re: transit 24?

> > From the descriptions (near the summer solstice, near midnight, polar
> >orbit, high, bright, _red_) I immediately thought it must be Lacrosse.
 
> Cosmos 1510 is a geodetic satellite with retroreflectors for laser tracking.
 
> It was quite bright, and quite strongly colored... a most memorable satellite.
 
Rainer, congratulations on not putting too much weight on my preliminary
and rather off-hand characterization of the objects dredged up from my
file of elsets.
 
My list of objects seen hasn't surfaced since my move last summer, and not
all my logs are computer-searchable, but I recall having looked for
C* 1510, I would guess repeatably, and not seeing it.
 
So do you, or does anyone, think that Joe saw a reflection of a laser beam
coming off a retroreflector? Or just a sunbeam with some source of
coloring? My understanding of retroreflectors does not encompass a broad
swath of light, one likely to be persistent at a location distant from the
ground station.
 
On another matter recently mentioned here on SeeSat-L, EGP = 16908 =
86-61A is indeed a fantastic object, albeit not totally reliable. Anyone
reading this who is seeking another novel experience might want to try
NOSS 2-1 = 20682 = 90-50B, NOSS 2-2 = 21799 = 91-76C, and/or C* 1953 =
19210 = 88-50A. If you're having trouble getting started, give me a call.
 
Cheers.
 
Walter Nissen dk058_at_cleveland.freenet.edu 216-243-4980

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Astronomy is lights in the sky.