[meteorite-list] Manmade "comet" visible from U.S. sometime in the next hour!

From: Matson, Robert <ROBERT.D.MATSON_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu Apr 22 09:55:47 2004
Message-ID: <AF564D2B9D91D411B9FE00508BF1C8698E58F8_at_US-Torrance.mail.saic.com>

Hi All,

Not much notice on this I'm afraid, but for those logged on
you may be fortunate enough to see a rare manmade "comet".
The recently launched Milstar 5 satellite is predicted to
perform a fuel vent sometime between 10:30pm and 11:30pm PST
this evening, ~22,000 miles above the equator at around
longitude 95 west. This is close to the central longitude
of the United States, meaning it would be visible from
anywhere in the continental U.S. The location of the fuel
vent depends on your location, of course, but in general it
will be high in the south from the central time zone, high
in the southwest from the east coase, and high in the
southeast from the west coast. For those in the L.A. area,
the fuel vent location would be about 12 degrees below
Procyon if it occurs at 10:30pm. (Same for those watching
from Phoenix). If you live in New York City, the location
is ~12 degrees to the lower left of Procyon (again assuming
the 10:30pm time).

Note where this spot is at 10:30pm PST (i.e. now) relative
to your horizon. The location won't change if the fuel
vent occurs an hour later, but the location relative to
the stars will have shifted a bit. Good luck, and sorry
for the short notice! --Rob
Received on Wed 16 Jan 2002 01:25:30 AM PST