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Date: 07 Sep 2007 23:06:16
From: Marty
Subject: Explorer 7 !
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Some in here may have noticed that I seem to have developed some type of
interest in rooting through the low-Earth-orbit boneyard of early space
junk. Tonight, according to "Heavens Above," Explorer 7 was supposed to
make a relatively bright (mag. 8.1) pass visible from my little burg in
west-central Iowa.
Explorer 7
http://content.answers.com/main/content/wp/en/thumb/a/a3/375px-Explorer7.jpg
wasn't a particularly exciting satellite, especially by today's
standards. The Wikipedia article states that "It was designed to
measure solar X-ray and Lyman-alpha flux, trapped energetic particles,
and heavy primary cosmic rays." ... not the stuff of Star Wars, but
when it was launched on October 13th of 1959, ALL satellites were
exciting! And I remember being captivated by a movie at school about
the mysterious "cosmic rays" when I was in grade school, so for me, that
would be cool. OK, so Explorer 7 isn't particularly exciting. I
figured this wouldn't be an entry in my log printed off from a post in
SAA, but a more mundane "fountain pen" entry.
Anyway, I went outside with my 11x80 binocs and a shortwave radio
beeping a time signal at about 9:30 CDT, to find the right position and
await the pass. I had a little trouble getting oriented in the "head
end bend" of Draco, but the satellite was also to pass close to Alpha
Cephei... that part should be easy.
Somehow, I missed it as it passed through Draco around 9:40:40 - 50
CDT... Jeez, it's 8th magnitude... I knew I wasn't dark adapted, and I
was viewing from town, but still... I shifted my FOV over to Alpha
Cephei... BINGO! At 9:41:16 CDT it drifted past the star, right where
it oughta! It wasn't exactly bright, but it wasn't difficult. Still, I
could see why I was failing to catch passes getting down toward 10th
magnitude with my binocs under less than ideal conditions. I twisted
around, following Explorer 7 on it's Eastward path. A rather dull
satellite making a less than spectacular pass... then it happened... a
couple seconds after 9:42, the dimmish little dot rapidly brightened,
DAZZLING my eyes through my binoculars! AN EXPLORER FLARE! One of the
little solar panels on it's surface must have caught the Sun just right!
Then, Explorer 7 dimmed back down, and a few seconds later it
disappeared into Earths shadow.
I was 9 years old when this little sucker went up in 1959. Now
I've seen it...
Marty
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Date: 10 Sep 2007 05:46:35
From: Margo Schulter
Subject: Re: Explorer 7 !
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Marty <movac5@webtv.net > wrote:
> Somehow, I missed it as it passed through Draco around 9:40:40 - 50
> CDT... Jeez, it's 8th magnitude... I knew I wasn't dark adapted, and I
> was viewing from town, but still... I shifted my FOV over to Alpha
> Cephei... BINGO! At 9:41:16 CDT it drifted past the star, right where
> it oughta! It wasn't exactly bright, but it wasn't difficult. Still, I
> could see why I was failing to catch passes getting down toward 10th
> magnitude with my binocs under less than ideal conditions. I twisted
> around, following Explorer 7 on it's Eastward path. A rather dull
> satellite making a less than spectacular pass... then it happened... a
> couple seconds after 9:42, the dimmish little dot rapidly brightened,
> DAZZLING my eyes through my binoculars! AN EXPLORER FLARE! One of the
> little solar panels on it's surface must have caught the Sun just right!
> Then, Explorer 7 dimmed back down, and a few seconds later it
> disappeared into Earths shadow.
> I was 9 years old when this little sucker went up in 1959. Now
> I've seen it...
> Marty
>
Congratulations! It's curious how sometimes with my Dob, I see a satellite
of some kind and have fun tracking it, even though it might be a distraction
from my main DSO agenda. Maybe just the thrill of the chase or whatever.
Also, of course, in 1959, there was the whole excitement of the "space race"
(USA vs. USSR), maybe one of the saner forms of competition. That year, at
Halloween, in my school one of the popular songs was about a "Purple
People-Eater," maybe a bit of a diversion from the anxieties of the Cold
War.
