New times for spy satellite flyover
The predictions for tonight's flyover by the doomed USA-193 spy satellite have changed a bit from the times we published in the paper on Saturday. This is not unexpected, since the satellite's orbit is decaying rapidly. It is losing altitude, and speeding up enroute to a plunge into the atmosphere on or about March 11 - unless the Navy blasts it apart before then. The photo shows USA-193 at launch in December 2006. It failed soon after.
The weather forecast calls for "partly cloudy" skies tonight and tomorrow, so we have at least some chance of seeing this thing amid the clouds. Wednesday and Thursday look "mostly cloudy" from here, so our chances diminish as the week goes by.
So here are the latest times from Heavens-Above, calculated for Baltimore. To be sure not to miss it, be out there looking at least 5 minutes on either end of the sequence, just in case. Those who have already spotted USA-193 say it is brighter and faster than they anticipated. Good luck.
Tonight: (Monday) Look for USA-193 to appear above the southern horizon at 6:19 p.m., climbing more than halfway up the southeastern sky to pass straight through the constellation Orion at 6:21 p.m. From there it slips off to the northeast, disappearing at 6:23 p.m.
Tuesday: This will be a challenging observation, as the spy sat passes low to the horizon from west to south between 6:08 p.m. and 6:12 p.m. It will never get more than 18 degrees above the horizon.
Wednesday: USA-193 will rise above the western horizon at 6:04 p.m., move about halfway up the northwestern sky - just below Cassiopeia - by 6:06 p.m., then fly off toward the Big Dipper in the northeast.
Thursday: Another difficult pass, low in the northwest. Look for USA-193 to rise above the western horizon at 5:56 p.m., climbing no more than 27 degrees above the northwestern horizon by 5:58 p.m. From there it will slide off to the northern sky, and through the Dipper's handle by 6 p.m. This is the day the Navy plans to take its first shot at USA-193, so it may be space litter before this flyby.
If you spot it, please come back here, leave a comment and let us know what you saw. Thanks.
Comments
clouds cleared just a little too late for seeing the satellite monday night from bel air
Posted by: January | February 18, 2008 6:37 PM
I heard on WETA this afternoon about the satellite flyover, and all I really picked up (as my attention was partially distracted) was that it would be in the southeastern sky at 6:21. So I went out to wait at 6:15... precisely at 6:21, I saw a small, very bright, high-flying dot that was traveling VERY quickly (much more quickly than a relatively low-flying airplane I saw at the same time) in a northerly direction. I noted, at the same time, the the constellation Orion was directly in its path. Once it had passed, I decided to find out more information about it and came across your website. The description you gave in the article fit what I saw to a T.
Posted by: Christina Dixon | February 18, 2008 6:46 PM
I spotted it, too. Or rather, my once and former editor Patricia Fanning spotted USA-193 this evening as we shivered on the roof of The Sun's garage in downtown Baltimore. The skies had cleared off nicely, and she picked it up, right on time, high over the southern horizon. It passed through what little we could see of Orion in the dusky sky, and flew off toward the northeast, where we lost it in the few scraps of clouds that remained. It was fast - faster than the ISS, anyway, and dimmer. But still clearly visible even in a still-quite-bright evening sky.
Posted by: frank roylance | February 18, 2008 7:51 PM
We, me, my husband and my 2 boys run down the Beach in Pensacola and it was very fast moving, much faster than I had imagined it would be going.....It even had a red tail, I got a couple of pitchers, it was a lot close than I thought it would be two.....We ran up the Beach watching it and trying to catch it on Film, my boys were a little shaken about it......as well as I....I guess I'm the only really worried about it
FR: If it appeared to have a "red tail," you were probably watching an airplane, not USA-193. And there's no reason to be "shaken" or worried. Satellites and other space junk fall out of the sky all the time. When was the last time you read about one falling on anyone?
Posted by: Amy Shores | February 18, 2008 9:48 PM
I seen it yesterday and even got pics gonna do the same today, Its Awesome
Posted by: Amy | February 19, 2008 1:27 PM
Would you like to see the Pics, much to fast to be a PLANE, LOL PS planes ply over all the time at NAS, I know what Im looking at, and FYI, I seen a pic of it on the news a second ago and it was beautiful, the same thing my pics is of, will post more tonight on the pass by
FR: Sure, send me the pics. Love to see them.
Posted by: Amy | February 19, 2008 1:31 PM
Let me know how to get them to you and its a done deal
Posted by: Amy | February 19, 2008 4:39 PM