Michael A. Earl
vendor- Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
Reged: 11/17/08
Posts: 1113
Loc: Brockville, Ontario, Canada
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Hello IYA Friends!
I just wanted to tell you about a special project that I will be conducting over the entire IYA year! I will be attempting to detect and track 1,000 man-made satellites using my 8-inch and 11-inch Celestrons and my ST-9XE CCD camera.
CASTOR (my own company) managed to detect and track over 2,000 satellites in 2007 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Sputnik. It took over 50,000 CCD images over the entire year to do this. I have since taken that data and compiled a unique satellite catalogue that contains satellites that can be detected with medium aperture telescopes (8 to 16-inch) with CCD cameras. I am hoping that CASTOR can provide a reference catalogue that will inform others about the possibility of detecting specific satellites. My work is still ongoing, but you can see the progress of the catalogue (and the satellites CASTOR will be detecting in 2009) on the CASTOR web site. I guess you can call it the CASTOR Satellite Catalogue. 
This is the first time anyone has attempted to compile a subset list of satellites that can be detected by retail equipment. Let's face it, most of us do not own a complete radar tracking installation!
CASTOR believes that a worldwide network of astronomers can optically detect a large percentage of the satellite population and therefore be of significant assistance to professional satellite trackers.
Feel free to ask questions about the catalogue and offer your suggestions! I especially welcome input from astronomers, since the catalogue is intended for astronomers, amateur and professional.
My project begins on January 1, 2009 and ends on December 31, 2009, the entire IYA year!
Thank You.
www.castor2.ca
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Michael A. Earl - Vendor
Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
www.castor2.ca
Celestron NexStar 11 GPS
Celestron NexStar 8i SE
SBIG ST-9XE CCD
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Glassthrower
Vendor - Galactic Stone & Ironworks
Reged: 04/07/05
Posts: 16348
Loc: Kuiper Belt
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Welcome to Cloudy Nights Michael. 
That sounds very interesting and quite ambitious. Keep us updated on your progress. 
Are you going to attempt to image some of the larger and brighter birds?
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Michael Gilmer - Member of the Meteoritical Society & Collector of Falling Stars.
Meteorites, Moon Rocks, Mars Rocks, Tektites, Fossils, Minerals, Crystals, & Trinitite.
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Michael A. Earl
vendor- Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
Reged: 11/17/08
Posts: 1113
Loc: Brockville, Ontario, Canada
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Thank You!
Are you referring to resolving the larger satellites (ISS, etc.)? I generally don't go for that, since there is already a large amount of people doing that. I want to create a catalogue of satellites (like the Messier and NGC are to deep sky objects) that astronomers with small to medium apertures can detect.
As thorough as the NORAD catalogue is, it is much too general for the astronomical community. The CASTOR Satellite Catalogue will be a subset of the NORAD catalogue detectable by small to medium aperture telescopes. I think that it will be especially handy to optical satellite tracking programs that are just beginning and wish to know which satellites they can track with their optical equipment.
The catalogue is located at www.castor2.ca/13_Catalogue. It is still being filled in and there will be brightness and tumble period measurements for those satellites that can be measured. Right now, some of the brightness measurements are more qualitative and in Dreyer (NGC) notation (cF, eF, vF, F, B, vB, eB, cB). I will be devising a comprehensive brightness scale (magnitude is not specific enough for satellites) and posting the results for each satellite in 2009.
Thanks for your support!
P.S. If anyone has any questions about observing our satellite population, post it here, or visit www.castor2.ca!
Thanks!
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Michael A. Earl - Vendor
Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
www.castor2.ca
Celestron NexStar 11 GPS
Celestron NexStar 8i SE
SBIG ST-9XE CCD
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Glassthrower
Vendor - Galactic Stone & Ironworks
Reged: 04/07/05
Posts: 16348
Loc: Kuiper Belt
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Hi Michael,
I apologize for my late reply, I've had a full plate lately. 
I've always been interested in observing satellites, and I am small scope man by trade. (refractor fan), so your catalogue project sounds like something very useful to folks like myself.
Keep us posted on your progress.
Regards and clear skies,
MikeG
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Michael Gilmer - Member of the Meteoritical Society & Collector of Falling Stars.
Meteorites, Moon Rocks, Mars Rocks, Tektites, Fossils, Minerals, Crystals, & Trinitite.
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Michael A. Earl
vendor- Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
Reged: 11/17/08
Posts: 1113
Loc: Brockville, Ontario, Canada
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Hello,
No problem. Although I still have much work to do to determine exact brightness estimates, etc., the catalogue is already showing which satellites can be viewed with medium aperture telescopes equiped with standard CCD cameras of 50% quantum efficiency or better.
The interesting thing about satellites is that they are moving across your FOV, therefore the exposure time you use is not the deciding factor. The satellites' apparent angular velocities are more important, unless you can literally track the satellites across the sky, but this does not give you much information, unless you are trying to resolve them. However, only the closest and largest satellites can be resolved by the amateur, and we already know which ones they are.
The catalogue can also be used by professionals who wish to track satellites optically (perform orbit determination to find the satellites' orbit elements). They will have a list of objects that they can start with.
The catalogue unfortunately does not include geostationary satellites on the opposite side of the world, since the Earth is constantly in the way from here in North America. However, this is only about 200 objects out of the 13,000 (or so) total orbiting, so I am not particularly worried about that.
Another problem is that unlike the Messier or NGC catalogues, satellites tend to disappear over time, i.e. decay or fall back to Earth. The catalogue will grow in size, but some entries will not exist, especially the lower orbiting satellites, which tend to decay faster.
