
    > or time were in error.
    >
    >> We are all pretty sure it is a LEO because of the EW travel, right?
    >
    > No -- I'm very confident that it is a *GEO* because of the EW travel.
    > Could be a glint from a small piece of debris near GEO that isn't in
    > the catalog.  By measuring the RA/Dec of two positions in the track
    > and assuming a GEO orbit, I bet Ted Molczan could generate you a
    > search orbit.  But you'd need to reacquire it soon in order not to
    > lose it.  If successful, it might very well be the dimmest object
    > ever discovered by an amateur!  --Rob
    
    Well that is pretty cool. I wasn't looking to have any records etc. I just 
    thought I had observed an Iridium flash.
    
    I can certainly pin down my Lat Long more accurately. I can also pin down 
    the limits to my time of day capture etc.
    
    I want to thank you guys for all the help. Really do want to thank you. I'll 
    chase down this information and let you know.
    
    rdc
    
    
    
    
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