One-power flashes, October 31 UTC
99-024A, 25727, Orion 3;
0 00:35:59.00
21.56 00:36:20.56
32.49 00:36:53.05 -2 (at least) (phase shift?)
21.85 00:37:14.90 -4 (at least)
22.07 00:37:36.97
The one at 00:37:14.9 seemed "smeared". I've noticed this
occasionally before with this and other objects. I wonder,
especially for a slowly rotating object, if the specular
surface remains well-enough oriented for a half-second,
during which the object moves four km, it might cause a
"smeared" or "stretched out" appearance to a flash. Or is
it just an eye-motion effect?
96-010A, 23794, Raduga 33
0 2:00:37.20 -1
17.86 2:00:55.06 0
17.99 2:01:13.05 +3
Obs. location was UT Austin, 30.286N, 97.739N, 150m.
Also another easy one-power pass of nice flasher 80-087B,
12069, FleetSatCom 4 Rk.
"I saw Mir!" -- very nice, four-minute pass.
"I saw ISS!" -- about two minutes, partly interrupted by
12069.
"I saw ASTRO-D!" -- somewhat unusually bright pass of 22521,
93-011A (renamed ASCA by the Japanese after launch). Almost
seemed like it might have been varying slowly.
"I saw SERT 2!" -- my first flare of this season of this one
(04327, 70-009A) which regularly flared for 10 or 20 seconds
or longer last winter to at least +2.
It's a long time until April.... Now that we're on standard
time here, with my chosen work-day schedule, I can't get to
a good observing site on work nights. Our colleague Sue
Worden, on the other hand, prefers standard time.
Encouragement for city dwellers. So, being stuck with
observing outside of the building where I work, on the Univ.
of Texas at Austin campus in the middle of town, without
binoculars, last night I saw 14 one-power satellites, including
a very nice Iridium flare as well as the above-mentioned, and a
few others. It helps to have several bright passes the same
night!
I got home and got my binoculars and made it to the nearby park
(which, along with the tennis courts, was unlit) in time to see
good old Superbird A (20040, 89-041A) for a few minutes. Soon
after that, it clouded up.
Iridium to be saved? See the latest news story links on the
"Save Iridium" Web site:
http://www.saveiridium.org/
The stories (German: "Boeing rettet Satellitenhandy Iridium"
and English: "Bankrupt Iridium set to be saved") are in the
Financial Times, dated Oct. 27 and 27, respectively. I haven't
yet seen any other news story about this. "Flare on"?
Ed Cannon - ecannon@mail.utexas.edu - Austin, Texas, USA
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This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Tue Oct 31 2000 - 00:07:12 PST