I now have a unique appreciation of what the U.S. and Russian militaries have been going through since 1957 :-).
Later...
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Michael A. Earl - Vendor
Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
www.castor2.ca
Celestron NexStar 11 GPS
Celestron NexStar 8i SE
SBIG ST-9XE CCD
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Michael A. Earl
vendor- Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
Reged: 11/17/08
Posts: 1113
Loc: Brockville, Ontario, Canada
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Mr. Kevin Fetter’s observation of a stray NASA tool bag was a very simple example of the immense potential of astronomers (amateur and professional) in the satellite tracking realm.
In 2007, CASTOR observed and tracked over 2,000 satellites (1/6 of our total population), including several pieces of ISS debris, with two telescopes and a digital camera to celebrate Sputnik’s 50th anniversary. The furthest satellite was 196,000 km in range (half way to the Moon!).
Modern technological advancements in astronomical equipment have allowed many astronomers to experiment with satellite observation. Many have already been able to resolve the International Space Station with amazing clarity.
The NASA tool bag story is one of many that occur all over the continent every year, but satellite companies have yet to consider the immense potential of such a vast untapped work force.
A privatized optical satellite tracking industry could potentially employ thousands of astronomers who otherwise would be called “amateurs” or “hobbyists”. The many astronomers I have met (including Mr. Fetter) possess skills that could be put to work tracking satellites for the U.S. military or private satellite companies (or both). My own experience has proven time and time again that these astronomers are ready to track satellites for more serious causes.
My own business, Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research (CASTOR) is devoted to creating a world-wide workforce of astronomers to track our vast satellite population. The 2007 Sputnik campaign produced the first ever satellite catalogue devoted to those with medium aperture telescopes and sensitive digital cameras.
CASTOR will be tracking an additional 1,000 satellites in 2009 to celebrate the International Year of Astronomy (IYA). This will bring the CASTOR catalogue up to over 3,000 man-made objects. However, CASTOR has already proven that astronomers can detect and track a substantial portion of our satellites.
CASTOR Web Site: www.castor2.ca
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Michael A. Earl - Vendor
Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
www.castor2.ca
Celestron NexStar 11 GPS
Celestron NexStar 8i SE
SBIG ST-9XE CCD
|
Michael A. Earl
vendor- Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
Reged: 11/17/08
Posts: 1113
Loc: Brockville, Ontario, Canada
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|
Hello Again!
I just wanted to announce that the CASTOR Satellite Catalogue is almost ready! There are currently 2,057 entries, each with example images and information, including tumble period measurements (where applicable).
Beginning January 1, 2009, the beginning of the IYA, CASTOR will be detecting another 1,000 satellites to add to the catalogue. Hopefully by December 31, the catalogue will grow to over 3,000 individual satellites!
I will be constructing the category legends (including descriptions of conventions and abbreviations) tomorrow.
Enjoy!
www.castor2.ca/13_Catalogue
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Michael A. Earl - Vendor
Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
www.castor2.ca
Celestron NexStar 11 GPS
Celestron NexStar 8i SE
SBIG ST-9XE CCD
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Glassthrower
Vendor - Galactic Stone & Ironworks
Reged: 04/07/05
Posts: 16348
Loc: Kuiper Belt
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Man, Michael, I have to say, that is an impressive amount of work you have put into organizing and presenting this data.
This is more proof that astronomy is one of those rare areas of mainstream science where the amateur observer can contribute in a meaningful way.
Regards and clear skies,
MikeG
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Michael Gilmer - Member of the Meteoritical Society & Collector of Falling Stars.
Meteorites, Moon Rocks, Mars Rocks, Tektites, Fossils, Minerals, Crystals, & Trinitite.
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Michael A. Earl
vendor- Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
Reged: 11/17/08
Posts: 1113
Loc: Brockville, Ontario, Canada
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Hi Mike,
Thank you very much for your kind words!
I have always believed that astronomy and satellite tracking should be one in the same since they both involve coordinate systems, orbital mechanics, orbit propagation, etc. The only difference today is that the technology is such that backyard astronomers can effectively take part in it too, mostly thanks to sensitive CCD cameras and planetarium software.
In about 2 weeks, it all starts again when I resume my survey. I will simply add whatever I find to this catalogue.
Others can add or make modifications to this catalogue by sending me an e-mail or posting their message on this thread. This includes brightness estimates and tumble period measurements.
It will be some time before this catalogue becomes useful for the general astronomical community, but I will keep working on it so that more members of our satellite population will be included as I (and others) detect and track its members.
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Michael A. Earl
vendor- Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
Reged: 11/17/08
Posts: 1113
Loc: Brockville, Ontario, Canada
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Hello Everyone,
Just a small announcement that the CASTOR Satellite Catalogue is ready for general viewing!
I will be adding to this catalogue starting January 1, when I resume tracking satellites from all orbit types. Please refer to the catalogue to see my progress!
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Michael A. Earl - Vendor
Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
www.castor2.ca
Celestron NexStar 11 GPS
Celestron NexStar 8i SE
SBIG ST-9XE CCD
|
Glassthrower
Vendor - Galactic Stone & Ironworks
Reged: 04/07/05
Posts: 16348
Loc: Kuiper Belt
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Hi Michael,
I ran across this on the web today and I thought you might find it interesting - although you have probably seen it already.
http://www.gano.name/shawn/JSatTrak/
It works with the free NASA World Wind program.
Best regards,
MikeG
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Michael Gilmer - Member of the Meteoritical Society & Collector of Falling Stars.
Meteorites, Moon Rocks, Mars Rocks, Tektites, Fossils, Minerals, Crystals, & Trinitite.
