I observed both objects on the same pass, on 2008 Sep 25 near 23:40 UTC. Conditions were difficult due to thick cirrus cloud and bright twilight. I tried spotting my mag 2 and 3 reference stars with 7x50 binoculars and the unaided eye, to no avail. I had about given up when I spotted the rocket (08047B / 33387) with the unaided eye. It was about 45 deg above the south-eastern horizon, and I observed it for about 1.5 minutes. During that time it briefly disappeared a couple of times in thick cloud, but I am confident that I also saw a regular variation due to rotation, with a period of perhaps 30 s. Maxima were mag 0 or 1 (difficult to judge without the benefit of reference stars); minima were invisible, but some of that probably was due to the cloud. Shenzhou 7 (08047A / 33386) followed several minutes later, on a similar path. My guess is that it was mag 2 or 3 when about 30 to 40 deg above the eastern horizon. I observed it for about one minute, with the unaided eye only. Ted Molczan ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subscribe/Unsubscribe info, Frequently Asked Questions, SeeSat-L archive: http://www.satobs.org/seesat/seesatindex.html
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