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Satellite ID if Possible
Hello,
I am at 39.260 lat and -81.530 long. At appx 9:50 UT today I was observing Cosmos 1707 through binoculars as it was approaching the NE horizon at an azimuth and altitude of about 15 degrees. At that time I observed another satellite rising up from the horizon at nearly the same location. It traveled from this point in a SE direction moving below Saturn and through Canis Minor. Magnitude was approximately 4.5 - 5.0. Any help in identifying this satellite would be appreciated. P.L. |
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If you go to www.heavens-above.com and enter your latitude and
longitude, and select 4.5 as the limiting magnitude, you can see a list of upcoming satellite passes. When you get that page, click on "Prev. PM" and you'll see last night's passes. I know that you can adjust the limiting magnitude by tweaking the URL manually. Does anyone know of a way to do it from the H-A interface? Patty |
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"Patty Winter" wrote in message ... If you go to www.heavens-above.com and enter your latitude and longitude, and select 4.5 as the limiting magnitude, you can see a list of upcoming satellite passes. When you get that page, click on "Prev. PM" and you'll see last night's passes. I know that you can adjust the limiting magnitude by tweaking the URL manually. Does anyone know of a way to do it from the H-A interface? Patty Patty; Thanks for the note but I was already using the H/A listing for satellites 4.5 and brighter when I saw the unidentified satellite. It was probably slightly dimmer than 4.5. With binoculars during a period of good seeing my limiting mag is probably around 6. Saw six satellites (and a meteor) this morning with the last being a nice -0.8 passover by the ISS, moving from the middle of the Square of Pegasus into the incoming outer bands of Hurricane Frances. Weatherman says clouded out until Friday night... P.L. |
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Pokey Latrobe wrote:
Thanks for the note but I was already using the H/A listing for satellites 4.5 and brighter when I saw the unidentified satellite. It was probably slightly dimmer than 4.5. With binoculars during a period of good seeing my limiting mag is probably around 6. If you go to http://www.donbarry.org/ you can get predictions for satellites down to magnitude 6. donbarry.org isn't as user-friendly as H-A (no sky maps; lots of co-ordinates and times for each pass). However, you can use donbarry.org to identify the dimmer satellites, and then look them up on H-A. --Bill Thompson |
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In article ,
Pokey Latrobe wrote: Thanks for the note but I was already using the H/A listing for satellites 4.5 and brighter when I saw the unidentified satellite. It was probably slightly dimmer than 4.5. With binoculars during a period of good seeing my limiting mag is probably around 6. So did you try adjusting H-A to search down to mag. 6? Saw six satellites (and a meteor) this morning with the last being a nice -0.8 passover by the ISS, moving from the middle of the Square of Pegasus into the incoming outer bands of Hurricane Frances. Cool! Patty |
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Patty Winter wrote:
Pokey Latrobe wrote: Thanks for the note but I was already using the H/A listing for satellites 4.5 and brighter when I saw the unidentified satellite. It was probably slightly dimmer than 4.5. With binoculars during a period of good seeing my limiting mag is probably around 6. So did you try adjusting H-A to search down to mag. 6? Is there a way to do that? I can't get it below magnitude 5.0 --Bill Thompson |
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"Patty Winter" wrote in message ... So did you try adjusting H-A to search down to mag. 6? Patty, please explain a little further how this adjustment is made. thanks, P.L. |
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"Pokey Latrobe" wrote in message ... "Patty Winter" wrote in message ... So did you try adjusting H-A to search down to mag. 6? Patty, please explain a little further how this adjustment is made. thanks, P.L. Disregard, I figured it out. The gain in one half a magnitude certainly offers more viewing opportunities. Thanks again P.L. |
#9
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Pokey Latrobe wrote:
Disregard, I figured it out. The gain in one half a magnitude certainly offers more viewing opportunities. H-A's "select a satellite" function offers more possibilities. It's a cumbersome way to look for nightly viewing opportunities, but if you want to look for a particular satellite, you can enter its name and plan ahead. (The magnitudes on some satellites go down to the point where you need a very large scope and good aim to spot them.) (And I think they're kidding on the magnitude of ANNA 1B.) The year function will let you look at all the satellites launched in any year. Enter 04 and you'll find the MESSENGER probe, along with its boosters. For some reason the page lists MESSENGER and its final stage as still in Earth orbit, but you can still find the Delta second stage. --Bill Thompson |
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