flasher observations
richard.keen@kingsmarket.com
Wed, 24 Feb 99 16:43:55
Hi all -
I timed three high-flying (geo synch or thereabouts) satellites Sunday
evening local time, or Feb. 21 UT. Here's the Highfly outputs, followed by my
observations, all made with a 32-cm reflector at 100x:
1999 Feb 20/21Sat eve/Sun mornUT
Hr Min Alt Azi Mag Hgt R A Dec Range
23794 Raduga 33 96 10A 12 M 4.0 ELDY 5 M2
3 0 63 295 12.4 20733 3 35.8 45.6 21101
3 30 62 297 12.5 21654 3 59.3 46.9 22056
4 0 61 299 12.5 22238 4 22.0 47.7 22678
20771 BS-3A Yuri 3A 90 77A M 3.5 ELDY 6 M2
4 0 42 160 11.7 22482 7 59.4 -6.4 23631
4 30 42 160 11.6 22483 8 29.0 -6.3 23626
17969 Gorizont 14 87 40A 7.2 M 4.5 ELDY 7 M2
5 0 52 203 12.7 22741 7 5.1 4.2 23457
5 30 53 204 12.6 22749 7 34.5 4.7 23449
23794 = Raduga 33 = 96-10A
03:16-03:50 UTC, mag. 12, fl. mag. 5; fl. mag. 9 at 1/4 and 3/4 cycle. Timed
120 cycles in 2040.5 sec., period = 17.004 +/-0.004 sec.
20771 = BS-3A Yuri 3A = 90-77A
04:01-04:17 UTC, mag. 11-13, fl. mag. 9; fl. mag. 5 two hours earlier, 02:08-
02:15 UTC. Timed 12 cycles in 1046 sec., period = 87.17 +/-0.08 sec.
17969 = Gorizont 14 = 87-40A
05:04-05:41 UTC, mag. 12-14, fl. mag. 5 (visible at 1x); around mag. 11 at
mid-cycle. Timed 26 cycles in 2204 sec., period = 84.77 +/-0.04 sec. This is
embarrasingly consistent with Rob Matson's report on his timing report from 2
days earlier.
Kurt - I've already sent these observations in PPAS format.
Cheers, Rich Keen (richard.keen@kingsmarket.com)
Coal Creek Canyon, Colorado, USA (39.877 N, 105.391 W, elevation 2728m)