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Can anyone identify this satellite?
Can anyone identify this satellite?
To the group: Last night I observed a very bright satellite that I've been unable to identify using heavens-above.com, and I'm hoping that someone in this group might be able to tell me what I saw. Here are the particulars: Observation date and time: 0112 to 0113 GMT 06 June 2006 (margin of error: plus or minus one minute) Observer's location: 27.336N, 82.531W (Sarasota, Florida, USA) Apparent motion of object: From NNW to SSE Estimated maximum altitude: East at 75 degrees Lowest observed altitude/time: SSE at 15-20 degrees (object faded consistent with entering shadow)/0113 GMT 06 June 2006 (margin of error: plus or minus one minute) Estimated brightness: Magnitude -0.5 Quality of light/color: Steady (no flares)/light orange Speed of pass: Appeared to be about 25% faster than "average" pass of most satellites in low earth orbit Observing conditions: Clear with a little less than a half moon high in the sky Additional details: I was not looking for a satellite in this part of the sky when I saw this object, and when it caught my attention it had already passed beyond its maximum elevation, thus I can only estimate its maximum elevation by extrapolation of its observed path. At first I thought it was low-flying airplane because of its speed (about 25% faster than most satellites I've observed) and its brightness (I'm not very good at estimating brightness, but it must have been in the neighborhood of -0.5 based upon reference to a number of Space Shuttle passes I've observed), but there were no flashing lights nor were there wingtip navigation lights. The color remained a steady light orange and did not flash. I observed the object for about 90 seconds until it faded into darkness at bout 15 degrees above the SSE horizon (the rate of fade was consistent with the way satellites fade when they enter the shadow, and based upon predictions on heavens-above.com for other satellites that were in that area of the sky around that time, this would have been the area where the shadow would have been encountered.) Can anyone in the group identify this bird? I thank the members of the group in advance for any help they might be able to lend in identifying what I saw. |
#3
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Can anyone identify this satellite?
Ted,
Thanks so much for your reply and all of your careful research. I tend to agree with you that what I saw was Rosat. As you noted, a lot of the particulars agree with the predicted pass except for the time and the magnitude. I could have been further in error in my time than I thought (since I did not have on a watch and had to estimate the time lag between my observation and when I got back into the house to consult a fairly accurate watch), and as you say, the brightness could have been a flare phenomenon. All in all, I think that Rosat fits the picture (and what it a picture it was -- really one of the more incredible sightings I have experienced in several years). I'll be especially looking for this one the next time it makes a nice high pass -- unfortunately, that doesn't occur until 24 June, early in the morning. If I see it again and it appears anything near what I saw last night, I'll report back to the group. Again, thanks for all the help on this. -- wrote: Using Heavens-Above, I find that Rosat (90049A / 20638) most likely is what you observed: http://www.heavens-above.com/PassDet...4.053537 7746 The predicted and observed path are in reasonably good agreement, considering that you saw only the tail end of the pass. Predicted and observed eclipse entry elevation also agree well. However, predicted and observed time disagree by more than your stated margin of uncertainty. Also, it was quite a bit brighter than predicted, but not unreasonably so, given that satellites can flare. I found one report of a reddish colour by an experienced satellite observer: http://satobs.org/seesat/Aug-1995/0105.html I also found these photos which show that the object is predominantly yellow/red, mainly due to the colour of its thermal blanket: http://wave.xray.mpe.mpg.de/rosat/calendar/1993/nov http://wave.xray.mpe.mpg.de/rosat/calendar/1994/nov Ted Molczan wrote: Can anyone identify this satellite? To the group: Last night I observed a very bright satellite that I've been unable to identify using heavens-above.com, and I'm hoping that someone in this group might be able to tell me what I saw. Here are the particulars: Observation date and time: 0112 to 0113 GMT 06 June 2006 (margin of error: plus or minus one minute) Observer's location: 27.336N, 82.531W (Sarasota, Florida, USA) Apparent motion of object: From NNW to SSE Estimated maximum altitude: East at 75 degrees Lowest observed altitude/time: SSE at 15-20 degrees (object faded consistent with entering shadow)/0113 GMT 06 June 2006 (margin of error: plus or minus one minute) Estimated brightness: Magnitude -0.5 Quality of light/color: Steady (no flares)/light orange Speed of pass: Appeared to be about 25% faster than "average" pass of most satellites in low earth orbit Observing conditions: Clear with a little less than a half moon high in the sky Additional details: I was not looking for a satellite in this part of the sky when I saw this object, and when it caught my attention it had already passed beyond its maximum elevation, thus I can only estimate its maximum elevation by extrapolation of its observed path. At first I thought it was low-flying airplane because of its speed (about 25% faster than most satellites I've observed) and its brightness (I'm not very good at estimating brightness, but it must have been in the neighborhood of -0.5 based upon reference to a number of Space Shuttle passes I've observed), but there were no flashing lights nor were there wingtip navigation lights. The color remained a steady light orange and did not flash. I observed the object for about 90 seconds until it faded into darkness at bout 15 degrees above the SSE horizon (the rate of fade was consistent with the way satellites fade when they enter the shadow, and based upon predictions on heavens-above.com for other satellites that were in that area of the sky around that time, this would have been the area where the shadow would have been encountered.) Can anyone in the group identify this bird? |
#4
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Can anyone identify this satellite?
wrote:
Ted, Thanks so much for your reply and all of your careful research. I tend to agree with you that what I saw was Rosat. As you noted, a lot of the particulars agree with the predicted pass except for the time and the magnitude. I could have been further in error in my time than I thought (since I did not have on a watch and had to estimate the time lag between my observation and when I got back into the house to consult a fairly accurate watch), and as you say, the brightness could have been a flare phenomenon. All in all, I think that Rosat fits the picture (and what it a picture it was -- really one of the more incredible sightings I have experienced in several years). I'll be especially looking for this one the next time it makes a nice high pass -- unfortunately, that doesn't occur until 24 June, early in the morning. If I see it again and it appears anything near what I saw last night, I'll report back to the group. Again, thanks for all the help on this. Russell Eberst informs me that Cosmos 2405 (04020A / 28350) is a better match to your observation: http://www.heavens-above.com/PassDet...4.049552 5356 My guess as to the reason for its absence in the general Heavens-Above predictions is that it was for lack of a standard magnitude. In any case, the predicted time and track are in excellent agreement with your observation, and it has been observed to be quite bright and to flare even than your observation: http://satobs.org/seesat/Jun-2006/0011.html http://satobs.org/seesat/Jun-2006/0015.html Ted Molczan |
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