NOSS 2-3 Rk, 16 Nov 1997

Ed Cannon (ecannon@mail.utexas.edu)
Mon, 17 Nov 1997 02:14:22 -0600

Good pass of NOSS 2-3 Rk Sunday morning.  These elements:

NOSS 2-3 r       9.8  3.0  0.0  4.8 v
1 23907U 96029  B 97307.71595203  .00015300  00000-0  19489-3 0    01
2 23907  63.4265 167.4030 0128001 149.5588 210.4412 15.49602768    04

yields these (ex post facto -- so as to get corresponding) Quicksat 
predictions:

 30.321  -97.773  900.   Mt Bonnell, Austin, TX   2000  3.0  5 F F T T T
 
***  1997 Nov  16  Sun morning  *** Times are AM CST  ***  1819  611
 
 H  M  S  Tim Al Azi C Dir  Mag Dys F  Hgt Shd  Rng  EW Phs  R A   Dec
 
23907 NOSS 2-3 Rk    96 29B                       c 2.0 
 5 56 17   .4 46 189   336  1.8  13 7  288 183  390 2.4  83  841 -13.7
 5 57 12   .4 73 120 C 273  1.2  13 7  285 195  297 3.0  92 1010  20.8
 5 57 29   .4 69  78   232  1.3  13 7  284 198  303 2.8  96 1049  32.3

I'm sorry this is a bit rough, but anyway, at 5:56:17 CST (11:56:17 
UTC) it should have been in Cetus, but I observed it in Leo.  It 
"grazed" (hard to split at one power) what I believe was zeta Leo.  
Then at 11:57:29 it went between Mizar and Alkaid (zeta and eta Ursa 
Major), but it was supposed to have been between Leo and Ursa Major.  
So it appears to me it was running 56 to 60 seconds early and a 
little off the predicted track.

I also timed 17 cycles, but unfortunately omitted the minute(s) of the 
timing....  I'm pretty sure, though that it was 1:55.3 (115.3 seconds 
for 17 cycles -- 6.78-second period) and not 2:55.3.  I think I've 
been hearing around Austin recently that its period is about 7 seconds.  
Also, given its low height (456 km/285 miles at culm.), I doubt that I 
was able to observe it for almost 3 minutes....

Ed Cannon
ecannon@mail.utexas.edu
Austin, Texas, USA