solar panel glints, welcome, STS-77

Walter Nissen (dk058@cleveland.Freenet.Edu)
Fri, 24 May 1996 07:30:44 -0400

Does anyone know if 
DMSP B5D2-7      6.4  1.7  0.0  6.1 
1 23233U 94057  A 96137.13802605  .00000044  00000-0  23969-4 0  7831 
2 23233  98.8293 196.3760 0011868 272.4458  87.5374 14.12703815 88307 
is in operation? 
 
If so, I may finally have seen that elusive solar panel glint that Bart 
and (I believe) Jim Varney have been promising me for so long.  (Or maybe 
that C* 1975 OBS I reported the other day is one also?).  At 960523 0205 
I glanced toward Arcturus hoping to be able to locate 2-7 headed North.  I 
saw something steady and bright headed South.  Nope, that's not headed 
South, that's Arcturus, and the mag 0? object is headed North.  Whoa, 
wait a minute, that's right where 2-7 is supposed to be.  And it's goin' 
the same direction.  2-7 was glinting to mag 0(?).  It took more than 20 
seconds for it to drop down to maybe mag 3 or 4.  Glints are frequent. 
Usually from dead stuff. 
 
The exponential decay of the period/angular momentum of spectacular 
flashes from C* 1933 and C* 1953 (and, I believe, DMSP B5D1-3 and possibly 
SROSS-C2) remains exceptional.  Or am I missing something obvious? 
 
Newbies, welcome to SeeSat-L.  We're glad to have you aboard.  There are 
many messages in the SeeSat-L archive on this subject.  You could try 
egrep'ing on glint, 1933, and "solar panel" in latest, old1 and old2. 
Let us know what you are seeing. 
 
 
Perhaps this OBS will give some hope to those far North of 39N or South of 
39S who would like to see Endeavour.  I picked it out of the haze at 
altitude 4.5 degrees at 960522 090742.07, then actually lost it at a 
higher altitude in cloud and/or twilight off to the SE.  Starting more 
than 20 minutes earlier I had failed to locate the IAE, despite Alan 
Pickup's best efforts. 
 
 
Congratulations to Kalirai, Kulbinder for this OBS: 
> What a pleasant surprise when I saw that the shuttle's laser was on!!! 
 
You've got my envy. 
 
 
Cheers. 
 
Walter Nissen                   dk058@cleveland.freenet.edu 
 
--- 
 
Power corrupts.  Absolute power corrupts absolutely.   Lord Acton