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Michael A. Earl
vendor- Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
Reged: 11/17/08
Posts: 1113
Loc: Brockville, Ontario, Canada
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Hi Mike,
Yes, I have been aware of JSatTrack for several years. I also use the SGP4/SDP4 orbit propagators and have been using them for over 10 years with my favorite program TheSky Version 5. Not many know that it can be used to track satellites too!
Thanks!
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Michael A. Earl - Vendor
Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
www.castor2.ca
Celestron NexStar 11 GPS
Celestron NexStar 8i SE
SBIG ST-9XE CCD
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Michael A. Earl
vendor- Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
Reged: 11/17/08
Posts: 1113
Loc: Brockville, Ontario, Canada
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I had a great evening tonight, picking up nine new satellites to bring my total up to 2,069 since January 1, 2007.
Most of them were Russian, with one American and one Chinese rocket.
Images can be found on the CASTOR catalogue at www.castor2.ca/13_Catalogue.
Next opportunity is tomorrow night! Official IYA satellite tracking begins on the evening of January 1 (weather permitting).
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Michael A. Earl - Vendor
Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
www.castor2.ca
Celestron NexStar 11 GPS
Celestron NexStar 8i SE
SBIG ST-9XE CCD
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Michael A. Earl
vendor- Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
Reged: 11/17/08
Posts: 1113
Loc: Brockville, Ontario, Canada
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As of January 15, 2009, CASTOR has detected 2,120 satellites since January 1, 2007.
So far in the month of January 2009, CASTOR detected an additional 48 satellites, 5 percent of the total goal (1000) in the IYA year.
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Michael A. Earl - Vendor
Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
www.castor2.ca
Celestron NexStar 11 GPS
Celestron NexStar 8i SE
SBIG ST-9XE CCD
|
Michael A. Earl
vendor- Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
Reged: 11/17/08
Posts: 1113
Loc: Brockville, Ontario, Canada
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It seems that the links to my catalogue have not been working because the period at the end of the sentences have been interefering with the URL. The working link is included below. Thanks for your patience!
www.castor2.ca/13_Catalogue
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Michael A. Earl - Vendor
Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
www.castor2.ca
Celestron NexStar 11 GPS
Celestron NexStar 8i SE
SBIG ST-9XE CCD
|
Michael A. Earl
vendor- Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
Reged: 11/17/08
Posts: 1113
Loc: Brockville, Ontario, Canada
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|
Last night, I managed to pick up another 6 Low Earth Orbit Satellites to bring my total up to 2,126. The next opportunity is this Saturday.
www.castor2.ca/13_Catalogue
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Michael A. Earl - Vendor
Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
www.castor2.ca
Celestron NexStar 11 GPS
Celestron NexStar 8i SE
SBIG ST-9XE CCD
|
Michael A. Earl
vendor- Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
Reged: 11/17/08
Posts: 1113
Loc: Brockville, Ontario, Canada
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|
I was going to try new satellites on Saturday, but the temperature was -20C and I did not want to risk hurting my equipment. There are some days when you just have to sit inside and relax. This also goes for my equipment.
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Michael A. Earl - Vendor
Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
www.castor2.ca
Celestron NexStar 11 GPS
Celestron NexStar 8i SE
SBIG ST-9XE CCD
|
Michael A. Earl
vendor- Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
Reged: 11/17/08
Posts: 1113
Loc: Brockville, Ontario, Canada
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CASTOR detected a total of 200 satellites in the month of January, 79 of which were new to the CASTOR Satellite Catalogue. Due to the weather conditions, it is doubtful that CASTOR will be able to detect any more satellites in January.
As of January 28, 2009, the CSC has 2,132 unique satellites, nearly 1/6 of the total NORAD catalogued satellites currently in orbit.
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Michael A. Earl - Vendor
Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
www.castor2.ca
Celestron NexStar 11 GPS
Celestron NexStar 8i SE
SBIG ST-9XE CCD
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Michael A. Earl
vendor- Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
Reged: 11/17/08
Posts: 1113
Loc: Brockville, Ontario, Canada
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Seven new LEO satellites were detected tonight, bringing CASTOR's total to 2,139 satellites since January 1, 2007.
Tomorrow (Monday) night looks promising to detect new LEO satellites to bring the total to over 2,040 satellites.
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Michael A. Earl - Vendor
Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
www.castor2.ca
Celestron NexStar 11 GPS
Celestron NexStar 8i SE
SBIG ST-9XE CCD
|
Michael A. Earl
vendor- Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
Reged: 11/17/08
Posts: 1113
Loc: Brockville, Ontario, Canada
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|
Last Sunday night I picked up another 7 LEOs, making my total 2,146 satellites since January 1, 2007.
I will be taking a little break as the Moon is getting too bright to catch any more dim satellites and the temperature is dropping like a stone. My next opportunity will be this weekend.
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Michael A. Earl - Vendor
Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
www.castor2.ca
Celestron NexStar 11 GPS
Celestron NexStar 8i SE
SBIG ST-9XE CCD
|
Michael A. Earl
vendor- Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
Reged: 11/17/08
Posts: 1113
Loc: Brockville, Ontario, Canada
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|
As I am waiting for the clouds to finally get out of the way so that I can collect more data, I am still stuck at 2,146 satellites. February has not been kind!
