Decaying Objects Questions
Ron Lee (ronlee@pcisys.net)
Sun, 16 Mar 1997 07:47:15 -0700 (MST)
>OIG modified
>1 24316U 96054B 97075.22151452 1.29999999 -24605-4 47693-2 0 895
>2 24316 25.2920 85.7328 1985484 273.3537 64.6432 11.93874537 9057
>
I just used the elset provided by Bjoern to see what is visible here
tonight (early 17 Mar). After a low pass at 03:31, I get an error
from Skymap about ndot or drag being too large. I was not able to
use the elsets in STSPLUS due to similar problems.
Granted the object may not be in orbit after 331 UT (17 Mar), but
I would like to observe it again if possible.
Is there another program that will work with elset or should I wait
for an elset with a lower drag term that is acceptable to Skymap?
This is an interesting object. Alan's comment about the object being
lower if earlier ( higher if later ) was right on. Will have to
visualize the orbit to understand the viewing changes. But it
makes future obs of this nature easier to undertake since I will be
able to make adjustments for likely elset uncertainties.
Is the earlier/lower, later/higher adjustment for near apogee objects
a general rule, or might that be reversed under different conditions?
Ron Lee