Geosat Flare Calculator: Part 2!

From: Jeff Umbarger (jumbarger2000@yahoo.com)
Date: Sun Oct 07 2007 - 23:25:36 EDT

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    Hey All,
         With help, as usual, from Kevin Fetter, I've
    posted an Excel spreadsheet at:
    http://www.kfetter.com/jeff/2007FallGeosatFlare.xls
    (You might get a message saying "Enter Network
    Password", just click on the "Cancel" button and the
    page should appear.) The spreadsheet takes an
    observers exact latitude and longitude and GMT Offset
    and calculates where and when to look in the next few
    days to see maximum geostationary satellite (geosat)
    flaring. If you do not have Microsoft Excel to run
    this spreadsheet, send me an email with you exact
    latitude, longitude, and current GMT Offset and I
    will, time permitting, send you a table of dates,
    times, and locations.
         To use this table enter your longitude (negative
    for West, positive for East), latitude (positive for
    North, negative for South - although geosat flaring
    has pretty much ended for Southern Hemisphere
    observers), and you current GMT Offset. The acronym PD
    means "Purple Dot" and it is where you look in the
    sky. PDRT means Purple Dot Rise Time (on your eastern
    horizon), PD RA means PD Right Ascension, PD Dec.
    means PD Declination, and PDST means PD Set Time (on
    your western horizon). With the exception of last date
    - Oct 15 (and maybe Oct 14), if you see the term
    "#NUM!" in both of the "Eclipse" columns, then this
    means that the PD stays eclipsed all night and there
    be no flaring geosats at the PD. On the last date, Oct
    15 (and maybe Oct 14) the term "#NUM" means that the
    PD is visible *all* night - which is a great
    situation. Please see email
    http://www.satobs.org/seesat/Sep-2007/0240.html for
    more information. Please let me know if you have any
    questions.
    
         Regards,
              Jeff Umbarger
              Plano, TX, USA
              jumbarger2000@yahoo.com
    
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