Re: Unknown Satellite: 26/3 1005UTC, Melbourne, Aust

Ed Cannon (ecannon@mail.utexas.edu)
Sat, 27 Mar 1999 19:36:23 -0600

Evan Duffield (e.duffield@bigpond.com), on Sun, 28 Mar 1999 00:00:55 +1100,
wrote:

] Unknown Satellite: 26/3 1005UTC, Melbourne, Aust
]
] Observed a bright satellite (mag. 2-3) approx 45 degrees above the NE
] horizon, heading north at this time in Melbourne, Australia (-37.441 lat.,
] +144.9616 long.)....

I'm pretty sure that this was a "minor flare" of Iridium 64 (25287, 
98-21C).  Here's output from Rob Matson's Iridflar (with a guess for your 
altitude above sea level and UTC +10 per GSOC's value for Melbourne):

Site name: Melbourne, Australia
Latitude: -37.44100  Longitude:  144.96160  Altitude:    50.0 m 
Time Zone: UTC +10.0 h

      Local    Local     Iridium          Sun    Flare   Maximum Flare  Ird
Day   Date     Time    Azm El Rnge N I  Azm Elv Mag MMA Latit.  Longit.  #  S
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fri 99- 3-26 20:03:45  054 56  933 A L  256 -20   3  L -38.360  144.026 64
Fri 99- 3-26 20:04:00  046 52  973 A L  256 -20   2  L     79.0 km W    64   
Fri 99- 3-26 20:04:15  040 48 1023 A L  256 -20   4  L -36.750  144.095 64   
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

I'm wondering just a little bit about the time, since your message says 
"Sun, 28 Mar 1999 00:00:55 +1100".
 
Ed Cannon - ecannon@mail.utexas.edu - Austin, Texas, USA