Re: Observations and Lacrosse 3 question
3432P@VM1.CC.NPS.NAVY.MIL
Tue, 4 Nov 97 21:00:55 PST
Ian Porter said:
>Had a good night tonight, I "FINALLY" saw an iridium flare, Iridium 25
>flaring to mag 0.
Congratulations, but mag 0 is just an appetizer. Your first monster flare/
glare/glint/clint will be the one you'll really remember!
>I also scored Vanguard One in my 8 Inch Dob, getting a brief glimpse
>before shadow entry (which was spot on prediction and was a nice
>confirmation that I saw the right object !)
Congratulations again! Since Vanguard 1 is a shiny sphere with a diameter
of 16 cm, and the Sputnik-40 replica is also a shiny sphere, just 2 cm
larger in diameter, we should be able to observe the replica (with
suitable optical aid, of course) once we get elements for it. It
also helps that the replica is in a much lower orbit than Vanguard 1.
I've been checking OIG several times daily looking for new elsets
starting with 25029 with an inclination around 51 degrees, but nothing
has shown up yet. I was thinking maybe it was too close to Mir for
radar to distinguish it, but a report here indicated that there was
about one minute separation between them by timing the loss of signal,
so it would appear there is plenty of separation by now.
>I had a Lacrosse 3 R pass but didn't get out in time to see it.
>I have not seen observations on the payload on seesat, has it been lost?
Good question! I've been wondering about Lacrosse 3 myself, and if
there have been any recent obs of it. Anyone?
>People who never look up avoid the cow manure, but that's all they ever
>get to see.
I like it! :-)
Craig Cholar