|
|
Thread Tools | Display Modes |
#1
|
|||
|
|||
Same satelite twice???
Hey guys/girls I am new to this site so first of I would like to say the image verification to register may be the most ridiculous/hardest thing I have witnessed in my life, it only took me 15 tries to get it right (rather annoying). Anyways I was sitting in my hot tub tonight staring up at the stars when I noticed a fairly fast paced bright object moving south it went really bright and then dimmed out and I could no longer follow it. About 15 minutes later the same object appeared in the exact same spot only dimmer than the first time and steadily got dimmer till it vanished. Can someone explain what is happening? If this is the same object I seen 15minutes earlier why does it progressively become dimmer as it goes away, and why was it dimmer the 2nd time I seen it even though it was in the exact same spot? Hopefully this is not to confusing I am know space major / science genius, its rather interesting to me though.
|
#2
|
|||
|
|||
Same satelite twice???
In article , swc wrote: Hey guys/girls I am new to this site so first of I would like to say the image verification to register may be the most ridiculous/hardest thing I have witnessed in my life, it only took me 15 tries to get it right (rather annoying). Hello, swc. This isn't a "site," it's a Usenet newsgroup. It sounds like you may be viewing the group through a gateway to a website. If so, you can get yourself free Usenet software (search for "newsreader" and whatever computer platform you use) and even a free Usenet account and read all the newsgroups you want without going through a website. Anyways I was sitting in my hot tub tonight staring up at the stars when I noticed a fairly fast paced bright object moving south it went really bright and then dimmed out and I could no longer follow it. About 15 minutes later the same object appeared in the exact same spot only dimmer than the first time and steadily got dimmer till it vanished. Can someone explain what is happening? That wasn't the same object; it was two objects in the same orbit. A satellite in low earth orbit typically takes about 90 minutes to come around again. If you saw each one for only 5-10 seconds, they may have been Iridium satellites. Otherwise, it was probably two parts of a single spacecraft, and I don't recall which spacecraft have that situation. Perhaps someone else here will know. Patty |
#3
|
|||
|
|||
Same satelite twice???
In article , Patty Winter wrote:
Anyways I was sitting in my hot tub tonight staring up at the stars when I noticed a fairly fast paced bright object moving south it went really bright and then dimmed out and I could no longer follow it. About 15 minutes later the same object appeared in the exact same spot only dimmer than the first time and steadily got dimmer till it vanished. Can someone explain what is happening? That wasn't the same object; it was two objects in the same orbit. A satellite in low earth orbit typically takes about 90 minutes to come around again. If you saw each one for only 5-10 seconds, they may have been Iridium satellites. Otherwise, it was probably two parts of a single spacecraft, and I don't recall which spacecraft have that situation. Perhaps someone else here will know. Patty To add to this, it could have also been a pair of satellites from a group, such as the NOSS, which can be spotted one, two or three in a group, or sometimes one after the other. OR, as Patty pointed out, it could be parts of one object that has broken into two, or say a satellite and the rocket booster that put it in orbit. The change in brightness could be from all sorts of reasons, the first that comes to mind is even though it was only 15 minutes of difference, your location relative to the Sun, which is what is illuminating the object that you are seeing have changed over that amount of time. So, as the Sun moves away or approaches you, the brightness will change relative to the sat's position between you and the Sun and the distance and angles that is it's path. Not the most elegant explanation, but I think you'll get it.. d. |
#4
|
|||
|
|||
Same satelite twice???
In article , DougD wrote: To add to this, it could have also been a pair of satellites from a group, such as the NOSS, which can be spotted one, two or three in a group, or sometimes one after the other. Ah, right, I'd forgotten about NOSS. I've seen two Iridii a minute apart, same path. The change in brightness could be from all sorts of reasons, the first that comes to mind is even though it was only 15 minutes of difference, your location relative to the Sun, which is what is illuminating the object that you are seeing have changed over that amount of time. Or perhaps even more likely, the second piece was smaller than the first? Forgot to mention this to the original poster, but on Heavens-Above (http://www.heavens-above.com), it's easy to plug one's location into the site and find out what went over at a specific time. You can even back up a few days by using the "Prev" link. Patty |
#5
|
|||
|
|||
Same satelite twice???
The change in brightness could
be from all sorts of reasons, the first that comes to mind is even though it was only 15 minutes of difference, your location relative to the Sun, which is what is illuminating the object that you are seeing have changed over that amount of time. Or perhaps even more likely, the second piece was smaller than the first? out of curiosity, could it be two totally unrelated satellites, on two different orbits? Jean |
#6
|
|||
|
|||
Same satelite twice???
In article , Me wrote:
The change in brightness could be from all sorts of reasons, the first that comes to mind is even though it was only 15 minutes of difference, your location relative to the Sun, which is what is illuminating the object that you are seeing have changed over that amount of time. Or perhaps even more likely, the second piece was smaller than the first? out of curiosity, could it be two totally unrelated satellites, on two different orbits? Jean Yes, I've seen an Iridium and another satellite appear to travel on the same path a few minutes apart. I went back and looked at the actual orbits using Starry Night, etc. and they really weren't even that close in orbit, but the eye and brain fill in the blanks in different ways to make them appear close. Whether they would both flare would be a bit unusual, unless they were both Iridiums, d. |
#8
|
|||
|
|||
Same satelite twice???
You say, "the same object" Why?
The likelihood is that all you saw was another satellite travelling in the first satellite's path. This is often the case. Minge On 17/10/2011 1:11 PM, swc wrote: Hey guys/girls I am new to this site so first of I would like to say the image verification to register may be the most ridiculous/hardest thing I have witnessed in my life, it only took me 15 tries to get it right (rather annoying). Anyways I was sitting in my hot tub tonight staring up at the stars when I noticed a fairly fast paced bright object moving south it went really bright and then dimmed out and I could no longer follow it. About 15 minutes later the same object appeared in the exact same spot only dimmer than the first time and steadily got dimmer till it vanished. Can someone explain what is happening? If this is the same object I seen 15minutes earlier why does it progressively become dimmer as it goes away, and why was it dimmer the 2nd time I seen it even though it was in the exact same spot? Hopefully this is not to confusing I am know space major / science genius, its rather interesting to me though. |
#9
|
|||
|
|||
Same satelite twice???
In article , Skywise wrote:
What about a spare Iridium? Are there not spares in the same orbital plane, just at a slightly different altitude? I seem to recall hearing of 'double flares' caused by an operational sat and a spare following/preceding. Brian Good point! I guess they have to park the spares somewhere, would guess that they use some logic to figure what sat is next to fail and keep a spare nearby. Not sure if a spare is fully deployed, most likely is, so would also be able to flare.. d. |
#10
|
|||
|
|||
Quote:
Also, it's extraordinarily difficult to say that a satellite has passed inexactly the same spot, even if you're using the stars as a reference. More likely, you were seeing two satellites in sun-synchronous orbit. These have approximately the same inclination, and so would follow the same path, possibly offset a bit to the east or west. there are loads of such satellites, so this is not uncommon at all. cheers, Richard |
Thread Tools | |
Display Modes | |
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
Saving that Recon. Satelite | Mark Kelep | Space Shuttle | 16 | February 21st 08 09:01 AM |
Satelite eccentricity | Frank | Astronomy Misc | 11 | August 3rd 06 05:30 PM |
universal picture in satelite | Andrew Heseltine | Misc | 2 | July 9th 05 11:29 PM |
turn off your satelite nasa | |-|erc | Misc | 0 | July 31st 03 12:14 PM |
Which satelite did I see? | jj | Satellites | 2 | July 15th 03 07:36 PM |