[AZ-Observing] 2nd Magnitude Geostationary Satellite

While several of us were observing from Steve and Rosie Dodder's place south of 
Maricopa, we observed an interloper 'star' to the northeast of Iota Ceti.  It 
was distorting the constellation outline, just hanging there at 2nd magnitude 
or a bit brighter.

After a few minutes, I put my scope on it, and it became clear that it was a 
geostationary satellite, occupying the -5.5 degree declination band.  Over the 
next ten or fifteen minutes, it slowly faded from naked-eye visibility, but 
stayed pretty bright in the scope.  We first noticed the satellite at its 
brightest at 10:00 p.m.  Running the time in desktop planetarium software, the 
azimuth works out to be about 150 degrees, or 30 degrees to the east  of the 
meridian.

What causes an object that is 22,000 miles away to flare to 2nd magnitude?  Has 
anybody seen a similarly bright rise in brightness of a geostationary 
satellite?  Who is the local expert on this subject who would be able to help 
us identify the satellite?

Tom
--
See message header for info on list archives or unsubscribing, and please 
send personal replies to the author, not the list.

Other related posts: