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A personal Iridium milestone
This morning's sighting of a flare from Iridium 46 marked a milestone for
me - I've now seen flares from all the operational Iridium satellites (defined pedantically as "in operational attitude when I would have first seen a flare"), and flashes from the rest. With the luck of the draw, 46 was the tough one - held me up for almost a year with bad weather and bright twilight wiping out four previous attempts. It's taken a year to pick up the last three. I saw my first one on March 27, 1998 and was hooked. There have been several especially memorable flare sightings - a double flare over the NRAO 12m radio telescope, double flare seen simultaneously with ISS over the NASA IRTF dome at Mauna Kea (see http://www.astr.ua.edu/keel/issirtf2.jpg), and a mag -6 flare over Kitt Peak telescopes (http://www.astr.ua.edu/keel/telescopes/). It was appropriate to see one flare overhead as Buzz Aldrin was extolling space commerce, Huntsville commemoration of Apollo 11's 30th anniversary celebration. I caught one from Germany while it was overcast and raining. Have caught two in daylight (our skies are usually on the murky side for this, and I've learned a lot about the visual system by watching for them). Really impressed some friends - I'd be at a soccer game with the kids and point up. Well, it's a pretty cheap hobby. I'll only be annoying family and collaborators by glancing at my watch and dashing outside for really bright ones hereafter. Bill Keel |
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"William C. Keel" wrote in news:413863f8$1
@news.ua.edu: This morning's sighting of a flare from Iridium 46 marked a milestone for me - I've now seen flares from all the operational Iridium satellites Snipola Congratulations!!! That's an excellent accomplishment. I just recently obtained a new digital camera that has the ability to take exposures up to 60 seconds and you can be sure I can't wait for my next Iridium flare so I can start photographing these things. 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? |
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"William C. Keel" wrote in message ... This morning's sighting of a flare from Iridium 46 marked a milestone for me - I've now seen flares from all the operational Iridium satellites Congratulations on your accomplishment. I have been logging my Iridium observations since July 2003 and now have seen 39 separate satellites in 59 sightings. My favorite was a mag -8 double sighting of #76 in April of this year. I am a novice in this hobby, my first planned satellite observation was Starshine 3, a few weeks before its decay in January, 2003. This, and a little research, inspired me to purchase a pair of 9x63 binoculars and the rest is history, albeit a brief one. Hopefully, I'll know for certain if and when I complete the list. Iridium.com states there are 79 satellites currently in operation but H/A shows there about 90 or so satellites or related hardware floating around... P.L. |
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http://www.mensamagazine.gr/Hellas/I...iliWoosea.html
"Pokey Latrobe" wrote in message ... "William C. Keel" wrote in message ... This morning's sighting of a flare from Iridium 46 marked a milestone for me - I've now seen flares from all the operational Iridium satellites Congratulations on your accomplishment. I have been logging my Iridium observations since July 2003 and now have seen 39 separate satellites in 59 sightings. My favorite was a mag -8 double sighting of #76 in April of this year. I am a novice in this hobby, my first planned satellite observation was Starshine 3, a few weeks before its decay in January, 2003. This, and a little research, inspired me to purchase a pair of 9x63 binoculars and the rest is history, albeit a brief one. Hopefully, I'll know for certain if and when I complete the list. Iridium.com states there are 79 satellites currently in operation but H/A shows there about 90 or so satellites or related hardware floating around... P.L. |
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