This was also the epoch when the nature of the lunar surface was still being
debated -- was it really good to land on? -- and I remember reading a book
about life on Mars. One prediction was that a human landing on the Moon
might happen as early as 1965; in practice, four more years were needed.
Of course, we're less than a month from the 50th anniversary of Sputnik
(4 October 1957) -- any plans for celebrating?
Most appreciatively,
Margo Schulter
mschulter@calweb.com
Lat. 38.566 Long. -121.430
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Date: 11 Sep 2007 22:58:38
From: Marty
Subject: Re: Explorer 7 !
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Margo was saying
>Also, of course, in 1959, there was the
> whole excitement of the "space race"
> (USA vs. USSR), maybe one of the
> saner forms of competition.
Yup. I remember it well! That's probably why I'm seeking out this old,
dead, junk. :) Very exciting times...
>That year, at Halloween, in my school
> one of the popular songs was about a
> "Purple People-Eater,"
"... Pigeon toed, under growed, flying purple people eater..."
>One prediction was that a human landing
> on the Moon might happen as early as
> 1965; in practice, four more years were
> needed.
Usually, it was predicted that the Russians would win, too.
>Of course, we're less than a month from
> the 50th anniversary of Sputnik (4
> October 1957) -- any plans for
> celebrating?
I'm gonna have to do SOMETHING... if nothing else, just be out under the
sky.
Marty
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Date: 11 Sep 2007 22:47:53
From: Marty
Subject: Win a few, lose a few...
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Tonight, I ran a couple of miles south of my little burg to catch a mag.
9.4 pass of Vanguard 3, (launched Sept. 18 1959) through Scorpius. I
figured this would be easy with my scope. I'd seen the Vanguard 1
rocket at 9.5, and had no trouble with my C8.
Pfffft.... Somehow, I missed it. Rather frustrating, since I
figured this would be easy. Not sure what went wrong... I had a bit of
trouble reconciling the "Heavens Above" chart with what I was seeing
though, and homed in on Delta Scorpii to watch the pass... maybe that
was just a bit too bright. Next time, I'll check the Heavens Above
chart against the Uranometria 2000 to make certain of my dimmer field.
Live and learn.
Anyway, I bailed out the night by taking a quick look around at
some of the sights in the area... M8, 20, 22, 16,17, etc.
NEXT time...
Marty
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Date: 12 Sep 2007 07:30:55
From: Margo Schulter
Subject: Re: Win a few, lose a few...
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Marty <movac5@webtv.net > wrote:
> Tonight, I ran a couple of miles south of my little burg to catch a mag.
> 9.4 pass of Vanguard 3, (launched Sept. 18 1959) through Scorpius. I
> figured this would be easy with my scope. I'd seen the Vanguard 1
> rocket at 9.5, and had no trouble with my C8.
Hi, Marty. Sometimes I wonder about the magnitude of some of the satellites
I see with my 20cm f/6 Dob, although they're usually very easy to see, and
I have a certain instinct to track them, maybe like a dog running after a
ball or something <grin >.
> Pfffft.... Somehow, I missed it. Rather frustrating, since I
> figured this would be easy. Not sure what went wrong... I had a bit of
> trouble reconciling the "Heavens Above" chart with what I was seeing
> though, and homed in on Delta Scorpii to watch the pass... maybe that
> was just a bit too bright. Next time, I'll check the Heavens Above
> chart against the Uranometria 2000 to make certain of my dimmer field.
> Live and learn.
This almost reminds me of last Saturday, or actually early Sunday morning,
when I was trying to see NGC 253 with my Dob -- given the surface brightness
issue not so far from the horizon, maybe not so easy in these light polluted
skies. Reading of your experience, I'm kidding around with myself about how
viewing Beta Sculptoris through my eyepiece might have compromised my dark
adaptation <grin >.