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Michael A. Earl - Vendor
Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
www.castor2.ca
Celestron NexStar 11 GPS
Celestron NexStar 8i SE
SBIG ST-9XE CCD
|
Michael A. Earl
vendor- Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
Reged: 11/17/08
Posts: 1113
Loc: Brockville, Ontario, Canada
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|
After a week's hiatus, I managed to pick up 7 new satellites tonight, making my total 2,153.
www.castor2.ca/13_Catalogue
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Michael A. Earl - Vendor
Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
www.castor2.ca
Celestron NexStar 11 GPS
Celestron NexStar 8i SE
SBIG ST-9XE CCD
|
Michael A. Earl
vendor- Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
Reged: 11/17/08
Posts: 1113
Loc: Brockville, Ontario, Canada
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|
I had a good haul of new LEO satellites over the clear spell from February 12 to 16. I thought I had found a piece of the Iridium 33 debris cloud but it turned out to be a low-flying Russian SL-6 second stage rocket.
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Michael A. Earl - Vendor
Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
www.castor2.ca
Celestron NexStar 11 GPS
Celestron NexStar 8i SE
SBIG ST-9XE CCD
|
Michael A. Earl
vendor- Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
Reged: 11/17/08
Posts: 1113
Loc: Brockville, Ontario, Canada
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February has been a very nasty month! Tonight, I tried to track a few LEO satellites under an impressive clear spot amongst all the clouds. The clouds moved in within 10 minutes of my imaging commencing.
I did manage to detect two satellites, one of which was Cosmos 2428; a satellite I had not detected before. The other was GlobalStar M045, which I had detected many times in the past two years.
So, the number now stands at 2,169 satellites. My next opportunity is this Saturday.
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Michael A. Earl - Vendor
Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
www.castor2.ca
Celestron NexStar 11 GPS
Celestron NexStar 8i SE
SBIG ST-9XE CCD
|
Glassthrower
Vendor - Galactic Stone & Ironworks
Reged: 04/07/05
Posts: 16348
Loc: Kuiper Belt
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|
Hi Michael,
During the course of your work, have you ever seen anything anomalous that could not be identified?
Best regards and clear skies,
MikeG
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Michael Gilmer - Member of the Meteoritical Society & Collector of Falling Stars.
Meteorites, Moon Rocks, Mars Rocks, Tektites, Fossils, Minerals, Crystals, & Trinitite.
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Michael A. Earl
vendor- Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
Reged: 11/17/08
Posts: 1113
Loc: Brockville, Ontario, Canada
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Quote:
have you ever seen anything anomalous that could not be identified?
Hi Mike. This is a question I get from many people. So far, 28 objects in the catalogue are definitely uncorrelated satellites and 27 objects have been ruled out as satellites (meteors, birds, etc.).
Like the Messier and NGC catalogues before it, the CASTOR Satellite Catalogue has a few entries in which the objects do not exist.
I should make a new section on my web site called "UFOs" where people can go to see some objects that I could not correlate to any known satellites. Some I suspect are meteor streaks, others are birds, others are definitely satellites but of an unknown origin (classified?).
I can also place the tracking data from the unknown satellites so that others can identify them. I suspect there are very few people who would be able (or willing) to identify them, but I might get a few entries of the catalogue cleared up.
I also make a note of all the clusters, nebulae and galaxies in the images, just in case I stumble upon a comet that nobody has seen before. I suspect that I can detect comets as faint as magnitude 17, so since I am taking random areas of the sky, I might as well see if I'm a "lucky comet lottery winner" too!
Thanks for the question!
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Michael A. Earl - Vendor
Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
www.castor2.ca
Celestron NexStar 11 GPS
Celestron NexStar 8i SE
SBIG ST-9XE CCD
|
Michael A. Earl
vendor- Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
Reged: 11/17/08
Posts: 1113
Loc: Brockville, Ontario, Canada
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|
On the final day of February, I managed to detect 10 new satellites, bringing my total to 2,179. So far, none of the collision debris was detected, but I am not optimistic about detecting such small pieces.
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Michael A. Earl - Vendor
Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
www.castor2.ca
Celestron NexStar 11 GPS
Celestron NexStar 8i SE
SBIG ST-9XE CCD
|
Michael A. Earl
vendor- Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
Reged: 11/17/08
Posts: 1113
Loc: Brockville, Ontario, Canada
|
|
After another very successful night, I have been able to detect another 8 LEO satellites, bringing my total up to 2,187.
I expect to hit 2,200 by the end of this week or sooner!
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Michael A. Earl - Vendor
Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
www.castor2.ca
Celestron NexStar 11 GPS
Celestron NexStar 8i SE
SBIG ST-9XE CCD
|
Michael A. Earl
vendor- Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
Reged: 11/17/08
Posts: 1113
Loc: Brockville, Ontario, Canada
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|
I attempted to spot a few pieces of the Iridium 33 debris, but failed. Those pieces must be tiny! I did however managed to pick up another 9 satellites, bringing my total up to 2,196.
I will try again tonight, albeit with a 60% percent moon hovering overhead.
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Michael A. Earl - Vendor
Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
www.castor2.ca
Celestron NexStar 11 GPS
Celestron NexStar 8i SE
SBIG ST-9XE CCD
|
Michael A. Earl
vendor- Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
Reged: 11/17/08
Posts: 1113
Loc: Brockville, Ontario, Canada
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|
I have finally reached the 2,200 mark! The current count is now 2,205.
The 2,205th object is unknown (could not be identified). It lies suspiciously close to the Iridium 33 debris orbit, however its orbit inclination seems slightly too low. Its altitude is under 300km, so if it is a piece of Iridium 33, it is not going to be around for long.
Right now, it is Unknown #29, but I will be keeping an eye on it to see if it is indeed a piece of Iridium 33.
Between 8:30 and 9 p.m. tonight, I will be trying for more Iridium 33 debris. Apart from "Unknown #29", no luck so far.
