Brian Webb asked: > Can anyone in the group run some predictions for MUBLCOM > north-south passes for 2004 OCT 18 and 19 for 36.000 > N/123.000 W? I'm trying to determine DART's approximate launch time. Based upon MUBLCOM's latest elements (below), on 2004 Oct 18, at about 18:24:37 UTC, its orbit will be coplanar, southbound, with the above coordinates. DART is likely to be launched near that time. Mublcom 0.2 1.0 0.0 8.9 d 1.94 1 25736U 99026B 04224.23933368 .00000392 00000-0 12526-3 0 3209 2 25736 97.7515 292.5943 0004559 136.0333 224.1241 14.44236097275173 As a result of MUBLCOM's nearly sun-synchronous orbit, the planar launch window will arrive 18 s earlier per day of any delay of launch. NASA's fact sheet states that DART will rendezvous with MUBLCOM within 24 h of launch. A different on-line report adds that afterward, the spacecraft will leave its orbit and burn up during re-entry. I do not know the planned timeline. Their orbital plane will be within a visibility window for observers located well within 40 deg of the N pole, and 50 deg of the S pole. NASA's fact sheet states that DART is nearly 6 ft long and 3 ft in diameter (1.8 m x 0.9 m), from which I estimate a standard magnitude of about 8 (1000 km, 90 deg phase). http://www1.msfc.nasa.gov/NEWSROOM/background/facts/dart.pdf MUBLCOM is much smaller and fainter. Below are observation reports by Ron Lee and Steve Newcomb. Neither observer reported its magnitude, but Ron reported using a telescope, and I believe Steve used one also. http://satobs.org/seesat/May-1999/0269.html http://satobs.org/seesat/Jul-2004/0240.html Ted Molczan ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subscribe/Unsubscribe info, Frequently Asked Questions, SeeSat-L archive: http://www.satobs.org/seesat/seesatindex.html
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