On Sunday evening I observed a violet appearing satellite. A portion of the track was captured with a DSLR and can be seen here. http://www.flickr.com/photos/52513173@N03/ I also observed this object through binoculars and verified the violet appearance; this was not a digital camera color mapping error. Note that the color saturation is stronger in the image than seen by direct observation most likely due to a “VIVID” camera optimization setting. I have not been able to identify this satellite; perhaps others have seen this colored satellite before and can make a rapid identification. The violet appearing satellite was captured on August 8, 2010 in North Central Colorado near Estes Park (Lat.=N40.27941 Long.=W105.35824 Elev.=2073m). I did not see the initial portion of the track so I cannot provide a maximum elevation and bearing. I am in the process of matching the star field but do not have any results to share at this time. What I do know accurately is the starting time for the photographed track. The shutter opened at 2314.03 +/- 5 seconds local time (MDT = GMT-0600) by a GPS disciplined clock. The satellite continued out of the frame before the 30 sec shutter time elapsed but I expect that it would end at a N or NNE bearing. The approx. camera direction was 330 degrees (i.e. NNW) with an elevation angle between 20 and 40 degrees. Captured with a Nikon D70, 35mm 1:2 lens, 30 sec exposure, and long exp NR=OFF (bat low). I could not find any discussion of violet satellites on the SATOBS.org site. Can anyone explain the unusual color? I recall a recent discussion about red satellites so I hope this observation is not too far off topic. Thank you in advance for any thoughts anyone has to share. Chris Zietkiewicz _______________________________________________ Seesat-l mailing list http://mailman.satobs.org/mailman/listinfo/seesat-l
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