> did the math and found that the tether, 19 km long, would represent about > 50 sq. meters or about 540 sq. ft. if it was run back and forth to form a > solid partition. Still, the tether was very slim and it was a long way away, > it didn't seem possible that it could be seen at 200 km without strong > magnification. It does not matter how the line is folded - it still reflects the same (considerable) amount of light ! But contrary to your suggestion, magnification only spreads the light over a larger area, to make surface brightness lower, and the tether harder to detect. But: If you increase magnification 2x, BECAUSE the tether is so thin, it will be reduced to 50%, not 25%. If you at the same time can utilize twice the front aperture, you get 4x the light! (For an ordinary point-like satellite, magnification does not spread the light, so you only have the aperture benefit) In other words, a 40x50 tube is worse than 10x50 binoculars, but 40x200 really helps. ... > My question is, would the the electron sheath produce a visible glow > that could account for a 2.6 mm tether being seen from great distances? > Several persons have noticed that the tether has become dimmer with time. > The original/maximum brightness corresponds well with the computed brightness. So, the main speculation is that the electrical(?) processes have made the surface darker. -- bjorn.gimle@tietotech.se (office) -- -- b_gimle@algonet.se (home) http://www.algonet.se/~b_gimle -- -- COSPAR 5919, MALMA, 59.2576 N, 18.6172 E, 23 m -- ----------------------------------------------------------------- Unsubscribe from SeeSat-L by sending a message with 'unsubscribe' in the SUBJECT to SeeSat-L-request@lists.satellite.eu.org http://www2.satellite.eu.org/seesat/seesatindex.html
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Wed Aug 09 2000 - 04:11:30 PDT