Strober: airplane or satellite?

Walter Nissen (dk058@cleveland.Freenet.Edu)
Sat, 29 Jul 1995 14:52:56 -0400

While I was observing the steady light and steady course of 
C* 1908      6.0  2.0  0.0  5.9 
1 18748U 88001A   95200.50608565 +.00000172 +00000-0 +17530-4 0 03024 
2 18748 082.5093 201.1607 0017227 252.6462 107.2873 14.84617757406985 
at 950729 085618 from -81.8637, 41.3735, 256m, it appulsed an object which 
was moving very much slower along a more level path, but generally in the 
same direction as C* 1908, and strobing with a fairly regular period of 
somewhere in the vicinity of 2s.  The closest approach of the two objects 
was about 2 or 3 degrees, roughly.  I calculate C* 1908 at 3h 21.9, +22.9 
(2000.0) at that moment. 
 
NOSS 5 (C)       0.3  0.9  2.4  8.1 
1 14143U 83056  C 95147.07491127  .00000022  00000-0  30324-4 0    05 
2 14143  63.4130  17.4078 0310000   3.9916 356.0084 13.40266233    07 
might have been the object but it was in a steeper course and would have 
had to be a minute early. 
 
I find nothing better in my file of 1000 bright objects.  Could someone 
with a large file of elsets identify the slower object?  I'm interested in 
knowing the result, because I have a suspicion that this may have been a 
distant airplane and would like to know better how to calibrate my 
airplane/satellite discriminator.  (Can anyone who has observed the NOSS 5 
objects, unlike me, report whether they have been observed strobing with 
very brief flashes?  I have not observed the NOSS 2-n clusters flashing). 
 
Thanks. 
 
Cheers. 
 
Walter Nissen             dk058@cleveland.freenet.edu             216-243-4980

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Astronomy is lights in the sky.