Need help identifying an odd satelite

[aaron38]

At aproximately 10:45pm 5/19 from the NW Chicago burbs, I was looking up at Leo and Saturn and saw a satelite pass through. I would estimate it was magnitude +2, fading to magnitude +3. It passed through Leo aproximately retrograde along the ecliptic, above Saturn and Regulus. It then moved under Kappa and Talitha in Ursa Major. Along the way from Leo it had been dimming but flaring. By the time it was in Ursa Major it was magnitude ~4, I was having a hard time following it but it would flare back up to magnitude 2, every 10-15 seconds or so. I then lost it in the skyglow but it kept pulsing as it dropped down to the north. I saw the last pulse in the vicinity of Delta Auriga just above Capella.

So it was moving up from the ecliptic on what looked like a polar or slightly retrograde orbit. And the pulsing was something I can't recall seeing. But it was fast, it had to be a satelite. I don't even know where to begin finding what satelite was on that orbit. Does anyone know what it was?

 

[aphh]

I've seen the same and my best guess is satellite GOCE. It flies on an unusually low orbit, so it actually crosses the visible section of the orbit faster than other satellites.

GOCE also has a shape and shiny outer layer, that makes it glitter. Again, just my best guess.

 

[MeteorWayne]

Well, using Heavens-Above I was able to detrmine there are currently no GOCE passes over Chicgo for the past or next week, so that's out.

Looking at the visible sats lited for the night:

http://heavens-above.com/allsats.asp?la ... 67&Mag=4.5

The only one close in time is Helios 1B, a rocket body, but it's in the wrong part of the sky.

In my experience, objects that change in brightness as you described are usually rocket bodies, since they have surfaces with varying reflectivities and angles, and are out of control, usually vary quite a bit. About 20% of the satellite sightings I see (during my meteor watches) vary in brightness, and often Heavens Above doesn't list them because of the unpredicatbility in brightness. They are hard to track down, and I don't really have the tools to do that. Using Heavens above I am able to identify about 75% of the sats I see, but the rest I can't identify.

I'll try some other sources, but I'm afraid it may remain a mystery. There's lots of junk up there!

MW

 

[aaron38]

Thanks for the Heavens Above website, that's a nice resource. Looking through it, the Cosmos 1707 orbit is really close to the track I observed, especially if I confused the Tanias in Ursa Major with Kappa/Talitha, which I may have. Either that or space debris as you said. Thanks again.

 

[MeteorWayne]

Yeah, the Heaven's Above page is a good resource.

If you go to the home page, then select your precise location (from the map or home town)..THEN bookmark the page, your precise location will come up when you link to it. It's not critical for any of the satellites except for the Iridium flares. For those, you need to be accuarate to within a mile or two.

Enjoy!

MW

 

[aphh]

Yeah, the Heaven's Above page is a good resource.

If you go to the home page, then select your precise location (from the map or home town)..THEN bookmark the page, your precise location will come up when you link to it. It's not critical for any of the satellites except for the Iridium flares. For those, you need to be accuarate to within a mile or two.

Enjoy!

MW

Good info, thanks.

But if you have the chance, try to spot GOCE aswell. If it was what I saw, it was like a glittering arrow racing to the north on polar orbit.

 

[MeteorWayne]

Yeah, I can't wait to see it. At that altitude, it should be really haulin the mail across the sky!