Hi Patrick, > I've been trying to make accurate timings of satellites for a while, and I > can't figure out how you guys do it. The closest I can get is about two or > three seconds, because I have to look down at my stopwatch and then back up > at the satellite, which takes some time. So my question is, what's your > strategy? Sounds like you may need a more capable stopwatch. The ones that we use for satellite flash timings, etc., store multiple "lap times" -- some as many as 100. This is essential for flash timings or logging multiple position points during a pass. However, if you only need to time one event (e.g. the conjunction of a satellite with a bright star), then my advice is to start your stopwatch a few minutes prior to the expected event, synchronized with an accurate watch on the minute. For example, let's say that your satellite is supposed to nearly occult Vega at 9:33:17pm. Looking at your watch, start your stopwatch when the time is exactly 9:30:00. Then wait for your satellite. At the moment of closest approach to Vega, hit the stop button. Whatever the stopwatch time reads, add that to 9:30:00 to get the exact time of the conjunction. With this technique, you should never have to look at your stopwatch while the satellite is flying over. --Rob ----------------------------------------------------------------- Unsubscribe from SeeSat-L by sending a message with 'unsubscribe' in the SUBJECT to SeeSat-L-request@lists.satellite.eu.org http://www2.satellite.eu.org/seesat/seesatindex.html
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Fri Jun 02 2000 - 16:11:55 PDT