[Author Prev][Author Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Author Index][Thread Index]
Re: [APML] OK What the He** is it??
Dear Jim,
Since your photo was taken close to the ecliptic, note that
there is a class of _ecliptically_ synchronous spy satellites, one of
which may have been the cause of your problem. Whether or not these
are documented in recent literature would depend on the longevity of
databases of such objects. Note that a defunct such satellite may
have wandered away from the minimum in a specific tessoral harmonic
of the Earth's gravitational field where it would have been parked
years ago. Only those who track space junk might know your culprit's
identity. And please correct me if I am wrong, but I believe NASA's
group who followed such objects optically were put out of business
recently by a NASA HQ costcutting measure.
Paul Rybski, Physics, UW-Whitewater
>Hi Robert,
>
>I checked all of the satellites at Heavens Above without success. The shot
>was taken from about Lat. 32:38 and Long. 108:10 and RA 17:24:36 DEC -31:10.
>Some of the sats are south but none around the time I was shooting, Friday
>the 10th at around 2:30 to 4:00.
>
>If anyone else can determine the culprit I would sure like to know.
>
>Jim
>
>
>----- Original Message -----
>From: "Robert Reeves" <reeves10@swbell.net>
>To: <astro-photo@seds.org>
>Sent: Monday, May 20, 2002 8:44 PM
>Subject: Re: [APML] OK What the He** is it??
>
>
>> > So has Saturn moved into southern Scorpius? Can anyone guess what
>caused
>> > the strange object / star in this shot? It's a section of an image of
>> > IC4628. The image has some field rotation at 90 minutes but what the
>heck
>> > is it?
>> >
>> > http://www.astroimager.net/Whatit-1.jpg
>> >
>> > Jim
>>
>> My vote would be an Iridium flare. What elevation above the horizon was
>> this shot? If low on the horizon, the distance to the satellite would be
>> great and the length of the flare foreshortened, making it short on the
>film
>> like the photo shows. The just before twilight timing would be right for
>a
>> satellite flare.
>>
>> I have a bright Iridium flare photo on my web site at
>> http://www.robertreeves.com/iridium.jpg
>> At about 30 degrees elevation, it shows a slightly longer trail than your
>> image, but then the flare on my image was so bright I started to yell at
>the
>> "idiot who turned on his car headlights" only to find the source of light
>> was in the sky. Yours could have been a dimmer flare, and thus have
>shorter
>> fore and aft trails.
>>
>> Robert Reeves reeves10@swbell.net
>> 520 Rittiman Rd. www.robertreeves.com
>> San Antonio, Texas 78209 210-828-9036
>> USA 29.484 98.440 200 meters
>>
>>
>> -- APML Archives at <http://astro.umsystem.edu/apml/> ---
>> Unsubscribe at <majordomo@seds.org>
>>
>
>
>-- APML Archives at <http://astro.umsystem.edu/apml/> ---
> Unsubscribe at <majordomo@seds.org>
--
Paul M. Rybski, Ph.D., Associate Professor and former Chair,
Dept. of Physics, and
Director, Whitewater Observatory
University of WI-Whitewater
Whitewater, WI 53190-1790
Office FAX: (414) 472-5633
Email address: rybskip@uww.edu
-- APML Archives at <http://astro.umsystem.edu/apml/> ---
Unsubscribe at <majordomo@seds.org>