82-075A Unexpected Flash

SIDNEYMILLER@delphi.com
Fri, 19 Jan 1996 19:12:50 -0500 (EST)

    81-075A #12645 Bulgaria 1300, put on a remarkable show at my 
location of 31.4 N 100.4 W. in Texas.  As I shivered in the cold, 
it went from a dark object to a dim object (45 degree elevation) 
to a bright object (50 degree elevation) to a -4 magnitude 
object, easily my brightest spacecraft observation yet.  It 
dimmed very rapidly and at 65 degrees elevation was invisible at 
magnitude 4.0 or worse.
    Venus was glittering on the southwestern horizon, which made 
this observation all the more remarkable.  
    If anyone else has ever seen 81-075A do this, I'd like to 
hear from them.
              
  Date       Time     Azim   Elev     Alt     Range   Phase 
             local    deg    deg      km       km     degrees
                    
18 Jan 1996 19:01:00 167.76  42.72   803.06  1116.54  95.1
(UTC-6)     19:02:00 149.04  62.06   805.39   898.07 107.8
            19:03:00  72.67  71.24   807.94   846.99 121.5
            19:04:00  30.25  52.32   810.70   989.55 127.5
            19:05:00  20.02  35.76   813.64  1261.21 126.8

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| Sid Miller | sidneymiller@delphi.com | NH6TB |
| POB 89103                                    |
| San Angelo, Texas  76908                     |
| USA                                          |
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