The VisorSat data set of October 1 from Jay Respler is informative. The very bright, magnitude 1.6, observation of Starlink-1540 occurred just 3 days after the satellite attained the 550 km operational altitude. Its corresponding standard 1000 km magnitude, 2.7, is 3.2 magnitudes brighter than the average for pre-VisorSat satellites at operational altitude. By comparison, Starlinks 1554, 1541, 1561, 1564 and 1514 were observed by Jay 5-6 days after reaching 550 km. Their average standard magnitude, 6.9, is 1.0 fainter than the average for pre-VisorSat satellites. Finally, Starlink 1565 and 1557 were observed 31 days after reaching 550 km. Their average standard magnitude, 8.0, is 2.1 fainter than the average for pre-VisorSat satellites. Overall, these results agree with the trend reported here http://www.satobs.org/seesat/Sep-2020/0050.html. That is, VisorSats appear bright when they reach 550 km and then fade until they are about two magnitudes fainter than pre-VisorSat Starlink satellites. Tony Mallama _______________________________________________ Seesat-l mailing list http://mailman.satobs.org/mailman/listinfo/seesat-lReceived on Sat Oct 03 2020 - 10:21:15 UTC
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