Re: STS-86 Water dump...

DJLaszlo@aol.com
Mon, 6 Oct 1997 00:27:06 -0400 (EDT)

I had the privilege to see this pass from Fort Collins, Colorado, USA 40.5 N,
105 W.  STS-86 was trailed by a curving plume, readily visible even at 15
degrees altitude.  I first saw it at about 1:54 UT.  At maximum altitude the
plume could be traced for about 1.5 degrees, and was about 0.3 to 0.5 degree
wide to the unaided eye.

The starlike Atlantis with the soft, adjacent plume was amazingly similar to
the  appearance of Comet Hale-Bopp last March.  Truly unearthly!

Dan Laszlo