97-15B/24762, Cosmos 2340 SL-6 Rk1 -- I think....
Ed Cannon (ecannon@mail.utexas.edu)
Thu, 15 May 1997 03:47:22 -0500
I believe that I observed 97-15B/24762, Cosmos 2340 SL-6 Rk1 at about
1:42 UT Thursday. I'm somewhat uncertain because this was 22 minutes
before the Quicksat 10-degree twilight time. The elements were one
day old. The culmination was at about 298 km (186 miles). I first
saw the object at one-power (i.e., "naked-eye", except I wear glasses).
It was bright, mag. 0 or 1 (or brighter?). Then I aimed my binoculars
at it and observed very distinct flashes with a period of about 10
seconds (counted, not timed).
Two minutes later I had a prediction for 23405/94-77B, Cosmos 2297 Rk,
at mag. 2.3. It's a flashing object which in quicksat.mag had a period
of 13 sec. in July 1996. Its track was similar to 97-15B, although
94-77B is in an orbit of about 846 km. If I had not had an accurate
clock with me, I would have less confidence that I saw 97-15B rather
than 94-77B. But my clock seems to stay accurate to within about 1/2
second or less per week.
It is possible that 97-15B could have been that bright at 298 km (in
the east, pretty good phase angle)? I hope that someone else will see
it and confirm that it's flashing or not.
Ed Cannon
Austin, Texas, USA
30.3086N, 97.7279W
ecannon@mail.utexas.edu