Re: Iridium: plane and object
Jim Varney (jamesv@softcom.net)
Thu, 3 Jun 1999 21:01:09 -0700
On 2 Jun 99, Walter Nissen wrote:
> This table is very convenient for observers who wish to know the order of
> passage of objects. E.g., this can be useful in seeking out the edges of
> accuracy in the glint prediction programs. Sometimes glints are brighter
> or fainter than predicted. If you have only 1 or 2 glint predictions and
> you want to know which objects precede or follow, and thus may be readily
> observed, a glance at the table will tell you.
> P00 64 P10 46* P20 32 P30 5 P40 9* P50 39
> P01 65 P11 47 P21 33 P31 6 P41 10* P51 80
> P02 66 P12R 11A P22 57 P32 7 P42 54* P52 17
[snip]
> OIG
> cat # COSPAR McCants previous
> 24792 97-20A D 8 Ir P33
> 24793 97-20B D 7 Ir P32
[snip]
Every once in awhile there's a post in SeeSat that's worth saving to my
hard drive. This is one of them. These two tables are very useful, and I
really like how the first table makes it very easy to visualize how the
different planes are populated. I also like the use of the arrows and the
offset columns to show migrations from plane to plane.
This is wonderful stuff. I hope you'll consider posting updates to the
list as changes to the Iridium constellation warrant.
-- Jim
__________________________________________________________
Jim Varney -121.398 W, 38.457 N, 10m
Member, Sacramento Valley Astronomical Society
Sacramento Iridiums www.softcom.net/users/jamesv/index.htm