Question for veteran satellite observers..

How do you go about planning for a "session" of satellite observing? I
understand how to come up with pass predictions for any satellite
using software, online services like Heavens Above, etc., but I do not
know how to "choose" satellites without it being laborious. For
example, I just spent an hour or so typing in "Lacrosse 2", "Lacrosse
3", etc. at the Heavens Above web site to see what interesting
satellites might be visible the next night or two from my location,
but I found very few passes. This seems like a very inefficient way to
go about planning, so what do you guys do? Do you pick out the
interesting satellites, calculate when they will make favorable passes
many days in advance, and then mark those on a calendar of some sort?
Is there some software that you can use to do this? Thanks very much
for your help.

How do you go about planning for a "session" of satellite
observing? ... This seems like a very inefficient way to go
about planning, so what do you guys do? Do you pick out the
interesting satellites, calculate when they will make
favorable passes many days in advance, and then mark those
on a calendar of some sort? Is there some software that
you can use to do this?

I'm not a very good planner or very organized, but I'll
comment anyway. I use Quicksat and Highfly and Iridflar
with certain element set files to generate, for a specific
evening, all passes brighter than a set estimated magnitude,
and then I scan and edit the predictions.

The element files are one "filter" and are on this site:

http://users2.ev1.net/~mmccants/tles/

With Quicksat I use highdrag.tle, mccants.tle, leo.tle, and
eccen.tle; with Highfly I omit leo.tle.

Another "filter" is the magnitude file used with each program,
which you can modify for your own purposes, especially the
"flags".

Then you filter the predictions however you want. Iridflar
is specifically for Iridium flares, of course. One way you
could go is get predictions like these and then get more
details and/or graphics with Heavens-Above.com or SkyMap or
another graphical resource.

The bottom line is that you find out very quickly what
objects are going over on a given evening (or morning) and
then pick out the ones you want to see and find out more.

Now I'll append something. We've received word that it is
possible (likely? almost certain?) that official satellite
elements may be withdrawn from public availability in May.
See these articles:

http://www.satobs.org/seesat/Dec-2003/0248.html
http://www.satobs.org/seesat/Dec-2003/0359.html

It will be pretty much impossible for amateurs to track and
analyze the orbits of the 3,000 or so objects in the elements
files above. The irony is that the result is that it could
turn out that the only objects that will continue to be
tracked by amateurs are the classified ones, which they have
been tracking for years! I don't have much idea how many
other objects a number of dedicated amateurs could track.
Some objects need very frequent observations, but others do
not. And it may be that quite a few elements will continue
to be publicly available for various reasons. It will be
interesting to see how things will develop.

Ed Cannon - - Austin, Texas, USA

How do you go about planning for a "session" of satellite
observing? ... This seems like a very inefficient way to go
about planning, so what do you guys do? Do you pick out the
interesting satellites, calculate when they will make
favorable passes many days in advance, and then mark those
on a calendar of some sort? Is there some software that
you can use to do this?

I'm not a very good planner or very organized, but I'll
comment anyway. I use Quicksat and Highfly and Iridflar
with certain element set files to generate, for a specific
evening, all passes brighter than a set estimated magnitude,
and then I scan and edit the predictions.

The element files are one "filter" and are on this site:

http://users2.ev1.net/~mmccants/tles/

With Quicksat I use highdrag.tle, mccants.tle, leo.tle, and
eccen.tle; with Highfly I omit leo.tle.

Another "filter" is the magnitude file used with each program,
which you can modify for your own purposes, especially the
"flags".

Then you filter the predictions however you want. Iridflar
is specifically for Iridium flares, of course. One way you
could go is get predictions like these and then get more
details and/or graphics with Heavens-Above.com or SkyMap or
another graphical resource.

The bottom line is that you find out very quickly what
objects are going over on a given evening (or morning) and
then pick out the ones you want to see and find out more.

