I was recently forwarded your message: -------------------------------------------------------------------- Subject: Celestis sighting Author: SeeSat-L@cds.plasma.mpe-garching.mpg.de at #internet Date: 5/7/97 22:25 Celestis was visible in 7x50 binoculars on 6 May and 7 May from south Florida. Appeared very soon after emergence from shadow, magnitude est 6.5-7.0, steady, fast moving. J. Maier --------------------------------------------------------------------- I just wanted to make a clarification: the object you are sighting is the spent third stage of the Pegasus flight 15 (MINISAT-01 mission). Made up of the third stage motor and the avionics section, it is approximately 38 inches in diameter and 50 inches long, so it should be revolving around a transverse (minor) axis. The body is mainly graphite epoxite composite with a medium reflectivity and some metallic elements as well as some high-emmissivity thermal blankets covering perhaps 10% of the average observable surface. Attached to this body is the Celestis canister, approximately 6" in diameter and 10" long. Apparently NORAD (or maybe just good Dr. Kelso) is denominating the object "CELESTIS". However, from an observability standpoint, object 24780/97018B should be no different from, say, object 23941/96037B (Pegasus third stage from the TOMS launch). I must admit, however, that there is an additional poetic significance to *this* spent third stage... Antonio Elias