Western US observers may have their best chance of finding the Interball probe, and its companion, Magion 4, on Thursday evening, Aug.17. These excentric (eccentric?) objects sweep through perigee at about 35S, and may be seen at a range of about 6000km from Southern California, where they will be at almost constant distance while they climb from 20 degrees elevation in SW to 50 degrees in WSW, maintaining their maximum brightness. Magion will pass this region between 04:51 and 04:57 UTC Aug.18 ( 21:51-21:57 PDT Aug.17 ), Interball between 05:37 and 05:44 UTC ( 22:37-22:44 PDT Aug.17 ). At maximum elevation, they will about 10000 km away, and six hours later, continously above horizon, they reach another culmination, at 63 deg. elevation in NNW at 80000 km range ! The PKM is about 6 hours ahead of the payloads already, passing over Guyana and the Atlantic, possibly visible from eastern US and Europe, in telescopes. Note: this elset is old ! The next approach, on Aug.21, should be visible from eastern US, and Aug. 25 from southern Europe. Next US occasion, on Sep. 05, will be slightly earlier. I do not know the sizes or visual magnitudes, but earlier Magions were merely 0.3x0.3x0.2 in Molczan files, and 7.5 intrinsic mag. in Mike McGants' QuickSat, and may reach mag. 11 on these passes? Interball, 23632, 95 39 A 1 23632U 95039A 95222.61896790 -.00000158 00000-0 00000+0 0 61 2 23632 62.4900 261.0150 9281119 314.1620 358.2420 0.26364502 15 Interball PKM?, 23635, 95 39 D 1 23635U 95039D 95222.54841510 -.00000133 00000-0 00000+0 0 47 2 23635 62.5430 261.1120 9272251 314.0610 359.8460 0.26922002 16 Magion 4, 23646, 95 39 F 1 23646U 95039F 95215.39236111 .00000278 00000-0 00000+0 0 15 2 23646 63.2654 259.9492 9304461 314.4137 33.0930 0.26401563 04 ============================================================ == bjorn.gimle@online.dextel.se ; 59.22371 N, 18.22857 E == ==(Bjorn_gimle@lector.kth.se)==(bjorn.gimle@duesenberg.se)== ============================================================ ************ Sent via DN Online (Sweden) UUCP Gateway **************