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Unlisted satellite?
Can anyone identify this? A few minutes ago, at 2145 Pacific Daylight
Time, I happened to look up and saw a very bright, fast moving object going through Ursa Major. I first saw it underneath the bend in the handle and watched it move north until it faded out near the star at the bottom of the dipper. It was 0 or -1 magnitude, maybe brighter, and went to invisible over the 10 seconds or so I saw it. The only things I've ever seen this bright were Mir or the ISS, and the latter isn't above us right now. Could it have been a booster from today's shuttle launch? |
#2
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Unlisted satellite?
"Bernie Dodge" wrote in message
... Can anyone identify this? A few minutes ago, at 2145 Pacific Daylight Time, I happened to look up and saw a very bright, fast moving object going through Ursa Major. I first saw it underneath the bend in the handle and watched it move north until it faded out near the star at the bottom of the dipper. It was 0 or -1 magnitude, maybe brighter, and went to invisible over the 10 seconds or so I saw it. The only things I've ever seen this bright were Mir or the ISS, and the latter isn't above us right now. Could it have been a booster from today's shuttle launch? I believe you saw USA 129, one of three KeyHole imaging reconnaissance satellites in orbit. Its international designation is 1996-072A, and its U.S. Strategic Command catalogue number is 24680. They are similar in size and shape to the Hubble Space Telescope. This class of satellite often flares up in brightness, especially on passes to the north-west. KeyHole orbital elements are not available from official sources, but they are regularly observed by hobbyists, who maintain accurate elements. Here is Heavens-Above's prediction of USA 129's pass last night (July 16 PDT), using hobbyist elements: http://www.heavens-above.com/PassDet...011.1963192824 Ted Molczan |
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