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Frost bite in my nether regions

Caz

By Caz
in The Astro Lounge

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Caz

Caz

Posted
Posted

......my toes are freezing.... :clouds2:

Its another freezing clear night here in the midlands, not a cloud to be seen, but theres one thing troubling me....the moon! I know its beautiful to look at, and if your lucky, take pictures of, but when I'm trying to spot certain objects, their a little tricky to find. I was hoping to see M36, 37 & 38, but it wasn't meant to be tonight.... :clouds2:

I did spot something moving across the sky though, quite high up, just a single dot of light, would it be possible that maybe it was a satellite, are they visable with the unaided eye??

Caz :sunny:

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The Warthog

The Warthog

Posted
Posted

......my toes are freezing.... :clouds2:

Oh, your TOES! If your toes are freezing, put on a warm hat or another sweater. Seriously. If your other nether regions are freezing, get a longer coat.

What you saw was very likely a satellite. Most are at mag 3 and below, but the ISS can be close to 0 mag. If you see an Iridium flare, it can be up to -8. You can get satellite and Iridium flare predictions for your location at heavens-above.com. You needn't be afraid to register at this site.

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FLO

FLO

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Most are at mag 3 and below, but the ISS can be close to 0 mag. If you see an Iridium flare, it can be up to -8.

Caz,

WH is talking in magnitudes - levels of brightness - and for some absurd reason, the lower the number, the brighter the object :scratch:

Steve

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The Warthog

The Warthog

Posted
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Most are at mag 3 and below, but the ISS can be close to 0 mag. If you see an Iridium flare, it can be up to -8.

Caz,

WH is talking in magnitudes - levels of brightness - and for some absurd reason, the lower the number, the brighter the object :scratch:

Steve

Oh, sorry. Ahem. Most satellites are pretty dim, but the ISS can be quite visible even at twilight. Iridium flares, on the other hand, can be effing brilliant, however brief they may be. :clouds2:

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GazOC

GazOC

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Steve/Caz,

The fainter stars having larger magnitudes thing makes sense if you look at it another way: At least as we progress we are reaching into higher magnitudes, the Ancients could see to Mag 6, a good amatuer scope can see to Mag 15 etc. the other way just leads to increasingly large minus numbers....

There was no way to set an upper limit when the system was devised as we'll don't down how technology will progress to enable us to see fainter stars.

Gaz

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Ant

Ant

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I think the Oh WOW for the satelite would have masked slightly by the Oh [removed word] some one's shooting at me again...

If you actually spend an evening meteor watching - laying on the ground or a reclining chair you can see hundreds of the damn things... it's then thast you realise that there are thousands of bits of junk just floating aorund up there.

Ant

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The Warthog

The Warthog

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I remember going out into the street to watch for Sputnik I. There were dozens of people standing around, looking up. Oddly, I can't remember if we actually saw it, but within a few years, we had seen satellites. Now we see them all the time. I am quite used to seeing very dim satellites go through my FOV once a night, or so, if my observing session is of any length.

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Carl

Carl

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Hi all

I hate to sound like a dumbass again :clouds2: But can someone plz tell me what a Iridium Flare is exactly.

ISS -

Search Period Start: 12:00 Monday, 19 December, 2005

Search Period End: 12:00 Thursday, 29 December, 2005

Observer's Location: Oxford ( 51.7540°N, 1.2540°W)

Local Time: Greenwich Mean Time (GMT + 0:00)

Orbit: 343 x 357 km, 51.6° (Epoch 19 Dec)

talk about bad luck :clouds2:

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The Warthog

The Warthog

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An Iridium Flare is a reflection from the main mission antenna of an Iridium communications satellite. These are the satellites that are involved in satellite telephony. The main mission antennae are polished aluminum plates about 6' x 2'. There are three of them, spaced evenly about the satellite, and inclined outward at about 30 degrees. The geometry makes reflections from the antennae predictable, as the reflection traces a swath along the earth, often several hundred km in extent.

You can, of course, find local predictions for Iridium Flares at heavens-above.com.

An Iridium flare looks like an aircraft landing light being shone in your direction for a few seconds, then quickly diminishing. It is a bright, bluish white light traversing a few degrees. If you have good eyesight, you can see the dim reflection of the satellite before and after the flare

I have a list of about 30 Iridium satellites I have seen over the years. There are about 88 in orbit, and typically there are one to three a day over any spot on the earth.

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FLO

FLO

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I remember going out into the street to watch for Sputnik I. There were dozens of people standing around, looking up. Oddly, I can't remember if we actually saw it...

I doubt it, I don't think Sputnik had solar-panels :clouds2:

As for an Iridium flare: Haven't seen one but would really like to; I guess I'd better start monitoring that website. 

Steve

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