Relative Beginner at Satellite Observing

Hello all!

I just happened across this Newsgroup while surfing around for satellite
observing sites. I am a relative beginner at this, though I've been involved
with amateur astronomy and especially variable star observing since my teens
(38 years old now).

It looks like this is a typical newsgroup, a lot of spam but I see that some
serious observations are posted. I'll post anything that I see if anyone is
interested.

What I have been doing off and on for the last few years is going to the
Heavens Above Website to see which "space birds" are passing overhead, and then
getting out and observing them. I've seen the Mir Space Station (when it was in
orbit a few years ago), the ISS, and some old rockets and brighter objects. I
would especially love to catch some relatively new rockets and time their rate
of tumble, and see how this changes over time when I observe them again.

I often see artificial satellites while out observing, and it's a mystery to
me how others can identify them! If it's 4.5 magnitude or brighter, it's a
fairly simple matter to go to Heavens Above and look for a good match. However,
most of the ones I just happen to see are fainter than this, and I would
greatly appreciate it if anyone who posts to this board could give me any
advice on how to find out which object I've observed (or at least narrow it
down!).

Any correspondence through email or through this newsgroup with other
satellite and amateur astronomy enthusiasts would be welcome. Thanks, and clear
skies to you all.

Paul Z

(PZeller66) wrote in
:

Hello all!

I just happened across this Newsgroup while surfing around for
satellite
observing sites. I am a relative beginner at this, though I've been
involved with amateur astronomy and especially variable star observing
since my teens (38 years old now).

It looks like this is a typical newsgroup, a lot of spam but I see
that some
serious observations are posted. I'll post anything that I see if anyone
is interested.
Snipola

Subscribe to SeeSat-L...
http://www.satobs.org/seesat/seesatindex.html

99.9% spam free and always on topic.

Brian
--
http://home.earthlink.net/~skywise71...ics/laser.html
"Great heavens! That's a laser!"
"Yes, Dr. Scott. A laser capable of emitting a beam of pure antimatter."

Sed quis custodiet ipsos Custodes?

(PZeller66) wrote in
:

Hello all!

I just happened across this Newsgroup while surfing around for
satellite
observing sites. I am a relative beginner at this, though I've been
involved with amateur astronomy and especially variable star observing
since my teens (38 years old now).

It looks like this is a typical newsgroup, a lot of spam but I see
that some
serious observations are posted. I'll post anything that I see if anyone
is interested.
Snipola

Subscribe to SeeSat-L...
http://www.satobs.org/seesat/seesatindex.html

99.9% spam free and always on topic.

Brian
--
http://home.earthlink.net/~skywise71...ics/laser.html
"Great heavens! That's a laser!"
"Yes, Dr. Scott. A laser capable of emitting a beam of pure antimatter."

Sed quis custodiet ipsos Custodes?

Thanks for the link. Brian. I subscribed. The description of the place gives
me the idea that those who post to that list are mostly advanced satellite
observers. Is there a place for amateurs and beginners to share information
too, or is this the place for that? Just curious.

Thanks for the link. Brian. I subscribed. The description of the place gives
me the idea that those who post to that list are mostly advanced satellite
observers. Is there a place for amateurs and beginners to share information
too, or is this the place for that? Just curious.

(PZeller66) wrote in
:

Thanks for the link. Brian. I subscribed. The description of the place
gives
me the idea that those who post to that list are mostly advanced
satellite observers. Is there a place for amateurs and beginners to
share information too, or is this the place for that? Just curious.


Just sit back and listen for a while and let things soak
in. After a while you'll get a feel for how things work
in the group. And don't be afraid to ask questions. Nearly
everything I've learned about satellite watching came from
SeeSat.

Brian
--
http://home.earthlink.net/~skywise71...ics/laser.html
"Great heavens! That's a laser!"
"Yes, Dr. Scott. A laser capable of emitting a beam of pure antimatter."

Sed quis custodiet ipsos Custodes?

