Iridium 7 Obs; Glint vs. Flare

• Messages sorted by: [ date ][ thread ][ subject ][ author ]
• Next message: Eberst: "Orbit and identity changes"
• Previous message: Neil Clifford: "[ADMIN]: list address"

Nice Iridium glint this morning, about mag -1 just a little below and
east of Polaris.

NORAD   date    time   Dir aI eI  aM eM aS   eS Phs Dur Mag Obs COSPAR
xxxxx dd-mm-yy hh:mm:ss x xxx xx xxx xx xxx -xx xxx tt Sn III yynnnp
24793 03-10-97 13:07:30 N   8 38  76 80     -12     10 -1 JEV 97020B

For the last couple of years on SeeSat I thought the general
convention was to use the word "glint" to mean any bright, singular
short-lived flash of reflected sunlight.  IMHO "glint" is a more
precise term than "flare" because it accurately describes the
mechanism of the flash of light we see.  

There's no harm in using "flare" except that the Seesat archives are
full of references to various satellites that "glint" but do not
"flare."  A very minor and trivial point, to be sure, but it's my two
cents for consistency.
__________________________________________________
Jim Varney   121.398W  38.458N 8m   Sacramento, CA
jamesv@softcom.net, sat_watcher@rocketmail.com

_____________________________________________________________________
Sent by RocketMail. Get your free e-mail at http://www.rocketmail.com

• Next message: Eberst: "Orbit and identity changes"
• Previous message: Neil Clifford: "[ADMIN]: list address"