(meteorobs) possible artificial nebula tonight

Ed Cannon edcannonsat at yahoo.com
Thu Jan 19 19:28:10 EST 2012


If the 0:38 UTC scheduled launch goes off as scheduled or even
somewhat later in the launch window from Cape Canaveral, there's
a very good chance for an artificial nebula or "comet" around 2:00
UTC south of Israel to ENE of South Africa, perhaps directly over
Madagascar.  It would be within several degrees of the celestial
equator from an observing site.  Sorry I don't have more detailed
information.  Here's a page for reference:

http://www.satobs.org/seesat/Jan-2012/0253.html

"WGS 4" is "Wideband Global SATCOM 4", a US military 
communications satellite.

Here's a projected ground-track map of the launch events:

http://www.spaceflightnow.com/delta/d358/track.html

With good weather, it could be worth looking for.

Ed Cannon -- Texas


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