(meteorobs) Mystery cloud observation... eastern Ontario

[Tony Beresford]

At 00:19 2/09/04, C.L. Hall wrote:
>Fwd from the RASC email list in Canada
>
>- Cathy Hall
>
>----- Original Message -----
>From: Jan Wisniewski <jwisn at sympatico.ca>
>To: RASCals Discussion List <rascals at lists.rasc.ca>
>Sent: Tuesday, August 31, 2004 9:57 PM
>Subject: [RASCals] Bizarre meteor train
>
>
>> Hi, Did anybody notice bright fireball over eastern Ontario this evening
>> sometime around 8:30 pm EDT?
>> I got a call from my friend who noticed strange glowing cloud about 45 deg
>> above horizon toward SSW. Getting outside, I have noticed it immedately
>with
>> naked eye. Through binoculars it had the most bizarre shape: a narrow cone
>> of light (brightest at the apex, forming about 20 deg. fan) crossed at the
>> wide end by diffuze but bright X. It was located between pi and iota
>> Herculis at that time (about 8:50 pm) and basically filled the field of
>view
>> of 10x50 binoculars. By 9:05 it drifted in front of gamma Draconis  and it
>> was getting weaker. I could still notice it as just an elongated patch of
>> light close to epsilon Draconis at 9:18 pm EDT.
>>
Good descriptions Cathy. No fireball though

This was a fuel dump of the centaur stage involved in the NRO-1 launch 
from Cape Canaveral earlier (19:17EDT) in the day. It is the usual practice for all Centaur 
assisted launches. It happens after spacecraft separation of course. It was 
observed and reported by several observers of the Seesat l mailing list; it was 
the fuel and oxidizer from a Centaur upper rocket stage being dumped ,on its second orbit 
after launch. Being just after nightfall, the cloud of Ice was still sunlit at 
that altitude.  I saw the last remains of such a cloud after the Cassini launch,
from my backyard here in Australia, after being alerted by a member of the public.

At least one observer using a 15cm telescope saw both the tumbling Centaur and the payload.
Another videod it. Pictures at http://public.fotki.com/nexstarman/international_space/centaur-fuel-dump.html
Tony Beresford
Adelaide, SA