Atul Sowani wrote: > > So looks like observing moonlit satellites is a bit tricky. > Nevertheless, I would give it a try. Thanks to you all for > the tips! > Atul/25.Sep.2001 > > On Tue, 25 Sep 2001 11:19 +0200, Bjoern Gimle wrote: > > > In IridFlar documentation Version 2.0 > > ----------- > > > > Lunar flare prediction added to IRIDFLAR. A toggle has been added to > > the Main Menu (S, for Source) to select either the sun or the moon > > as the flare source. For lunar flares, IRIDFLAR requires that the > > sun also be blocked by the earth. (Diffuse solar reflection by > > Iridium is brighter than the brightest lunar specular reflection). > > You will need binoculars or a telescope to see lunar flares. > > > > (Source=Moon in the .cfg file) Belated reply: yes it can be tricky. If you see an Iridium flare, that's a flare to mag 8 or so. In a small scope like a 4", it's visible for about 1 sec, during which it moves about 1 degree. So you need to know just where to look. What to do: get Rob Matson's iridflar program which predicts lunar flares. Set it to predict all flares brighter than mag 13 for the next month or so. If it predicts a flare at mag 13, then adjust the longitude to find where the flare is brightest & drive there. See where the flare occurs in the sky e.g. az 267 degrees elevation 35 deg. Use your favorite planetarium program to see where that is in the starfield, e.g. 2 degrees N of a particular bright star. Ahead of time, point the scope in the right direction & wait. Using this approach, I've seen 1, Ron Lee has seen several. Look at the SeeSat-L archives. Good luck! Mark ----------------------------------------------------------------- Unsubscribe from SeeSat-L by sending a message with 'unsubscribe' in the SUBJECT to SeeSat-L-request@lists.satellite.eu.org http://www.satellite.eu.org/seesat/seesatindex.html
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