Anomolously Bright MIR
Wayne T Hally (meteors@eclipse.net)
Sat, 18 Sep 1999 10:52:33 -0400
I was busy inside when I realized a good (55 deg elev) pass of MIR was in
progress (:->).
I ran outside, reading the GSOC printout to get the directions as I ran,
and finally picked it up near culmination, but it was WAY too bright! GSOC
had it as a -0.0 Mag (426 km), but instead, my estimate was Mag -3. It was
a bit difficult to judge precisely, since it was still twilight, and I had
just gotten outside, but I did have Vega overhead (Mag +0.1) to use as a
reference, so I am sure it was at least Mag - 2.5 and could have been as
bright as Mag -3.5.
Any ideas as to why it was so bright? Did someone leave the lights on :->?
Since I got there late, I am unable to say how bright it was prior to
culmination, and there was no flaring or other unsteadiness in the
brightness observed between then and when it slipped below the trees.
Wayne Hally
NJAA
High Bridge, NJ
COORDINATES: 74d 53' 54" West (74.8983) 40d 40' 52" North (40.6810)
ELEVATION: 830 feet (253 Meters)