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Michael A. Earl - Vendor
Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
www.castor2.ca
Celestron NexStar 11 GPS
Celestron NexStar 8i SE
SBIG ST-9XE CCD
|
Michael A. Earl
vendor- Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
Reged: 11/17/08
Posts: 1113
Loc: Brockville, Ontario, Canada
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|
Another long stretch of miserable weather! Still stuck at 2,205, though I wouldn't say that number is a bad thing!
My next opportunity will be this Thursday night.
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Michael A. Earl - Vendor
Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
www.castor2.ca
Celestron NexStar 11 GPS
Celestron NexStar 8i SE
SBIG ST-9XE CCD
|
Michael A. Earl
vendor- Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
Reged: 11/17/08
Posts: 1113
Loc: Brockville, Ontario, Canada
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|
I managed to get mainly clear skies one day early. I captured another 7 satellites to make my new total 2,212. Most were Russian, but also got one USA, one China and one India. Still no confirmed sighting of any collision debris.
The next several days look pristine! I might be able to finally get some of that debris!
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Michael A. Earl - Vendor
Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
www.castor2.ca
Celestron NexStar 11 GPS
Celestron NexStar 8i SE
SBIG ST-9XE CCD
|
Michael A. Earl
vendor- Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
Reged: 11/17/08
Posts: 1113
Loc: Brockville, Ontario, Canada
|
|
Tonight, I detected another 11 satellites, bringing my total to 2,223.
Two of the new set are currently unknown, one of which looked too low in altitude to be a stable orbiting satellite. I suspect that it could be a sporadic meteor.
I have several days of amazing skies and I intend to use them! I hope to have a total of 2,250 by the end of this weekend.
--------------------
Michael A. Earl - Vendor
Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
www.castor2.ca
Celestron NexStar 11 GPS
Celestron NexStar 8i SE
SBIG ST-9XE CCD
|
Glassthrower
Vendor - Galactic Stone & Ironworks
Reged: 04/07/05
Posts: 16348
Loc: Kuiper Belt
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Michael, your satellite tracking and identification service has given me a good idea! 
It's off-topic, so I am sending you a PM.
Best regards,
MikeG
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Michael Gilmer - Member of the Meteoritical Society & Collector of Falling Stars.
Meteorites, Moon Rocks, Mars Rocks, Tektites, Fossils, Minerals, Crystals, & Trinitite.
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Michael A. Earl
vendor- Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
Reged: 11/17/08
Posts: 1113
Loc: Brockville, Ontario, Canada
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|
Four Russian satellites and one American satellite detected make 2,228 satellites so far!
More tracking tonight!
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Michael A. Earl - Vendor
Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
www.castor2.ca
Celestron NexStar 11 GPS
Celestron NexStar 8i SE
SBIG ST-9XE CCD
|
Michael A. Earl
vendor- Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
Reged: 11/17/08
Posts: 1113
Loc: Brockville, Ontario, Canada
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Having detected about 20 satellites last night, only one of them was new: Bright debris from an American Delta 1 rocket.
More observing tonight!
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Michael A. Earl - Vendor
Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
www.castor2.ca
Celestron NexStar 11 GPS
Celestron NexStar 8i SE
SBIG ST-9XE CCD
|
Michael A. Earl
vendor- Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
Reged: 11/17/08
Posts: 1113
Loc: Brockville, Ontario, Canada
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|
On St. Patrick's Day, I detected another 8 LEO satellites, bringing my total to 2,237.
Since January 1st of this year, I have detected a total of 184 satellites. I need to have 250 by the end of this month to be on track for 1,000 by the end of this year.
It looks like I will need to bring out the large telescope (11-inch) and capture some new MEOs and GEOs.
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Michael A. Earl - Vendor
Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
www.castor2.ca
Celestron NexStar 11 GPS
Celestron NexStar 8i SE
SBIG ST-9XE CCD
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Michael A. Earl
vendor- Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
Reged: 11/17/08
Posts: 1113
Loc: Brockville, Ontario, Canada
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The CASTOR Satellite Catalogue is now up to 2,244 individual satellites, including one piece of debris from the Iridium 33 / Cosmos 2251 collision. The piece has been catalogued as CSC #2239. It is NORAD #34078.
An exciting day!
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Michael A. Earl - Vendor
Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
www.castor2.ca
Celestron NexStar 11 GPS
Celestron NexStar 8i SE
SBIG ST-9XE CCD
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Michael A. Earl
vendor- Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
Reged: 11/17/08
Posts: 1113
Loc: Brockville, Ontario, Canada
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A large haul tonight! Twelve new satellites, 6 of which are old Russian Cosmos military satellites.
Of the twelve, 10 are Russian, 1 is an OrbComm and one is a Chinese rocket. No Iridium 33 or Cosmos 2251 debris this time!
Since IYA's beginning, I have detected 203 new satellites. I am approaching the 250 required for the first quarter of the IYA.
My total is now 2,256 unique satellites since January 1, 2007.
The skies will be clear again tonight. Another report tomorrow.
www.castor2.ca/13_Catalogue
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Michael A. Earl - Vendor
Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
www.castor2.ca
Celestron NexStar 11 GPS
Celestron NexStar 8i SE
SBIG ST-9XE CCD
|
Michael A. Earl
vendor- Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
Reged: 11/17/08
Posts: 1113
Loc: Brockville, Ontario, Canada
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March has been very kind! 13 days of this month have been clear, which is amazing for this part of the world at this time of the year.
In March, CASTOR detected 91 new satellites, including one piece of the Iridium 33 debris.
The CASTOR Satellite Catalogue now has 2,271 satellites. After the rain ends, I will be dusting off the telescopes to do some MEO and GEO tracking. The number should increase dramatically shortly.
