IGS 1B July 26 2008
It is a few years since I last imaged IGS 1B , the classified Japanese Spy satellite. Tonight I managed a brief glimpse of it at 3.5mag , range about 516 km (Closest point , elevation 70 degs , 2301BST)
At zenith the satellite maintained a steady magnitude , no sign of any flares which have been noted recently by other observers. The main solar panels can be seen in the short animation . The bright return is the radar imaging array.
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ATV September 28 2008
ATV Jules Verne on one of its final visible passes over the UK , Sept 28 2008.prior to re-entry at 13.36 GMT September 29.
ATV is flying with docking port to rear , solar panels ( in shadow ) forward
Click here for a short animation
ESA link to re-entry video
Time lapse animation of the Astra 1 group of satellites at 19 degrees eastThis is a fleet of five co-located communication satellites .The animation shows a series of 20 second exposures taken on January 13th.About two degrees to the east ( not in images ) lies Astra 1M which is due to arrive on station on the 16th.One and a half degrees to the west is DSP 23 , the US miltary satellite which has failed , and is out of control. ( See below )Time lapse animation of DSP 23 , US military satellite.In this time lapse sequence DSP 23 can just be seen to the left of the screen moving "south".The satellite is inclined by about three degrees.To the east (left ) lie the Astra satellites at 19 degees east.DSP 23 should pass through the Astra group around January 20th/21st
DSP 23 and the Astra 1 group
Time lapse animation of Sicral 1 and Eutelsat W2
Sicral 1 is an Italian military geosat positioned near to Eutelsat W2 at 16 degrees east. It is seen here captured on the evening of January 4th , moving through the equatorial plane at an inclination of just over 1 degree and is presented as a comparison to the more highly inclined DSP 23All animations have a field of view of 30x20 Arc Minutes.
Time lapse animation of DSP 23 taken on Jan 18th . It shows DSP 23 0.5 degs west of the Astra 1 group .The satellite is flashing every 14.5 minutes to approx mag 8/9 then falling back to magnitude 13.
Time lapse animation of the Astra 1 group 19 degs east....18 th January 2009 , now showing six satellites in the group.The newest bird Astra 1M is the most southerly ( North is up ) and the brightest of the cluster
Further time lapse video of DSP-23 this time passing to the east of the Astra 1 group at 19 degrees east. The six Astra satellites can be seen grouped together ( top right ) corner of the frames while DSP appears bottom left , this time flashing very brightly within a three minute interval. North is up.Captured January 23 2009
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