Molniya 3-42 again

From: Ed Cannon (ecannon@mail.utexas.edu)
Date: Mon Dec 31 2001 - 02:34:54 EST

  • Next message: Leo Barhorst: "Obs Dec 31"

    Thought I somehow missed Molniya 3-42 (22178) several 
    nights ago, but it's still flashing brightly, though 
    it's about two hours earlier in the evening now.  Its 
    flash period continues to accelerate, so I've included 
    a couple of earlier timings for comparison:
    
    92- 67 A 01-12-30 01:52:23   EC  463.1 0.3  20 23.16  +3.5->inv, 2ndaries
    92- 67 A 01-12-29 01:57:24   EC  486.8 0.3  21 23.18  +3.5->inv, 2ndaries
    92- 67 A 01-12-01 03:48:52   EC  482.3 0.3  20 24.11  +3.0->inv, 2ndaries
    92- 67 A 01-11-25 04:14:09   EC  572.0 0.5  47 12.17  +3.0->inv
    
    It may have been +3.0 -- hard to tell with the moonlight 
    and nearby Christmas lights, porchlights, etc.  For most 
    of the latest two episodes, as before, both full- and 
    half-period maxima were visible (now every 11.58 seconds).  
    With binoculars, I was able to watch it down to pretty 
    low in the sky, flashing between bare tree limbs above my 
    parents' house.  Observing location was San Antonio, Texas 
    -- 29.400N, 98.660W, 180m.
    
    Iridium 911 (97-030G, 24842) has been doing some bright 
    flashes recently -- a couple before culmination, then a 
    couple of minutes later, low in the south, a series of 
    fainter ones that began with a strong negative magnitude 
    flash.
    
    Ed Cannon - ecannon@mail.utexas.edu - Austin, Texas, USA
    
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