Hi all, Another interesting observation report from a Heavens-Above visitor. A geosync flasher ? Could someone please help him identify the object. Chris Chris Peat, Heavens-Above GmbH E-mail: chris.peat@heavens-above.com WWW: www.heavens-above.com -----Original Message----- From: Sean Kirby [mailto:sekajeni@bigpond.com] Sent: 29 September 2002 01:48 To: Chris.Peat@heavens-above.com Subject: Unusual object at RA 21hr58.7' Dec 16d52m at 22:59 AEST! Dear Mr Peat, I am trying to establish the nature of an extremely unusual object sighted last night. I work at a small observatory near Laguna in Australia (roughly 151E 33S, elevation ~300 metres) and we received a call last night from a gentleman who claimed to have been looking at an object flashing at 9 second intervals in Delphinus for over the past two hours! Although sceptical, I looked at the area & to my surprise did see an object flash at around 4th magnitude at roughly every 9 seconds. Bringing an SCT LX200 to bear on it, the object to be seen to pulse with low intensity several times between each high intensity pulse but with no apparent pattern - suggestive perhaps of the object tumbling. However, the real surprise it that we first detected it at 22:25hr - well over 4 hours past the local sunset. Clearly then, the object is in an extremely high orbit - a conjecture supported confirmed when I measured it's motion. It was first detected at 22:25hr, with an R.A of 21h 38.1' Dec +17 degrees 16 minutes, measured again at 22:42 with an R.A. of 21h 42' Dec of +17 degrees 04 minutes, and measured again at 22:59 when it had an RA of 21hr 58.7 ' and a Dec of +16 Degrees and 52 minutes. Fast enough to be obviously non-sidereal but clearly way too slow (and late!) for anything in a Low Earth Orbit. We are trying to establish what the object could have been, given an apparently extremely high orbit yet still generating a regular pulse at such a magnitude. The brightness suggests something either very large, or extremely reflective, but I am at a loss as to what it may be. Any suggestions you could offer or references we could examine would be most gratefully received. Kindest regards, Sean Kirby Koolang Observatory - Australia ----------------------------------------------------------------- Unsubscribe from SeeSat-L by sending a message with 'unsubscribe' in the SUBJECT to SeeSat-L-request@lists.satellite.eu.org http://www.satellite.eu.org/seesat/seesatindex.html
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