This was a very interesting journey.
To Summarize, A buddy of mine is a very active Amateur Astronomer. His telescopes and other equipment would equal to one of the best Amateur Radio stations in the country.
Anyway while he was observing Saturn the other evening, he saw a object pass nearby very slowly. Far too slowly compared to most Satellites we have ever seen, and Far too fast to be an asteroid too. So it was an interesting Mystery. He made a posting on a local club message system about it, and that's when I came here to this list looking for help to identify it.
Someone, (Sorry do not remember who) suggested I go to the [email protected] E-Mail list and ask. Very interesting group.
Of course there was at first no answer to it, but no fault to them, but a fault of the original date of the observation, a typo had it on Jun 1 instead of when it really happened Jun11.
After the correct date was posted it was no time when an identification was made. It was TERRESTAR-1. It's a Geosynchronous communications satellite.
Thats what somewhat fooled us, an Illusion. His scope of course has drives to make it follow the objects in the sky. So In his scope Saturn appears motionless.
And thats where we also got messed up, the Geo bird is more or less Stationary in the sky. It has a pretty good amount of vertical drift tho. it's orbital period makes it Geo Stationary. but it has a pretty high inclination so it drifts up and down in declination some. But thats even slower motion.
What we saw as the object moving slowly, was not that but Saturn moving past the Bird! DUH?
Anyway Now for the other reason for this E Mail today... In this Mystery chase I learned a lot. And that seesat group helped out a lot and sent me to a cool program that displays the birds, all of them.
Now this totally amazed me. And it makes me wonder even more, why we can not get a ride to space.
Everyone is familiar seeing a image that shows an average daily air traffic congestion say above the USA like this.
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/212/481648154_61472fbe50_o.jpg
But what amazed me is when using that Satellite viewing program is how many Birds are actually up there! look at this hemisphere shot! http://i44.tinypic.com/120o7kg.jpg
It's CRAZY!!
Then a more detailed view looking south right now13:30 zulu,
http://i39.tinypic.com/2m6ubrs.jpg
It's NUTS!
Now what I can't understand is why, out of literally THOUSANDS of launches why we can't get a ride.
I can understand in like the 60's when launches were not very often. But even then we were getting rides every couple years.
Now with litterally Thousands of birds getting launched by the looks of stuff in this program, why in what decades? we havent been able to get a ride to a HEO type of orit? or even a LEO transponder type of bird.
Like WOW!
Joe WB9SBD