UnIDs identified

Walter Nissen (dk058@cleveland.Freenet.Edu)
Sat, 5 Aug 1995 04:49:36 -0400

Bjoern Gimle writes: 
 
> I have your observation at az. 96.7, el. 43.2 
> My best candidate is culminating at 100.4, 43.9 at 08:56:25, 
> angle 88 (103 for C.1908), passing 0.5 degrees above the point 
> 2 seconds after C.1908, at a speed of 41% of C.1908's : 
 
> NOAA 3 Delta fragment DC, 2.0 sq.m. Magnitude +9.2 (SkyMap) 
> 1  7138U 73086DC  95191.90491311 -.00000035 +00000-0 +10000-3 0 08358 
> 2  7138 102.5374 163.6245 0054349 328.8599 030.9248 12.31793302974837 
 
> #07857 ran 2 degrees above DMSP at 119 % speed, in parallell. 
> Magnitude +4.3 (SkyMap). I can't find a second object. 
 
> Landsat 1 Delta fragment AD, 9 sq.m 
> 1  7857U 72058AD  95192.17802737 +.00000098 +00000-0 +30857-4 0 04382 
> 2  7857 098.4489 260.2684 0145453 142.4917 218.6536 14.54721471062330 
 
Rainer Kracht writes (despite e-mail difficulties): 
 
> This strober was a satellite: 
 
> DELTA 1 DEB                           rcs = 2.0 
> 1  7138U 73086DC  95193.93528363 -.00000035 +00000-0 +10000-3 0 0816 
> 2  7138 102.5381 165.6820 0054327 325.3028 034.4492 12.3179339197508 
 
> From my experience in identifying unknown satellites, I'm quite sure 
> that you saw 73-86DC, but the last word remains for you, the observer. 
 
Thanks much to both of you for identifying these two.  The motion of each 
very satisfactorily matches my recollection and my record.  Pretty 
blinkin' bright (must have been at least mag 6 or so) for a "DC" and an 
"AD" fragment!  Allen Thomson's thesis that anything beyond "K" can be 
"ignored" is very strong, but I guess it was never intended to be perfect 
(Newton got corrected by that upstart Einstein). 
 
Cheers. 
 
Walter Nissen             dk058@cleveland.freenet.edu             216-243-4980

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A parent is a terrible thing to waste.