Bright Passes
J. Donald Gardner (fn470@cleveland.Freenet.Edu)
Mon, 15 Dec 1997 23:39:28 -0500 (EST)
Observed 2 bright passes this evening using the following elsets:
COSMOS 2348 418 x 403
1 25088U 97079A 97346.25934890 .00030917 00000-0 51022-3 0 112
2 25088 65.0252 212.2992 0011355 268.1103 91.8628 15.52080461 464
[Kosmos 2347???]
USA 133 18.0 4.5 0.0 3.6 v 676 x 670
1 25017U 97064A 97337.19000526 .00000120 00000-0 21644-4 0 00
2 25017 57.0100 2.7988 0004000 100.6334 259.3665 14.66179435 07
[Definately not the COSPAR 90103D that OIG continues to list.
The latest set =
1 25017U 90103D 97334.38665906 .00079636 -30957-6 38009-3 0 16
2 25017 34.5124 28.6818 3942148 277.6608 40.4643 7.71857302 30033 ]
25017 reached about a 2.5 mag as it passed over Deneb (about 70 deg
above the horizon) and remained at that brightness until it was lower
than epsilon-Cassiopeia (about 50 deg above the horizon). It was
silghtly dimmer than Polaris but not by much.
25088 was about a minute late - passing over alpha-Aur at about 17:57 EST
(22:57 UTC). It was about a 1-1.5 mag - easily brighter than Polaris.
Cheers.
--
Don Gardner
Homepage - http://www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/9787/
76.8419 W, 39.1796 N, 37m ASL