My folks think I'm crazy...
Patrice Gambaro (gambaro@citenet.net)
Fri, 08 Oct 1999 11:44:16 -0400
Hi all
Since I'm kind of a passive participant to this list (I read all
messages with great interest but rarely have anything to say), I tough
I'd share a weird moment. Yesterday (oct 7), GSOC predicted a -4 Iridium
flare at 19:19 over my place (45.8379N, 73.9162W). Since the center was
only about 11 km away and the mag at center was -9, which I have never
seen before, I decided to organize a little field trip...
So, using MapBlast, I determined the coordinates of the center (45.85°N,
73.77°W) and I double checked by entering those into the GSOC page which
confirmed a -9 flare from Iridium 2, azimuth 157° , elevation 56°. Then,
armed with printouts from the GSOC page and the Mapblast map, my compass
and precisely ajusted watch, I asked my wife if she felt like spending a
moment out in the cold standing up in a corn field by the side of the
road, just to watch the show. She said sure and then she had what she
tought was a great idea...
"Let's take your folks along" she said. My folks are in good health but
they're kind of "in their own little world"... anything outside the
house (or outside TV) does not really exist to them. So I could
certainly not asked them to stand looking up in the corn field in
freezing temperature without giving some explanation and I was certainly
not going to try to brief them on communication satellites...
"They can predict shooting stars nowadays and there's gonna be one in
half an hour; want to come watch it ?" I asked my father over the
phone. "I'm gonna miss Frasier" he replied. "You gonna catch a cold"
said my mother who had picked-up the other phone. "You can tape Frasier
and you can bring a blanket" I replied answering both in one phrase.
"And since you know in advance you're gonna see a shooting star, you can
prepare wishes..."
Anyway, I don't want to make this message too long, but from 19:00 to
19:30 yesterday night, some farmers looking out their windows were
wondering what were those four people and that dog doing standing in
their field looking up at that clear sky... The woman was trying to calm
down the dog (he tought we were going hunting)... the old man was
complaining about missing some TV shows... the old woman was complaining
about catching a cold... and a middle aged guy was staring at the sky,
confident that everybody would return home happy... confidence which
diminished by 19:20... disappeared by 19:25... I know there is always a
chance for this to happen, but why tonight... Iridium 2 predicted flare
never showed... I think I saw Iridium 2 go by (could have been something
else) around +3 or +4 mag but I did not say a word... humiliation was
already achieved, no need to add to it...
But now, my folks think I'm crazy and I don't know what to tell them...
any suggestions ?
Pat
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