I observed Astro (07006A / 30772) on 2007 May 15 on passes at 01:59 UTC and at 03:39 UTC. I could not see Nextsat (07006C / 30774) on the first pass, due to thick haze. The much brighter Astro was barely visible using 25x100 binocs. By the time of the second pass, the sky had cleared somewhat, and I easily spotted Nextsat, trailing behind Astro by about 0.5 deg, at a range of approx 650 km, which indicates linear separation around 5 km, about the same as last night. I do not know whether or not they maintained this separation in the interim. As in previous observations, Astro was orange-red in colour, and at least 2 mag brighter than Nextsat. Astro briefly flared several mag brighter near 03:39:35 UTC; it took on a blue-white colour during the flare. The following positions are of Astro: 30772 07 006A 2701 G 20070515015939930 17 25 0745390+280099 27 S 30772 07 006A 2701 G 20070515033909040 17 25 0858016+482458 18 S IOD format: http://www.satobs.org/position/IODformat.html Site 2701: 43.68764 N, 79.39243 W, 230 m Ted Molczan ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subscribe/Unsubscribe info, Frequently Asked Questions, SeeSat-L archive: http://www.satobs.org/seesat/seesatindex.html
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