Last night I finally had a "clear enough" sky, the time, and the incentive to try using my GPSr (r = receiver) in laying down the track of the -8 part of a iridium flare. I made the track as a 1-legged route that came out to be 77 statute miles long. I am posting the information at a geocaching website in a place that they have dubbed, "Tom's Corner." Into the GPSr I first input the data that according to H-A was the place to be to see the –8 flare beginning with a point S of my home. Then I input the same sort of data for a point N of my home. Anyone in my general area can then plug in the two coordinates and make a “route” between them. When I finished my route I took off just in time and drove to the line presented on the map screen. Actually (thanks to Murphy:) the batteries to the unit died when I was about a mile from the line. The flare was easily visible in a bright twilight sky through haze. I plan to keep the "route" in my unit and simply modify the two "waypoints" to set up the track for the best view of future flares. I’ll be making other routes for various ISS encounters as well. Tom Iowa USA + + + P.S. Take a look at Venus. It's in the Pleadies. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subscribe/Unsubscribe info, Frequently Asked Questions, SeeSat-L archive: http://www.satobs.org/seesat/seesatindex.html
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