geo sat obs

From: Kevin Fetter (kevin_fetter@hotmail.com)
Date: Wed Nov 07 2001 - 21:19:53 EST

  • Next message: Ron Lee: "Re: geo sat obs"

    Using a borrowed 8 ince scope I decided to lok at the following.
    
    TDRS 1 ( 13969 ) and PamAmSat  1R ( 26608 ).
    
    First TDRS 1 was observed at around 0:58 UTC ( 7:58 pm EST ) near eta Cetus. 
    I thought I had missed it, until I saw something slowly moving. There it was 
    my first geo sat in a telescope, very exciting. I would say it was aroung 
    mag +12 so it was faint.
    
    Then so far nothing else matches what I saw at around 1:06 UTC near 1:30 RA 
    and -6:36 DEC. I saw a very bright sat, at least to me. Using skymap to see 
    where 26608 would be at 1:03 UTC I set the scope there and waited, at around 
    that time I saw a bright sat. It was slightly off the predicted track for 
    26608. I followed until around 1:07 UTC and it pass a star found in the 
    tycho 2 star catalog. It was very close to the brightness of this star, so 
    if it was 26608 then it was aroung mag +9, so very bright. The tycho 2 mag 
    +9 star that 26608 passed is at the following location.
    
    1hour 29 min 37.6 sec RA and - 6 deg 36 min 00.1 sec Dec in J2000 epoch 
    according to a different astronomy program I used called Sky charts.
    
    I am so excited about seeing my first geo sat in a scope.
    
    Kevin
    
    
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