Sadly many people these days take the fact there are satellites up there for granted and do not know or even care that such things are visible so incidents like these are a great opportunity. I frequently observe flares from a location on Wellington waterfront as it is relatively close to work: I can get there quickly afterwards when unable to get home in time to observe from there. (I reported some time ago on a near-simultaneous double flare which I sighted from the waterfront location.) Many people walk by and don't see a thing but I am sure it is going to be necessary to explain why I am staring upwards while everyone else is going about their business lol. Hopefully if I do it may also result in some public interest and not an arrest for suspicious behavior :-) Incidentally there is some talk that our local observatory may relocate to about 1 km from my observing location. Rather interesting because there is considerable glow from the city lights in the area though I find the location I use just gets away from it sufficiently for observation. The ISS also provides a good talking point for encouraging interest- my boss has seen it several times and is very impressed (not impressed enough for a pay rise lol.) This has been useful also because his location has sometimes has better sightings than mine because of less clouds so we have been able to compare notes. Columbia (even though tragic and particularly heart-rending for me as I has watched much of the mission on NASA-TV as well as several observations) also provided an opportunity to "spread the word" and my boss also observed the shuttle on more than one occasion. I have tried to get my son in law and grandson to watch the ISS but seems they are having trouble as they have missed overhead passes- I think their timing is out so the only way they are going to see it is for me to be there with them lol. (As my grandson's best subject is maths and he takes an interest in science who knows what may result!) Launches and dockings are also useful as people can be encouraged to watch them on TV where broadcast or on NASA-TV- also more interesting than talking heads though when the talking head is from NASA it can be worthwhile! Robert Holdsworth Wainuiomata New Zealand Home location 41.2610°S, 174.9470°E Wellington waterfront location referred to above 41.2861° S, 174.7790° E (nice spot to visit as well as reasonable for observing- check it out if you ever visit Wellington!) ----- Original Message ----- From: "Robert Reeves" <reeves10@swbell.net> To: "SeeSat" <SeeSat-L@blackadder.lmsal.com> Sent: Saturday, June 21, 2003 5:01 AM Subject: Re: neighbor sees his 1st flare > Tom, > > An excellent example of how we amateurs are the first line ambassadors for > science and space. It means a lot more to folks when a regular Joe can show > them this stuff instead of a talking head on TV. Thanks for sharing. > > Robert Reeves reeves10@swbell.net > 520 Rittiman Rd. www.robertreeves.com > San Antonio, Texas 78209 210-828-9036 > USA 29.484 98.440 200 meters > > ----------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe from SeeSat-L, send a message with 'unsubscribe' in the SUBJECT to SeeSat-L-request@satobs.org List archived at http://www.satobs.org/seesat/seesatindex.html
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