SeeSat-L was created 8 autumns ago this past week. I am very pleased to take this opportunity to thank all of you who have made SeeSat-L a consistently excellent medium of information about visual satellite observing. Many of you have devoted much effort to these endeavors. So many people have made consistent and excellent contributions to SeeSat-L. All of you should give yourselves a well-deserved pat on the back. Thanks, too, to those of you who make SeeSat-L a friendly place, by being polite and considerate of others, by staying on-topic, by always editing yourselves by focusing on whether your post will be of interest to the readers of SeeSat-L, by not routinely quoting whole messages, and in so many other ways. For more than 7 years, Bart De Pontieu moderated, expending a great deal of effort in the process. My gratitude to him is dramatically large. Now, a new moderator has taken his place, the estimable Ted Molczan. But few of you are aware that his connection with SeeSat-L actually goes back more than 8 years. Some of the details of the creation of SeeSat-L are recorded in the SeeSat-L WWW archive at http://www.satobs.org/seesat/Nov-1996/0162.html. Also, see http://www.satobs.org/seesat/Nov-2000/0255.html. To these should be added the message below, which contains near its end the one effort I made prior to my inquiry to Bart to establish SeeSat-L. Cheers. --- The actual Internet addresses aliased in this message were: From: nissen@nssdca.gsfc.nasa.gov To: Ted Molczan <molczan@utcc.utoronto.ca> To: SMTP%"molczan@utcc.utoronto.ca" -- From: NCF::NISSEN "Walter Nissen" 9-JUN-1994 18:40:22.67 To: @TED CC: NISSEN Subj: Lists > the many Cosmos navigation > sats in 82.9 deg orbits should be readily observable through binocs. > I know that some think that I am (or see > myself as) a guru on satellites, but it is simply my hobby, I am not aware of the thinking of others about your status as a guru, but if you think this is a problem, I can certainly see why it dogs you. You make a comment about Cosmos sats which is almost casual, but which just happens to contain a major, perhaps THE major, part of the answer to the question which I had asked. You make it darn tough for your critics (if any) to think of you as a dilattante. Personally, I've found what you've written quite constructive and useful. > This situation will change eventually - perhaps I'll find a new > career, perhaps I'll drop dead of a heart attack. This is a serious health problem for many people. I hope that your awareness of the tremendous stresses that you are under will be the first step in controlling them. Perhaps in a new career, if that's what you want, or perhaps by some change in your approach to your existing career. > the many Cosmos navigation sats in 82.9 deg orbits I presume that you distinguish these from the sats in 82.6 deg orbits. I had been aware of a few cases where I have seen payloads, not in your file, but with rocket bodies which are in your file. But upon seeing your comment I was stimulated to look for these and find there are a legion of them, going back to, I guess, 1972. > I make no apology for keeping incomplete records Nor is any necessary. I was just joking, just taking an obviously open shot. > My parting comment about perhaps finding time to help you out with a > list was made sincerely I'm sure it was. Perhaps I should not have used the word 'embarrassed'. Sometimes I have to send out messages without purging every last imperfection (the alternative is total paralysis) and I didn't pay attention to finding the right word there. I still don't have the word, but I can tell you I was really just trying to say that I fear that this might become a huge project, and I am only looking to find existing sources, not asking you to make a big effort (nor stimulate a heart attack nor inattention to the weekly file). I may know a lot about sats but what I don't know is much, much greater and if I don't ask, I stay ignorant. Apparently your address is a computer center. Does the center operate any mailing lists or mail exploders? Have you ever given any thought to having a visual tracking mailing list? SEE-SATS-L? I have, but don't know where to base it. I'm sure that I would benefit from reading more of what you, BDP, MMM, Allen Thomson, Kelso, etc., etc., are writing. I am grateful for your offer and your other assistance, and remain in your debt. Cheers. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Unsubscribe from SeeSat-L by sending a message with 'unsubscribe' in the SUBJECT to SeeSat-L-request@lists.satellite.eu.org http://www.satellite.eu.org/seesat/seesatindex.html
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