> Anyway, I bailed out the night by taking a quick look around at
> some of the sights in the area... M8, 20, 22, 16,17, etc.
Neat -- I wonder if I could see M16 or M17 right around twilight, although
here, as Tony Flanders observed more generally for many urban areas, even
in the middle of the night it may effectively still be astronomical
twilight (the phase where the sun is around 12-18 degrees below the
horizon, or 48-72 minutes after sunset).
> NEXT time...
> Marty
>
Keep at it, and thanks for a great report.
Most appreciatively,
Margo Schulter
mschulter@calweb.com
Lat. 38.566 Long. -121.430
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Date: 12 Sep 2007 08:16:06
From: Marty
Subject: Re: Win a few, lose a few...
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>This almost reminds me of last Saturday,
> or actually early Sunday morning, when
> I was trying to see NGC 253 with my
> Dob -- given the surface brightness
> issue not so far from the horizon, maybe
> not so easy in these light polluted skies.
> Reading of your experience, I'm kidding
> around with myself about how viewing
> Beta Sculptoris through my eyepiece
> might have compromised my dark
> adaptation <grin>.
Well, as far as magnitude goes, this should have been easy for my C8. A
9.4 galaxy would be an easy target on a decent night, and this thing was
a point source. Thinking it over, I think my main problem was
declination... according to "Heavens Above," the satellite barely grazed
10 degrees over the horizon, and while I'm halfway up Iowa, the
satellite was passing over the Rio Grande. So I was looking through A
LOT of atmosphere. Probably I'd have better chance picking it up with a
better positioned view, even if it were dimmer. Still, since pre-aiming
the scope is important, I think next time, I'll confirm the spot on the
Uranometria.
Really, this is all sorta funny, me looking for these little bits
of low-orbit junk, 'cause my usual interest is GALAXIES...
I'd say with ngc 253, your MAIN problem will be light pollution.
Galaxies are VERY vulnerable that way.
Marty
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Date: 08 Sep 2007 10:09:58
From: Esmail
Subject: Re: Explorer 7 !
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Marty wrote:
> I shifted my FOV over to Alpha
> Cephei... BINGO! At 9:41:16 CDT it drifted past the star, right where
> it oughta! It wasn't exactly bright, but it wasn't difficult. Still, I
> could see why I was failing to catch passes getting down toward 10th
> magnitude with my binocs under less than ideal conditions. I twisted
> around, following Explorer 7 on it's Eastward path. A rather dull
> satellite making a less than spectacular pass... then it happened... a
> couple seconds after 9:42, the dimmish little dot rapidly brightened,
> DAZZLING my eyes through my binoculars! AN EXPLORER FLARE! One of the
> little solar panels on it's surface must have caught the Sun just right!
> Then, Explorer 7 dimmed back down, and a few seconds later it
> disappeared into Earths shadow.
very cool ...
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Date: 07 Sep 2007 23:33:28
From: jerry
Subject: Re: Explorer 7 !
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congrats! a few of us left.
Marty wrote:
> Some in here may have noticed that I seem to have developed some type of
> interest in rooting through the low-Earth-orbit boneyard of early space
> junk. Tonight, according to "Heavens Above," Explorer 7 was supposed to
> make a relatively bright (mag. 8.1) pass visible from my little burg in
> west-central Iowa.
> Explorer 7
> http://content.answers.com/main/content/wp/en/thumb/a/a3/375px-Explorer7.jpg
> wasn't a particularly exciting satellite, especially by today's
> standards. The Wikipedia article states that "It was designed to
> measure solar X-ray and Lyman-alpha flux, trapped energetic particles,
> and heavy primary cosmic rays." ... not the stuff of Star Wars, but
> when it was launched on October 13th of 1959, ALL satellites were
> exciting! And I remember being captivated by a movie at school about
> the mysterious "cosmic rays" when I was in grade school, so for me, that
> would be cool. OK, so Explorer 7 isn't particularly exciting. I
> figured this wouldn't be an entry in my log printed off from a post in
> SAA, but a more mundane "fountain pen" entry.
