USA 193 was nearly 5 minutes earlier than heavens-above's prediction for southern California tonight. Little surprise for 5 day old orbital elements. It passed roughly 1/4 degree north of the star beta Canis Major at Feb. 16 02:35:0.9.2. Timing was relative to GPS time. Observation location 33 49' 1.0" N 117 48' 10.0" W 118m It was fainter than predicted on heavens-above. I could only see it through binoculars, though naked eye limiting magnitude was probably only around 3 or so. We got a very nice view of ISS and Atlantis several minutes earlier. Also while looking out for USA 193, my father saw a flashing object which I never was able to find myself. Our best estimates are that it was about 2 degrees west of Rigel, that it flashed three times, about 2 or 3 seconds between flashes, moving east roughly 1/4 degree between flashes, and no noticeable color. Any idea what that was? ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subscribe/Unsubscribe info, Frequently Asked Questions, SeeSat-L archive: http://www.satobs.org/seesat/seesatindex.html
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