Interball

Bjorn Gimle (bjorn.gimle@online.dextel.se)
17 Aug 1995 09:14:25 GMT

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

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== bjorn.gimle@online.dextel.se ;  59.22371 N, 18.22857 E ==
==(Bjorn_gimle@lector.kth.se)==(bjorn.gimle@duesenberg.se)==
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