(PZeller66) wrote in
:

Thanks for the link. Brian. I subscribed. The description of the place
gives
me the idea that those who post to that list are mostly advanced
satellite observers. Is there a place for amateurs and beginners to
share information too, or is this the place for that? Just curious.


Just sit back and listen for a while and let things soak
in. After a while you'll get a feel for how things work
in the group. And don't be afraid to ask questions. Nearly
everything I've learned about satellite watching came from
SeeSat.

Brian
--
http://home.earthlink.net/~skywise71...ics/laser.html
"Great heavens! That's a laser!"
"Yes, Dr. Scott. A laser capable of emitting a beam of pure antimatter."

Sed quis custodiet ipsos Custodes?

I would especially love to catch some relatively new rockets and
time their rate of tumble, and see how this changes over time when
I observe them again.

You're not alone in that! On the Visual Satellite Observers Home
Page, check the articles about flashing and tumbling satellites
(near the top of the table of contents):

http://www.satobs.org/

Then near the very end of the table of contents, check out the BWGS.

I often see artificial satellites while out observing, and it's a
mystery to me how others can identify them! If it's 4.5 magnitude
or brighter, it's a fairly simple matter to go to Heavens Above
and look for a good match. However, most of the ones I just happen
to see are fainter than this, and I would greatly appreciate it if
anyone who posts to this board could give me any advice on how to
find out which object I've observed (or at least narrow it down!).

Check out Ted Molczan's ObsReduce:

http://www.satobs.org/programs/ObsReduce/ObsReduce.html

Also, smaller freeware DOS programs (I use Findsat.) are IDSat
and Findsat, which are linked to from this web page:

http://users2.ev1.net/~mmccants/programs/index.html

SkyMap (by Rob Matson, not the other SkyMap, which I think is a
commercial planetarium program) is very highly regarded for
predictions and trying to ID objects after the fact. It and many
other programs are listed on this VSOHP page:

http://www.satobs.org/orbsoft.html

SkyMap and Iridflar, also by Rob Matson, can help ID accidental
Iridium flare sightings.

I need to update it some, but here's my "starting points" page, which
is a small collection of links that I believe are good -- starting
points:

http://wnt.cc.utexas.edu/~ecannon/starting.htm

I got started in observing satellites in earnest in March 1996.

Ed Cannon - - Austin, Texas, USA
(Remove "donotspam".)

I would especially love to catch some relatively new rockets and
time their rate of tumble, and see how this changes over time when
I observe them again.

You're not alone in that! On the Visual Satellite Observers Home
Page, check the articles about flashing and tumbling satellites
(near the top of the table of contents):

http://www.satobs.org/

Then near the very end of the table of contents, check out the BWGS.

I often see artificial satellites while out observing, and it's a
mystery to me how others can identify them! If it's 4.5 magnitude
or brighter, it's a fairly simple matter to go to Heavens Above
and look for a good match. However, most of the ones I just happen
to see are fainter than this, and I would greatly appreciate it if
anyone who posts to this board could give me any advice on how to
find out which object I've observed (or at least narrow it down!).

Check out Ted Molczan's ObsReduce:

http://www.satobs.org/programs/ObsReduce/ObsReduce.html

Also, smaller freeware DOS programs (I use Findsat.) are IDSat
and Findsat, which are linked to from this web page:

http://users2.ev1.net/~mmccants/programs/index.html

SkyMap (by Rob Matson, not the other SkyMap, which I think is a
commercial planetarium program) is very highly regarded for
predictions and trying to ID objects after the fact. It and many
other programs are listed on this VSOHP page:

http://www.satobs.org/orbsoft.html

SkyMap and Iridflar, also by Rob Matson, can help ID accidental
Iridium flare sightings.

I need to update it some, but here's my "starting points" page, which
is a small collection of links that I believe are good -- starting
points:

http://wnt.cc.utexas.edu/~ecannon/starting.htm

I got started in observing satellites in earnest in March 1996.

Ed Cannon - - Austin, Texas, USA
(Remove "donotspam".)