Re: moon transit fever

bobjo@norfolk.infi.net
Thu, 16 Oct 1997 09:20:37 -0400

Darwin Teague wrote:
> 
> I have moon transit fever.... but I haven't had any luck yet.
> I learned from Rob Matson that sunlit sats don't have enough contrast with
> the illuminated moon to be seen.
> 1. Can a sat that isn't sunlit be seen against an illuminated moon?
> 2. Is there any time of the night or lunar month that is better to observe
> transits?
> 3. How does one find out when a non-sunlit sat will transit? I've played
> with the lighting restraints in Skymap, but they don't seem to do the trick...
 
  I, too, have wanted to see and photo lunar transits using an 8"
refractor or 200-300 mm camera lens with no luck yet due to problems
with equipment, exposure, clouds, etc.  I figured the constraint of
sunlight on the satellite in transit is moot.  Wouldn't a Mir-size
object show up as an *unlighted* silhouette (or streak, over time)
against the extreme light of the sunlit moon?  Or am I wasting my time?

-Bob Jones