(meteorobs) Re-entries USA 193 fragments observed from Canada

Bruce McCurdy bmccurdy at telusplanet.net
Thu Feb 21 04:42:39 EST 2008


    Alas, here in Edmonton we tried but failed to spot anything out of the 
ordinary. We were specifically looking around the time of the predicted 
satellite pass, however I note that at 20:43 MST when the satellite was to 
be passing over northern Alberta the fragments were being observed almost 10 
deg. west of here, so obviously they had been slowed significantly by the 
disruption event. While I had stopped exclusively monitoring the northern 
sky just before third contact at 20:50 -- I had to turn my attention back to 
the eclipse and its attendant crowds -- if anything had happened surely 
someone among the many hundreds of people out to view the eclipse would have 
spotted it and raised the alarm.

    Taking into account the relatively low altitude (35 deg. if still 
intact) of the predicted satellite pass as confirmed by the northeast 
trajectory observed from a site virtually due west of Edmonton, I wonder if 
the fragments were simply too low/too far to be spotted from here.

    Interest in the satellite was sufficient that I was interviewed live by 
a radio station in New South Wales, Australia (!) during the presumed 
observing window. I did spot one meteor but it was moving east to west and 
was surely of natural causes. Guess my halfway-round-the-world correspondent 
would have been better off connecting with my friends in Prince George!

    Not all was lost: the weather was excellent, the eclipse was beautiful, 
and the madding throngs (estimated 1,000) were delighted with views of the 
eclipsed Moon and nearby Saturn.

    Bruce
    *****

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Marco Langbroek" <marco.langbroek at wanadoo.nl>
To: "Meteorobs NAMN" <meteorobs at meteorobs.org>
Sent: Thursday, February 21, 2008 12:36 AM
Subject: (meteorobs) Re-entries USA 193 fragments observed from Canada


>
> Taken from the Satobs list, quoting in turn a message taken from the RASC 
> list:
>
> http://www.satobs.org/seesat/Feb-2008/0450.html
>
>> A message posted on the mailing list of the Royal Astronomical Society of
>> Canada says in part:
>>
>>>at approx. 19:43 PDT while observing the lunar eclipse at the PGAO (53 
>>>45'
>> 29" N   122 50' 56" W) a group of
>>>about 30 people, PG Centre members and public, witnessed what we assume 
>>>was
>> the demise of the spy
>>>satellite USA 193.
>>
>>>Many debris trails were witnessed moving from south-west to north-east at
>> high altitude. One was especially
>>>bright and long lasting. I can recall about 6 bright trails and 15 
>>>fainter
>> ones.
>>
>>>The debris trails seemed to come in "waves" with the first wave being
>> brighter than the debris that followed
>>>behind it. The trails seemed to be in a fan shape with the trails being
>> wider apart in the north-east than they
>>>were in the south-est.
>>
>>>Brian Battersby, Prince George Centre RASC
>
> - Marco
>
> -----
> Dr Marco Langbroek  -  SatTrackCam Leiden, the Netherlands.
> e-mail: sattrackcam at wanadoo.nl
>
> Cospar 4353 (Leiden):   52.15412 N, 4.49081 E (WGS84), +0 m ASL
> Cospar 4354 (De Wilck): 52.11685 N, 4.56016 E (WGS84), -2 m ASL
> SatTrackCam: http://home.wanadoo.nl/marco.langbroek/satcam.html
> Station (b)log: http://sattrackcam.blogspot.com
> -----
>
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