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Michael A. Earl - Vendor
Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
www.castor2.ca
Celestron NexStar 11 GPS
Celestron NexStar 8i SE
SBIG ST-9XE CCD
|
Michael A. Earl
vendor- Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
Reged: 11/17/08
Posts: 1113
Loc: Brockville, Ontario, Canada
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Well, it looks like the tail end of March is going to be quite soggy, so I will be doing some routine maintenance on the scopes and cameras until the next opportunity.
I am still on track to reach 1,000 unique satellites by the end of December to celebrate the IYA. Nearly one quarter of that has been detected.
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Michael A. Earl - Vendor
Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
www.castor2.ca
Celestron NexStar 11 GPS
Celestron NexStar 8i SE
SBIG ST-9XE CCD
|
Mike28
Post Laureate
Reged: 06/21/03
Posts: 3011
Loc: Morris County,NJ
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That seems like an interesting hobby - to track satellites.
You never know when you might come upon a new military satellite thats there one week then gone the next. I know
my Starry Night program has most of the current satellites but there are alway's a new one going into orbit.
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Mike
'The only reason for time is so that everything doesn't happen at once.” Albert Einstein
TAKAHASHI TOA150F
NS11GPS/Sky align
Celestron 80ED
TV Pronto
Coronado Ha PST
CGE mount
Edited by Mike28 (03/30/09 06:22 PM)
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Michael A. Earl
vendor- Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
Reged: 11/17/08
Posts: 1113
Loc: Brockville, Ontario, Canada
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Well, a miracle has happened! I will have one more chance to track satellites at the tail end of this month.
I am planning to track a bunch of geostationary satellites this Tuesday night. I am hopeful that I will have a total of over 2,300 satellites by the time March 31st ends.
Wish me luck!
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Michael A. Earl - Vendor
Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
www.castor2.ca
Celestron NexStar 11 GPS
Celestron NexStar 8i SE
SBIG ST-9XE CCD
|
Mike28
Post Laureate
Reged: 06/21/03
Posts: 3011
Loc: Morris County,NJ
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Good luck!
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Mike
'The only reason for time is so that everything doesn't happen at once.” Albert Einstein
TAKAHASHI TOA150F
NS11GPS/Sky align
Celestron 80ED
TV Pronto
Coronado Ha PST
CGE mount
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Michael A. Earl
vendor- Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
Reged: 11/17/08
Posts: 1113
Loc: Brockville, Ontario, Canada
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Well, I managed to get 15 geostationary and 1 low Earth orbiting satellite (by mistake) to add to my catalogue. The CSC now stands at 2,287 satellites.
The GEOs were mainly new ones I did not have a chance to observe before and a few I finally detected after many tries, such as Anik A2 and CTS (Hermes).
My next opportunity could be tonight, but the dewpoint will most likely be very high and therefore foggy (after the rain).
No complaints! 108 new satellites in March! 234 new satellites since January 1, 2009.
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Michael A. Earl - Vendor
Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
www.castor2.ca
Celestron NexStar 11 GPS
Celestron NexStar 8i SE
SBIG ST-9XE CCD
|
Michael A. Earl
vendor- Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
Reged: 11/17/08
Posts: 1113
Loc: Brockville, Ontario, Canada
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I had a brief time last night to grab one LEO satellite between two large rain systems. Well, one hour to be precise.
I did get one satellite, but it was a repeat. No new ones. The number still stands at 2,287. The next opportunity will most likely be Thursday or Friday, as this system is huge.
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Michael A. Earl - Vendor
Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
www.castor2.ca
Celestron NexStar 11 GPS
Celestron NexStar 8i SE
SBIG ST-9XE CCD
|
Michael A. Earl
vendor- Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
Reged: 11/17/08
Posts: 1113
Loc: Brockville, Ontario, Canada
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April has seen 22 new satellites, bringing CASTOR's total to 2,309 individual satellites detected in total (256 satellites in 2009). Most were Russian SL-8 rockets and Cosmos payloads.
The Easter season has been kind! Hopefully, 2,400 will be breached by the end of this month. The weather for the remainder of the week looks promising!
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Michael A. Earl - Vendor
Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
www.castor2.ca
Celestron NexStar 11 GPS
Celestron NexStar 8i SE
SBIG ST-9XE CCD
|
d1anderson
professor emeritus
Reged: 10/11/07
Posts: 635
Loc: North Central Texas
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Hey Michael,
Any chance of seeing the satellite that North Korea has recently put up (supposedly).
--------------------
Clear Skies
Dewayne
-------
Z12 dob
MEADE DS2130AT NEWT 494goto
MEADE NG60 REFRACTOR
The more you look the more you'll see!
Don't forget to register at www.scopebuddies.com
Check out my blog What I Think About Things
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Michael A. Earl
vendor- Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
Reged: 11/17/08
Posts: 1113
Loc: Brockville, Ontario, Canada
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Quote:
Any chance of seeing the satellite that North Korea has recently put up (supposedly).
Not likely. I would have to lead an expedition to the Pacific Ocean (with the help of Dr. Ballard) to look for the payload a few miles below the surface.
I have not picked up anything strange in the past few days since the launch, but I am willing to believe that the payload did indeed fall into the ocean as reported by NORAD. I will believe NORAD over N. Korea any day.
However, every time I catch an unknown object, I will wonder about the claims 
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Michael A. Earl - Vendor
Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
www.castor2.ca
Celestron NexStar 11 GPS
Celestron NexStar 8i SE
SBIG ST-9XE CCD
|
Michael A. Earl
vendor- Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
Reged: 11/17/08
Posts: 1113
Loc: Brockville, Ontario, Canada
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As of April 14, CASTOR has detected a total of 2,318 individual satellites since January 1, 2007 and 268 since the beginning of the IYA.
