Re: A rare Highfly treat
Richard_G_Hines (rghines1@mindspring.com)
Thu, 06 May 1999 14:07:40 -0400
On Tuesday evening, May 5th, I got my first look at an object named CZ-3
Rk, but has catalog # 23944. Therefore is not the same CZ-3 R/B object seen
by Ed Cannon with catalog # 20474. Highfly predicted a magnitude of +5 at a
range of 2500 km. It varied from mag 4 to 6 with an approximate 30 sec
period with a slight yellow color.
CZ-3 Rk
1 23944U 96039B 99119.42118037 +.00010935 +00000-0 +17456-2 0 05397
2 23944 026.7661 110.0829 7285725 005.9571 359.2781 02.28843115020377
Richard
Lexington, SC
------------------------------
At 03:19 AM 5/6/99 -0500, you wrote:
>This object (also known as PRC-26 Rk):
>
>CZ-3 R/B
>1 20474U 90011B 99125.29291101 .00000944 00000-0 10176-2 0 3661
>2 20474 30.3967 82.3930 7072616 68.8076 349.5697 2.51047915 81934
>
>made a rare (I think it's rare!) near-perigee (86 alt, 241 az)
>pass over Austin and certainly reached the Highfly predicted
>+1.5 magnitude as it hurried overhead! Its range was 387 km.
>(Its perigee is 316 km, apogee is 32,666 km, and its latest RCS
>is about 14 m^2.)
>
>I wish I'd have managed to get word to Sue about this one also!
>
>Ed Cannon - ecannon@mail.utexas.edu - Austin, Texas, USA
>
>