> Anyway, I went outside with my 11x80 binocs and a shortwave radio
> beeping a time signal at about 9:30 CDT, to find the right position and
> await the pass. I had a little trouble getting oriented in the "head
> end bend" of Draco, but the satellite was also to pass close to Alpha
> Cephei... that part should be easy.
> Somehow, I missed it as it passed through Draco around 9:40:40 - 50
> CDT... Jeez, it's 8th magnitude... I knew I wasn't dark adapted, and I
> was viewing from town, but still... I shifted my FOV over to Alpha
> Cephei... BINGO! At 9:41:16 CDT it drifted past the star, right where
> it oughta! It wasn't exactly bright, but it wasn't difficult. Still, I
> could see why I was failing to catch passes getting down toward 10th
> magnitude with my binocs under less than ideal conditions. I twisted
> around, following Explorer 7 on it's Eastward path. A rather dull
> satellite making a less than spectacular pass... then it happened... a
> couple seconds after 9:42, the dimmish little dot rapidly brightened,
> DAZZLING my eyes through my binoculars! AN EXPLORER FLARE! One of the
> little solar panels on it's surface must have caught the Sun just right!
> Then, Explorer 7 dimmed back down, and a few seconds later it
> disappeared into Earths shadow.
> I was 9 years old when this little sucker went up in 1959. Now
> I've seen it...
> Marty
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Date: 08 Sep 2007 04:22:54
From: Sam Wormley
Subject: Re: Explorer 7 !
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Marty wrote:
> Some in here may have noticed that I seem to have developed some type of
> interest in rooting through the low-Earth-orbit boneyard of early space
> junk. Tonight, according to "Heavens Above," Explorer 7 was supposed to
> make a relatively bright (mag. 8.1) pass visible from my little burg in
> west-central Iowa.
> Explorer 7
> http://content.answers.com/main/content/wp/en/thumb/a/a3/375px-Explorer7.jpg
> wasn't a particularly exciting satellite, especially by today's
> standards. The Wikipedia article states that "It was designed to
> measure solar X-ray and Lyman-alpha flux, trapped energetic particles,
> and heavy primary cosmic rays." ... not the stuff of Star Wars, but
> when it was launched on October 13th of 1959, ALL satellites were
> exciting! And I remember being captivated by a movie at school about
> the mysterious "cosmic rays" when I was in grade school, so for me, that
> would be cool. OK, so Explorer 7 isn't particularly exciting. I
> figured this wouldn't be an entry in my log printed off from a post in
> SAA, but a more mundane "fountain pen" entry.
> Anyway, I went outside with my 11x80 binocs and a shortwave radio
> beeping a time signal at about 9:30 CDT, to find the right position and
> await the pass. I had a little trouble getting oriented in the "head
> end bend" of Draco, but the satellite was also to pass close to Alpha
> Cephei... that part should be easy.
> Somehow, I missed it as it passed through Draco around 9:40:40 - 50
> CDT... Jeez, it's 8th magnitude... I knew I wasn't dark adapted, and I
> was viewing from town, but still... I shifted my FOV over to Alpha
> Cephei... BINGO! At 9:41:16 CDT it drifted past the star, right where
> it oughta! It wasn't exactly bright, but it wasn't difficult. Still, I
> could see why I was failing to catch passes getting down toward 10th
> magnitude with my binocs under less than ideal conditions. I twisted
> around, following Explorer 7 on it's Eastward path. A rather dull
> satellite making a less than spectacular pass... then it happened... a
> couple seconds after 9:42, the dimmish little dot rapidly brightened,
> DAZZLING my eyes through my binoculars! AN EXPLORER FLARE! One of the
> little solar panels on it's surface must have caught the Sun just right!
> Then, Explorer 7 dimmed back down, and a few seconds later it
> disappeared into Earths shadow.
> I was 9 years old when this little sucker went up in 1959. Now
> I've seen it...
> Marty
>
Excellent!
-Sam
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