Now I'll append something. We've received word that it is
possible (likely? almost certain?) that official satellite
elements may be withdrawn from public availability in May.
See these articles:

http://www.satobs.org/seesat/Dec-2003/0248.html
http://www.satobs.org/seesat/Dec-2003/0359.html

It will be pretty much impossible for amateurs to track and
analyze the orbits of the 3,000 or so objects in the elements
files above. The irony is that the result is that it could
turn out that the only objects that will continue to be
tracked by amateurs are the classified ones, which they have
been tracking for years! I don't have much idea how many
other objects a number of dedicated amateurs could track.
Some objects need very frequent observations, but others do
not. And it may be that quite a few elements will continue
to be publicly available for various reasons. It will be
interesting to see how things will develop.

Ed Cannon - - Austin, Texas, USA

Ed Cannon wrote:

Now I'll append something. We've received word that it is
possible (likely? almost certain?) that official satellite
elements may be withdrawn from public availability in May.
See these articles:

http://www.satobs.org/seesat/Dec-2003/0248.html
http://www.satobs.org/seesat/Dec-2003/0359.html

After looking at these messages, I can't understand the rationale
behind this bizarre decision. Didn't it occur to anyone that amateur
observers might prove to be a security asset? If someone launches
a satellite covered with radar-absorbent material, the government
might need a large number of experienced satellite spotters to
watch the object.

Is there anyone in the government we can write to and ask to
get this changed? (Senators? Congressmen? I'm not sure that any
of mine can read, but I'd write them anyway if it would help.)

--Bill Thompson

Ed Cannon wrote:

Now I'll append something. We've received word that it is
possible (likely? almost certain?) that official satellite
elements may be withdrawn from public availability in May.
See these articles:

http://www.satobs.org/seesat/Dec-2003/0248.html
http://www.satobs.org/seesat/Dec-2003/0359.html

After looking at these messages, I can't understand the rationale
behind this bizarre decision. Didn't it occur to anyone that amateur
observers might prove to be a security asset? If someone launches
a satellite covered with radar-absorbent material, the government
might need a large number of experienced satellite spotters to
watch the object.

Is there anyone in the government we can write to and ask to
get this changed? (Senators? Congressmen? I'm not sure that any
of mine can read, but I'd write them anyway if it would help.)

--Bill Thompson

Allison Kirkpatrick wrote:

How do you go about planning for a "session" of satellite observing?

"Planning"?

I understand how to come up with pass predictions for any satellite
using software, online services like Heavens Above, etc., but I do not
know how to "choose" satellites without it being laborious.

I don't have any non-laborious way of doing it. H-A will list
all satellites visible on a given night down to magnitude 5.0, and
donbarry.org will list them down to 6.0. If I want to look for
something else, it's a matter of looking up the satellite by name
on H-A. One thing that will speed the process on H-A is to use
their wildcard function, the percent symbol. Put in lac% and you'll
get a list of all the Lacrosse objects (put in la% and you'll get
both Lacrosses and Landsats).

--Bill Thompson

Allison Kirkpatrick wrote:

How do you go about planning for a "session" of satellite observing?

"Planning"?

I understand how to come up with pass predictions for any satellite
using software, online services like Heavens Above, etc., but I do not
know how to "choose" satellites without it being laborious.

I don't have any non-laborious way of doing it. H-A will list
all satellites visible on a given night down to magnitude 5.0, and
donbarry.org will list them down to 6.0. If I want to look for
something else, it's a matter of looking up the satellite by name
on H-A. One thing that will speed the process on H-A is to use
their wildcard function, the percent symbol. Put in lac% and you'll
get a list of all the Lacrosse objects (put in la% and you'll get
both Lacrosses and Landsats).

