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Daddee I once was a slug.
Joined: 04 Jan 2003 Posts: 2815 Location: Mesa, AZ
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Posted: 10/12/2006, 2:35 pm Post subject: Nightgazers: Observing Irridium flares |
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If you reacll the Irridium sattelite phone $5 Billion fiasco from the late 90s - well, the satelites are still up there, and thanks to special software, we know exactly when you can catch an Irridium "Flare" - which can last for several seconds and outshine the planet Venus.
Pretty cool. _________________ "Only small minds want always to be right."
- Louis XIV
"...haven't you lived long enough to know that two men may honestly differ about a question and both be right?"
- Abraham Lincoln |
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Nighthiker
Joined: 05 Jan 2003 Posts: 1714
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Posted: 10/12/2006, 7:23 pm Post subject: |
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Think I have observed these from time to time. The space station is very bright like Venus and I think the magnitude is -3. |
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Trishness The Snake Charmer
Joined: 21 Sep 2003 Posts: 2530 Location: Apache Jct, AZ
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Posted: 10/12/2006, 8:49 pm Post subject: |
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Saw one of these flares at Kitt's Peak last summer during their night observation program. It was really cool!!!
_________________ ~~~Trish~~~
"Eastward the dawn rose, ridge behind ridge into the morning, and vanished out of eyesight into guess; it was no more than a glimmer blending with the hem of the sky, but it spoke to them, out of the memory and old tales, of the high and distant mountains." � J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of The Rings. |
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evenstar
Joined: 03 Jan 2003 Posts: 5548 Location: SCW by way of CA
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Posted: 10/12/2006, 9:10 pm Post subject: |
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GTG see them all the time! _________________ John Richardson and Richie Rich, El Perro de Playero
http://members.tripod.com/~evenstar/index.html
http://www.arizonahikers.com
When the Man waked up he said, "What is Wild Dog doing here?" And the Woman said, "His name is not Wild Dog anymore, but the First Friend, because he will be our friend for always and always and always. Take him with you when you go hunting."
--Rudyard Kipling, from Just So Stories, 1902 |
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evenstar
Joined: 03 Jan 2003 Posts: 5548 Location: SCW by way of CA
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Posted: 10/12/2006, 9:12 pm Post subject: |
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evenstar wrote: |
GTG see them all the time! |
IGO used to, but now he's just a boring old guy! _________________ John Richardson and Richie Rich, El Perro de Playero
http://members.tripod.com/~evenstar/index.html
http://www.arizonahikers.com
When the Man waked up he said, "What is Wild Dog doing here?" And the Woman said, "His name is not Wild Dog anymore, but the First Friend, because he will be our friend for always and always and always. Take him with you when you go hunting."
--Rudyard Kipling, from Just So Stories, 1902 |
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Daddee I once was a slug.
Joined: 04 Jan 2003 Posts: 2815 Location: Mesa, AZ
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Posted: 10/12/2006, 9:25 pm Post subject: |
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The Irridium flares can be as bright as -9.5 (with most hitting around -
For those wondering what the -8 means, read this. _________________ "Only small minds want always to be right."
- Louis XIV
"...haven't you lived long enough to know that two men may honestly differ about a question and both be right?"
- Abraham Lincoln |
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GTG Was lost but now am found
Joined: 30 Dec 2002 Posts: 2387 Location: Peoria, Arizona, originally from Rocket City, USA
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Posted: 10/12/2006, 9:39 pm Post subject: |
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evenstar wrote: |
evenstar wrote: |
GTG see them all the time! |
IGO used to, but now he's just a boring old guy! |
Daddee wrote: |
The Irridium flares can be as bright as -9.5 (with most hitting around -
For those wondering what the -8 means, read this. |
Does that mean Hooli ends up a shining bright 0 ?
