Observations 01 Mar 2007:
------------------------------------------
Cosatrak 2 (Computerised satellite Tracking System).
MINTRON low light level CCD surveillance camera (0.005 lux typical
in non integration mode) and 0.00005 lux in STARLIGHT mode with 128
frame integration.
Used with 150mm aperture f/5 Celestron reflector on Vixen Super
Polaris equatorial mount used in alt-azimuth configuration and fitted
with stepper motors on azimuth and elevation axis. Integrating for
96 frames which is equivalent to an exposure of 1.92 seconds per image.
Site 0433 : Longitude 18.51294 deg East, Latitude 33.94058 deg S,
Elevation 10 metres - situated in Pinelands (Cape Town), South Africa
For CLASSIFIED.TLE:
-------------------------
90053 05 551A 0433 P 20070301181043900 56 15 0416340+125407 39 +090 05
90053 05 551A 0433 P 20070301181330000 56 15 0418500+125527 39 +090 05
27168 02 001A 0433 P 20070301185047500 56 15 0744500+070231 39 +090 05
90034 05 592A 0433 P 20070301194942700 56 15 0830500+103848 39 +115 05
90034 05 592A 0433 P 20070301195203500 56 15 0833120+103926 39 +115 05
90034 05 592A 0433 P 20070301195720900 56 15 0838310+104053 39 +115 05
90036 05 629A 0433 P 20070301205754100 56 15 1250480+044914 39 +100 05
90036 05 629A 0433 P 20070301205916000 56 15 1252100+044846 39 +105 05
90036 05 629A 0433 P 20070301210803400 56 15 1300580+044510 39 +105 05
Strays seen:
-------------------
GSAT 3 geostationary
28417 04 036A 0433 P 20070301200350500 56 15 1201300+050529 39 +120 05
Kalpana 1 geostationary
27525 02 043A 0433 P 20070301200350500 56 15 1201490+050729 39 +115 05
Insat 3C geostationary
27298 02 002A 0433 P 20070301200350500 56 15 1202070+050932 39 +115 05
LMI 1 geostationary
25924 99 053A 0433 P 20070301202520800 56 15 1227360+050859 39 +115 05
Intelsat 4-F3 graveyard orbit variable mag +13 to +14 -or fainter
05709 71 116A 0433 P 20070301203834400 56 15 1238490+045001 39 +130 05
05709 71 116A 0433 P 20070301204721800 56 15 1247160+041458 39 +140 05
Notes:
----------
(1) Trouble shooting teething problems with CoSaTrak2 - identified some
problem areas which will be resolved. Testing system under near full
moon conditions for looking for geostationary satellites near the
moon and low down on horizon with its bright city lights.Results
very encouraging.
(2) The Intelsat 4-F3 satellite crossed field of view - easy to see and
the faintest satellite I have seen to date in real time.
Cheers
Greg
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Subscribe/Unsubscribe info, Frequently Asked Questions, SeeSat-L archive:
http://www.satobs.org/seesat/seesatindex.html
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Fri Mar 02 2007 - 07:18:54 EST