-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 There were two coincidental observations made this evening, which is good as the observer missed the first of two satellites which were desired to be seen (wanted two, saw three). The observer was roughly at 30d8m42.6sN 97d52m43.8sW. Both observations occurred on 19 July 2006 CDT. Heavens Above doesn't list any object above 4.5 magnitude which matches either of these. The first occurred between 22:37:55 and 22:38:20 CDT (0337 and 0338 UTC), within one degree directly below Jupiter. A fast-moving south-bound object was observed. It was between 3.5 and 4.0 magnitude. It was able to be followed for about a quarter-minute until it was obscured by trees at elevation of about 20 degrees. The instrument used was a Bushnell 12x50 binocular, model 13-1250. This was probably a nearly-polar orbit, but insufficient observations exist to determine the exact inclination. :< The second was a naked-eye object of magnitude 2. It was spotted while waiting for Envisat to show up in Bootes. Fifteen seconds prior to the 23:28:00 CDT appearance time for Envisat, the observer noted a vehicle coming up roughly parallel to Mizar A (RA 13:23:55.5 Dec 54:55:31.0) and Benetnasch (RA 13:47:32.40 Dec 49:18:48.0) in Ursa Major, also traveling southward. It was within five degrees of elevation above this line at the time. It disappeared into the Earth's shadow within a few seconds of Envisat coming out, so the two vehicles were at similar altitudes but different inclinations. Can anyone lend a hand on these? Equipment is simple, but includes a WWV-synchronized wristwatch for when the observer has less-surprising events unfold. For the future, what tools are available which would allow determination of likely candidate vehicles? Will I have to write my own? SGP4 looks challenging. 8> John -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: GnuPG v1.4.2.2 (MingW32) Comment: Using GnuPG with Mozilla - http://enigmail.mozdev.org iD8DBQFEvw9pEd1YUJfL25YRAmJUAKCTm1F0Ok0yJYy9Q8LB/U+4sluKxACfd2eq an+q86TL1Wp3klxee8oskK8= =xmf/ -----END PGP SIGNATURE----- ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subscribe/Unsubscribe info, Frequently Asked Questions, SeeSat-L archive: http://www.satobs.org/seesat/seesatindex.html
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