Comstar 2 Rk (76-073B) and Superbird

From: Ed Cannon (ecannon@mail.utexas.edu)
Date: Thu Jun 03 2004 - 05:21:52 EDT

  • Next message: Ted Molczan: "RE: ObsReduce 1.2 released"

    Comstar 2 Rk (76-073B, 09329, a Centaur) -- very asymmetrical. 
    PPAS:
    
    76- 73 B 04-06-03 03:06:34   EC  218.9 1.0   5 43.8   asymm 23.5, 20.3
    
    Superbird A (89-041A, 20040), including RA (2000) at the time
    (UTC) -- it flashes a little bit farther west each night:
    
    2004-06-01 2:53:44.3 to 2:58:46.7 -- RA 16:41.8 to 16:46.8
    2004-06-03 2:55:40.2 to 3:00:42.8 -- RA 16:35.3 to 16:40.3
    
    The brightest maxima are probably +3.5, but that low in the 
    sky, with the moonlight, it really requires binoculars. 
    
    I haven't yet, on this sojourn, managed to see the beginning 
    of the flash episode.  I usually can see flashes for up to 
    seven minutes, when conditions are good enough, when I see 
    the beginning.
    
    Wish I knew when to look for flashes, if visible this time
    around, from Intelsat 512 (85-087A, 16101), TDF 1 (88-098A,
    19621) Tele-X (89-027A, 19919), Telstar 401 (93-077A, 22927)!
    I'm getting predictions for more than 20 flashing geosynchs
    right now (though many/most require a telescope except when
    they're at their brightest, which often is at an unknown 
    time).  
    
    Tonight is an evening off to see a movie with my cousins.
    
    Ed Cannon - ecannon@mail.utexas.edu - Austin, Texas, USA
    http://wnt.cc.utexas.edu/~ecannon/satellite.htm
    
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Subscribe/Unsubscribe info, Frequently Asked Questions, SeeSat-L archive:  
    http://www.satobs.org/seesat/seesatindex.html
    



    This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Thu Jun 03 2004 - 05:28:50 EDT