Re: UNID 6/17 3rd update

From: Tony Beresford (dberesford@adam.com.au)
Date: Tue Jun 17 2003 - 23:33:43 EDT

  • Next message: paul: "8305obs 18jun 02h UT"

    At 02:12 18/06/03, chiayk1 wrote:
    >Hi folks:
    >
    >    Same UNID  picked up tonite for the 3rd time and I watched the b/w
    >monitor  from UT 12:16 till 14:50 with DV recording on. Changed tapes
    >twice.
    >
    >    The object generally 'hugged' the Declination  -46 degree  line
    >throughout the 2 hrs 34 minutes of  following. It finally dimming out
    >and disappeared in Norman/Scorpion border.  Magnitudes loss were
    >gradually but  noticeable.  Any explanation for this? Thanks.
    >
    >   Tonight the object returned to 'reference-point' RA earlier than
    >previous night at 20:30:15 ( compare 6/16 (20:38:28) and 6/15(
    >20:49:04).
    YK,
    time and position at 14:50 UT and at 12:16UT would be useful  in
    deciding what this. The scheme of "plotting" on Skymappro seems
    adequate for preliminary work. 
    The identification of this object is still a puzzle.
    It can't be IUE. I note from the RAE tables that the launch inclination( in 1978) of
    IUE was 28.5 degrees. As the latest elset OIG has for it has an inclination of about 40 degrees,
    this suggests to me that  we are perhaps looking for a launch with a 
    a similar age and inclination at launch  and into a geosynchronous orbit.
    The fading you mention suggests increasing range and perhaps shadow entry.
    This suggests the preliminary orbit may not be eccentric enough, another reason for having
    as large an arc as possible , even if the positions are only accurate to 10 arc minutes.
    Of course observations from elsewhere like South africa or China/Japan would be useful.
    As it is winter for both Greg Roberts and myself, with lots of cloud, we have
    difficulty in getting enough observations.
    
    The magnitude of the object is also a problem as somebody has already
    mentioned.
    Tony Beresford
    
    
    
    
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