--Bill Thompson

"Allison Kirkpatrick" wrote in message
om...
How do you go about planning for a "session" of satellite observing? I
understand how to come up with pass predictions for any satellite
using software, online services like Heavens Above, etc., but I do not
know how to "choose" satellites without it being laborious. For
example, I just spent an hour or so typing in "Lacrosse 2", "Lacrosse
3", etc. at the Heavens Above web site to see what interesting
satellites might be visible the next night or two from my location,
but I found very few passes. This seems like a very inefficient way to
go about planning, so what do you guys do? Do you pick out the
interesting satellites, calculate when they will make favorable passes
many days in advance, and then mark those on a calendar of some sort?
Is there some software that you can use to do this? Thanks very much
for your help.

I suggest Mike McCants' QuickSat program:

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

Ted Molczan

"Allison Kirkpatrick" wrote in message
om...
How do you go about planning for a "session" of satellite observing? I
understand how to come up with pass predictions for any satellite
using software, online services like Heavens Above, etc., but I do not
know how to "choose" satellites without it being laborious. For
example, I just spent an hour or so typing in "Lacrosse 2", "Lacrosse
3", etc. at the Heavens Above web site to see what interesting
satellites might be visible the next night or two from my location,
but I found very few passes. This seems like a very inefficient way to
go about planning, so what do you guys do? Do you pick out the
interesting satellites, calculate when they will make favorable passes
many days in advance, and then mark those on a calendar of some sort?
Is there some software that you can use to do this? Thanks very much
for your help.

I suggest Mike McCants' QuickSat program:

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

Ted Molczan

Bill Thompson says...

Ed Cannon wrote:

... possible ... that official satellite
elements may be withdrawn from public availability in May.
See these articles:

http://www.satobs.org/seesat/Dec-2003/0248.html
http://www.satobs.org/seesat/Dec-2003/0359.html

After looking at these messages, I can't understand the rationale
behind this bizarre decision.

Basically, they can't face the fact that big expensive spysats are
easy for motivated amateurs to track. (Also, for some crazy reason,
they won't release elements for vehicles that launch classified
satellites, even though there's no security risk there that I can
imagine. But what do I know?)

There may be an element of privatization of everything and wanting
more revenue involved. It could even be industry people. I've read
that commercial weather outfits really don't like it that the
government provides weather data to the public for free. But I
figure that really we pay for it in taxes already, like so many
things. So maybe some aerospace industry people are just looking
for another few dollars in revenue via this, and it fits in with
the weird thinking of security maniacs.

It's so ironic with security maniacs -- the only people who didn't
know about Area 51 for a long time were US taxpayers. The Soviets
had satellite photos of it long ago. I figure it's the same with
satellites. If they withdraw the elements, it won't affect other
nations that matter. Does anyone think that Russian, China, and
even India can't track satellites with radar, not to mention
visually? I figure that those all, along with others, track many
many satellites now, so the withdrawal of USA-supplied elements
won't affect them. And amateurs will continue to supply data on
classified satellites. It's almost like when China was trying
to control news getting in (back around Tienanmen Square times),
but it was getting in anyway via fax machines, shortwave radios,
etc.

I'm hoping that at least a fair minority of orbital elements will
remain available due to there being no point at all in them not
being so.

Didn't it occur to anyone that amateur
observers might prove to be a security asset? If someone launches
a satellite covered with radar-absorbent material, the government
might need a large number of experienced satellite spotters to
watch the object.

Of course the USA has advanced visual tracking also, but it's
conceivable that an amateur network could add significant data.

Is there anyone in the government we can write to and ask to
get this changed? (Senators? Congressmen? I'm not sure that any
of mine can read, but I'd write them anyway if it would help.)

--Bill Thompson

Maybe senators and a congressman might be worth a letter, as well
as the president. I wish I could drive up to Crawford some
evening and show Mr. Bush how easy they are to see and explain to
him how a smart adolescent with binoculars and a PC can track
them. Ted Molczan learned to track them when he was a kid,
before there were any PCs. (I just tried unsuccessfully to find
his message to SeeSat-L where he wrote about that.)

Ed Cannon - - Austin, Texas, USA