Re: Identification Requested

From: Jonathan T Wojack (tlj18@juno.com)
Date: Mon Oct 22 2001 - 16:06:08 EDT

  • Next message: Harro Zimmer: "The #26956 SOYUZ RB decay"

    > >I was walking near Tucson (Long.=-109.9   Lat.=32.4) on October 21 
    > at 
    > >about 11:20 UTC watching for Orionids when I noticed a ³stationary² 
    > >flashing satellite at approximately R.A.=3h 38m  Dec.=-12d.  
    > Without a 
    > >watch, my best guess is that the close to first magnitude flashes 
    > were 
    > >spaced about 6.5 seconds apart. I saw maybe a dozen flashes before 
    > they 
    > >quickly dimmed to invisibility.  Can anyone identify this object 
    > for me?  
    > >Iım also wondering if I detected a very slight eastward movement in 
    > the 
    > >two minutes of observation.
    > This was 94 56A known as ETS-6, a well known flasher Jim. Your time
    > was withhin 2 seconds and your position within 0.2 degrees which is 
    > spot on.
    > The eastwards movement was probably real.  This is in a 
    > geosynchronous but not geostationary
    > orbit ( it does 5 orbits in 3 days or 1 2/3 orbits per day). 
    
    A magnitude of 1 of a geosynchronous satellite seems quite bright to me
    (if it was in a 300x300 orbit, then it probably would have looked like an
    Iridium flare).  Does anyone know what are the brightest geosynchronous
    flashes observed?
    
    Additionally, why is it the ETS-6 is not in the Heavens-Above database
    (yet ETS-7 is, BTW) ?
    
    ------------------------------
    Jonathan T. Wojack                 tlj18@juno.com
    39.706d N   75.683d W           
    http://www.angelfire.com/stars2/projectorion
    4 hours behind UT (-4)
    
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