ISS and Molniya 3-27 Obs; 14 Mar 99

Ron Lee (ronlee@pcisys.net)
Sun, 14 Mar 1999 18:05:14 GMT

I finally saw ISS last night.  Amazing that it took me this long.  It
was faint in the west (after sunset) but brightened as it moved to the
southeast.  This is certainly going to be a bright object under good
conditions when completed.

Shortly thereafter, I looked for a Molniya (3-27, #16393). I had
planned on finding it well before apogee then try an apogee sighting.
It passed by Regulus at a range of only 19,000 km.   It was rather
faint (12th magnitude) so I did not bother trying at apogee.  A
typical range at apogee may exceed 40,000 km.

I did see one Molniya at apogee a few years ago but do not remember
the object or date...so it is possible in an 8" telescope.  But not
last night with that Molniya!

Ron Lee