This morning, using 10x50 binoculars, I saw the newly-launched Aura satellite (28376 04-026A). In a pass going through Cygnus and entering the earth's shadow just past Sagitta it appeared about 4th magnitude with no obvious variation. The derived quicksat "intrinsic magnitude" was 4.1 +/- 0.4 and the "standard" magnitude (using Rob Matson's Skymap) was 5.3 +/- 0.3 . In IOD format ... 28376 04 026A 0000 G 20040716071944000 28 S+043 03 28376 04 026A 0000 G 20040716072032000 28 S+035 02 NB: The station location "0000" is a dummy value; the actual observing position was within a few meters of 40.1075N, W 074.2312, +24 m. Clear and dark skies! Ed Light Lakewood, NJ, USA ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subscribe/Unsubscribe info, Frequently Asked Questions, SeeSat-L archive: http://www.satobs.org/seesat/seesatindex.html
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