Tonight is another opportunity. I will be going for geosynchronous objects this time.
I expect to breach the 2,400 satellite mark by the end of this month.
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Michael A. Earl - Vendor
Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
www.castor2.ca
Celestron NexStar 11 GPS
Celestron NexStar 8i SE
SBIG ST-9XE CCD
|
Michael A. Earl
vendor- Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
Reged: 11/17/08
Posts: 1113
Loc: Brockville, Ontario, Canada
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On April 15th, 8 geosynchronous satellites and 1 supersynchronous (HEO) satellite were detected to make the total CASTOR detections 2,327 satellites. Since the start of the IYA, CASTOR has detected 274 new satellites to add to its catalogue.
The HEO satellite was the European Space Agency's "Integral" satellite, which was 146,500km from CASTOR and 3.5 degrees from the NCP at the time of its detection.
This weekend's weather seems promising. Another 20 satellites might be detected over Saturday and Sunday.
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Michael A. Earl - Vendor
Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
www.castor2.ca
Celestron NexStar 11 GPS
Celestron NexStar 8i SE
SBIG ST-9XE CCD
|
Michael A. Earl
vendor- Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
Reged: 11/17/08
Posts: 1113
Loc: Brockville, Ontario, Canada
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Sunday night was favorable for some new satellite detections. 16 new GEO and MEO satellites were detected, including several Russian SL-12 rockets, the second Giove GPS satellite by ESA and a Chinese rocket.
Since the beginning of the IYA, 293 new satellites were detected. I am confident that I will reach 333 (one third of this year's goal) by the end of this month (only 10 days away).
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Michael A. Earl - Vendor
Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
www.castor2.ca
Celestron NexStar 11 GPS
Celestron NexStar 8i SE
SBIG ST-9XE CCD
|
Michael A. Earl
vendor- Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
Reged: 11/17/08
Posts: 1113
Loc: Brockville, Ontario, Canada
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CASTOR got another 25 geosynchronous satellites last night to bring the total to 2,368 satellites.
Since the IYA began, CASTOR has detected 315 new satellites, very near the 1/3 point to the 1,000 goal for this year.
It is expected (weather permitting) that the 2,400 mark will be breached by the end of this month.
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Michael A. Earl - Vendor
Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
www.castor2.ca
Celestron NexStar 11 GPS
Celestron NexStar 8i SE
SBIG ST-9XE CCD
|
Michael A. Earl
vendor- Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
Reged: 11/17/08
Posts: 1113
Loc: Brockville, Ontario, Canada
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Last night, I managed to detect another 23 new satellites, bringing my total to 2,391, only 9 satellites away from breaching the 2,400 mark.
With a clear night forecast for my area, I am sure to breach it tonight. Afterwards, I will set my sights on reaching a milestone number: 2,500 satellites!
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Michael A. Earl - Vendor
Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
www.castor2.ca
Celestron NexStar 11 GPS
Celestron NexStar 8i SE
SBIG ST-9XE CCD
|
DrBuck
sage
Reged: 12/10/08
Posts: 269
Loc: Susanville, No. Calif.
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Quote:
Last night, I managed to detect another 23 new satellites, bringing my total to 2,391, only 9 satellites away from breaching the 2,400 mark.
With a clear night forecast for my area, I am sure to breach it tonight. Afterwards, I will set my sights on reaching a milestone number: 2,500 satellites!
--------Michael, How does Castor determine if a satellite is a new one and not a repeat?? 
--------------------
DrBuck
Roll off Roof Observatory,
CGE on concrete and steel pier
Takahashi FS 152 Fluorite apo refractor
Televue 85MM Apochromatic refractor
12 inch LX 200 gps smt uhtc
Nikon D-90 with 18-200mm AF VR lens
Canon 15x50 IS Binoculars
http://www.flickr.com/photos/697650grr/?saved=1
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Michael A. Earl
vendor- Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
Reged: 11/17/08
Posts: 1113
Loc: Brockville, Ontario, Canada
|
|
Quote:
How does Castor determine if a satellite is a new one and not a repeat??
Excellent question! With each new satellite I see, I specifically catalogue it and make detailed notes about its brightness, angular velocity, tumble period (if inactive) and orbit type.
Each satellite detected is stored on a master list with all of its observed attributes. With each satellite detected, it is compared to the master list. If the object is a "repeat", it is added to the corresponding object's CASTOR Catalogue number to add to data already collected on that object.
Thanks for your question!
--------------------
Michael A. Earl - Vendor
Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
www.castor2.ca
Celestron NexStar 11 GPS
Celestron NexStar 8i SE
SBIG ST-9XE CCD
|
Michael A. Earl
vendor- Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
Reged: 11/17/08
Posts: 1113
Loc: Brockville, Ontario, Canada
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Last night, I managed to collect another 18 satellites to bring my total number up to 2,409 unique satellites.
So, far during the IYA, I have detected 356 satellites, over 1/3 of the goal set for this year. I am still well on track to reaching the goal of 1,000 new satellites by the end of the IYA!
This project has given me a unique understanding of the amount of satellites orbiting us right now. Although several of the satellites I have seen have decayed and have fallen back to Earth, most are still orbiting us.
There still seems to be no end in sight to the number of new objects I can detect. Of course, there will come a time when my technical limits will become apparent and the number of new satellites will decrease. I am hoping this does not happen before December 31, 2009.
I am very hopeful that I can reach the total 3,053 satellite goal by the end of this year. 2,500 is right around the corner.
