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(meteorobs) Re: UNSUBSCRIBE meteorobs




Howdy, Brent, and thanks for writing! I took the liberty of forwarding your 
query to the main 'meteorobs' list: watch your digest message each night for 
responses to it! As for my own opinion, from what you described I'd say there 
are maybe two possibilities:

1) you saw the reentry of the Russian booster (which was widely reported).

2) you saw a fairly bright satellite group pass over.

On (1), the sad truth is that there really is NO WAY for a single observer to 
tell how high in the sky a light source is: that's why for instace so many 
folks confuse a full moon, the planet Venus, or just bright stars for UFOs. So 
you might well have observed this space-junk reentry with your friend, and 
thought that it SEEMED "right over the city". The only thing which contradicts 
this is your statement that you saw it heading East - but how sure are you of 
that direction? If you had actually seen it heading WEST, then it could easily 
have made it many, many miles out in the Pacific after you saw it.

On (2), you don't mention how bright the object seemed relative to (for 
instance) the gibbous moon that rose later that night, or the brightest stars. 
Was it really as bright as the moon, or maybe just as bright as the evening / 
morning star (aka Venus)? If the latter, it might well have been the space 
station Mir, or one of the REALLY BRIGHT secret satellites you hear about. 
These objects will occasionally dump out REAL "space junk" (fuel, water, 
screwdrivers, etc.) which will trail them for hours or days after...

In the final analysis, if you REALLY want to know what the possibilities are, 
don't bother asking the local media, or friends, or (God forbid) the local UFO 
crowd: try asking some amateur astronomers in your area who might have actually 
SEEN what you saw! You can find them at any area astronomy-club meeting, or in 
many desolate spots on clear nights, in the dark of the moon. :)

Clear skies, and welcome back!
Lew Gramer <owner-meteorobs@latrade.com>



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