Re: Unknown Object

From: Alan Pickup (alan@wingar.demon.co.uk)
Date: Wed Apr 19 2000 - 11:46:32 PDT

  • Next message: Alan Pickup: "Decay watch: 2000 Apr 19"

    Mike Bevan <mike@bevan20.freeserve.co.uk> writes
    >...
    >As a naked eye observer only I tend to observe in the evenings and night
    >only.
    >Unusually I happened to be up at 04:55 BST (UTC+1) this morning and observed
    >Mir passing from SW to Elev.59° SSE to E a brilliant sight.
    >However at 05:08 I caught sight of another object travelling approx. WNW to
    >Elev.80°N to E (approximately) at about mag. 2 flaring to 0. Very quick 3-4
    >mins. to complete the arc.
    >To me it was obviously a satellite which was slowly rotating.
    >I cannot find any satellite in Mcants alldat element files nor on the
    >Heavens-above pages to match.
    >Can anybody throw any light on this sighting.
    
    Very probably the decaying Proton rocket that launched SESat late on the
    17th UTC. I show it passing from W to E, reaching 75 deg in the N for
    you at 04:07:35 UTC at a height of only 180 km. The published elset for
    that rev is:
    SESat Proton r                                   169 x 162 km
    1 26244U 00019B   00110.15537356  .06889041  12433-4  48572-3 0   190
    2 26244  51.6390 165.2111 0004994 290.2644  69.7745 16.40208846   214
    It decayed late this afternoon, UK time - I be following up with a Decay
    Watch note a s a p.
    
    Alan
    -- 
     Alan Pickup | COSPAR 2707:  55d53m48.7s N  3d11m51.2s W   156m asl
     Edinburgh   | Tel: +44 (0)131 477 9144     Fax: +44 (0)870 0520750
     Scotland    | SatEvo page:   http://www.wingar.demon.co.uk/satevo/
    
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