GTG _________________ Good things come to those who walk. |
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IGO
Joined: 08 Feb 2005 Posts: 4144 Location: Las Vegas
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Posted: 10/13/2006, 4:05 am Post subject: |
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evenstar wrote: |
evenstar wrote: |
GTG see them all the time! |
IGO used to, but now he's just a boring old guy! |
I still see them from time to time. Not as intense and not as frequently but I do see them. _________________ "Surely all God's people, however serious or savage, great or small, like to play. Whales and elephants, dancing, humming gnats, and invisibly small mischievous microbes - all are warm with divine radium and must have lots of fun in them." John Muir |
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paintninaz
Joined: 06 Jan 2003 Posts: 3515
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Posted: 10/13/2006, 4:45 am Post subject: |
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IGO wrote: |
evenstar wrote: |
evenstar wrote: |
GTG see them all the time! |
IGO used to, but now he's just a boring old guy! |
I still see them from time to time. Not as intense and not as frequently but I do see them. |
...do they speak to you also? _________________ ~Tracy
“Friends make the bad times good — and the good times unforgettable.” |
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IGO
Joined: 08 Feb 2005 Posts: 4144 Location: Las Vegas
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Posted: 10/13/2006, 5:00 am Post subject: |
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Not so much anymore. _________________ "Surely all God's people, however serious or savage, great or small, like to play. Whales and elephants, dancing, humming gnats, and invisibly small mischievous microbes - all are warm with divine radium and must have lots of fun in them." John Muir |
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Daddee I once was a slug.
Joined: 04 Jan 2003 Posts: 2815 Location: Mesa, AZ
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Posted: 10/13/2006, 9:06 am Post subject: |
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GTG wrote: |
evenstar wrote: |
evenstar wrote: |
GTG see them all the time! |
IGO used to, but now he's just a boring old guy! |
Daddee wrote: |
The Irridium flares can be as bright as -9.5 (with most hitting around -
For those wondering what the -8 means, read this. |
Does that mean Hooli ends up a shining bright 0 ?
GTG |
It really depends on if he's wearing a hat or not. Sans hat we're looking at -12.6 minimum. _________________ "Only small minds want always to be right."
- Louis XIV
"...haven't you lived long enough to know that two men may honestly differ about a question and both be right?"
- Abraham Lincoln |
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evenstar
Joined: 03 Jan 2003 Posts: 5548 Location: SCW by way of CA
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Posted: 10/13/2006, 9:12 am Post subject: |
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Daddee wrote: |
GTG wrote: |
evenstar wrote: |
evenstar wrote: |
GTG see them all the time! |
IGO used to, but now he's just a boring old guy! |
Daddee wrote: |
The Irridium flares can be as bright as -9.5 (with most hitting around -
For those wondering what the -8 means, read this. |
Does that mean Hooli ends up a shining bright 0 ?
GTG |
It really depends on if he's wearing a hat or not. Sans hat we're looking at -12.6 minimum. |
Let this blind ya: _________________ John Richardson and Richie Rich, El Perro de Playero
http://members.tripod.com/~evenstar/index.html
http://www.arizonahikers.com
When the Man waked up he said, "What is Wild Dog doing here?" And the Woman said, "His name is not Wild Dog anymore, but the First Friend, because he will be our friend for always and always and always. Take him with you when you go hunting."
--Rudyard Kipling, from Just So Stories, 1902 |
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azhiker96
Joined: 05 Jan 2003 Posts: 1419
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Posted: 10/13/2006, 11:38 pm Post subject: |
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evenstar wrote: |
Let this blind ya: |
Hmmm, I think that's about a -2.3. _________________ It is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring. -- Carl Sagan |
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Daddee I once was a slug.
Joined: 04 Jan 2003 Posts: 2815 Location: Mesa, AZ
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Posted: 10/14/2006, 10:14 am Post subject: |
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Look at the Wikipedia article - that one definitely ranks as a -12.6 _________________ "Only small minds want always to be right."
- Louis XIV
"...haven't you lived long enough to know that two men may honestly differ about a question and both be right?"
- Abraham Lincoln |
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azhiker96
Joined: 05 Jan 2003 Posts: 1419
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Posted: 10/14/2006, 12:21 pm Post subject: |
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If there's an ignition source we might even see a -22.4 flare! _________________ It is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring. -- Carl Sagan |
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