--------------------
Michael A. Earl - Vendor
Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
www.castor2.ca
Celestron NexStar 11 GPS
Celestron NexStar 8i SE
SBIG ST-9XE CCD
|
DrBuck
sage
Reged: 12/10/08
Posts: 269
Loc: Susanville, No. Calif.
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Michael-------and I assume that the master list and data is computerized with software that will compare data?? and congratulations on breaking 2400
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DrBuck
Roll off Roof Observatory,
CGE on concrete and steel pier
Takahashi FS 152 Fluorite apo refractor
Televue 85MM Apochromatic refractor
12 inch LX 200 gps smt uhtc
Nikon D-90 with 18-200mm AF VR lens
Canon 15x50 IS Binoculars
http://www.flickr.com/photos/697650grr/?saved=1
Edited by DrBuck (04/30/09 01:35 PM)
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Michael A. Earl
vendor- Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
Reged: 11/17/08
Posts: 1113
Loc: Brockville, Ontario, Canada
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DrBuck,
From time to time I have to compare actual observations (orbit types, tumble periods, etc.) with in-house software to make sure that I have not seen a repeat satellite. Normally, I can simply use the NORAD number if there is no confusion.
In the case of the "classified" objects, I make sure that they have not been mistaken for unclassified objects, then do an observation comparison.
Most of the time, I simply propagate the orbit elements and compare the predicted position with the position in my images. For High Earth Orbit satellites, the NORAD elements can have significant errors, so extra care must be taken wiht those. However, their angular velocities are normally so low they are easy to discern from Geosynchronous (GEOs) and Mid Earth Orbits (MEOs).
--------------------
Michael A. Earl - Vendor
Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
www.castor2.ca
Celestron NexStar 11 GPS
Celestron NexStar 8i SE
SBIG ST-9XE CCD
|
DrBuck
sage
Reged: 12/10/08
Posts: 269
Loc: Susanville, No. Calif.
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Michael-----thats very interesting------one more question, what imaging equipment do you use to do this!!
--------------------
DrBuck
Roll off Roof Observatory,
CGE on concrete and steel pier
Takahashi FS 152 Fluorite apo refractor
Televue 85MM Apochromatic refractor
12 inch LX 200 gps smt uhtc
Nikon D-90 with 18-200mm AF VR lens
Canon 15x50 IS Binoculars
http://www.flickr.com/photos/697650grr/?saved=1
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Michael A. Earl
vendor- Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
Reged: 11/17/08
Posts: 1113
Loc: Brockville, Ontario, Canada
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|
Quote:
what imaging equipment do you use to do this!!
I have always said that I don't use anything special. I have always been amazed that nobody else in the world has ever tried this before.
I use several pieces of retail equipment:
11-inch NexStar 11 GPS Goto Computerized Scope;
8-inch NexStar 8iSE Goto Computerized Scope;
SBIG ST-9XE CCD Camera
The camera mentioned above has taken all the images for virtually all of the 2,409 satellites. Only a few, (the ISS and space shuttles Endeavor and Atlantis) have been captured with a Nikon CoolPix 4500, mainly because they were too bright for a sensitive CCD camera.
My CCD camera has captured approximately 100,000 images since January 1, 2007, when my project began. It is still going strong. It has operated in temperatures as low as minus 40C and as high as 40C.
Anyone with an 11-inch (or even 14-inch scope) and CCD camera can do what I have done, but it does take a huge amount of time and patience. I am essentially proving that private satellite tracking is an industry of the future and can be done with very inexpensive equipment.
The recent satellite collision has also proven that satellite companies need to track inactive satellites as well in order to produce better satellite conjunction models to prevent collisions.
This is one method of doing that. You could call it a demonstration.
--------------------
Michael A. Earl - Vendor
Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
www.castor2.ca
Celestron NexStar 11 GPS
Celestron NexStar 8i SE
SBIG ST-9XE CCD
|
Michael A. Earl
vendor- Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
Reged: 11/17/08
Posts: 1113
Loc: Brockville, Ontario, Canada
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CASTOR has detected another 122 new satellites in April. Since the beginning of the IYA, it has detected 356 new satellites, over 1/3 of the 1,000 it needs for the IYA goal.
So far, May has been disappointing. Tonight looks no better. Still stuck at the total of 2,409. Time to do some routine maintenence.
--------------------
Michael A. Earl - Vendor
Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
www.castor2.ca
Celestron NexStar 11 GPS
Celestron NexStar 8i SE
SBIG ST-9XE CCD
|
DrBuck
sage
Reged: 12/10/08
Posts: 269
Loc: Susanville, No. Calif.
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Wow--------congratulations. I had no idea there were that many up there. Hope you have clear skys tonite
--------------------
DrBuck
Roll off Roof Observatory,
CGE on concrete and steel pier
Takahashi FS 152 Fluorite apo refractor
Televue 85MM Apochromatic refractor
12 inch LX 200 gps smt uhtc
Nikon D-90 with 18-200mm AF VR lens
Canon 15x50 IS Binoculars
http://www.flickr.com/photos/697650grr/?saved=1
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Michael A. Earl
vendor- Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
Reged: 11/17/08
Posts: 1113
Loc: Brockville, Ontario, Canada
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|
Unfortunately, my skies will not be clear tonight. I made sure I was above the quota for April just in case May turned out to be rotten. So far, I have been right. The entire first week of May was terrible.
I do not know how many more satellites I will be able to see until I reach the "brick wall", but that's what this project has been created to find out.
--------------------
Michael A. Earl - Vendor
Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
www.castor2.ca
Celestron NexStar 11 GPS
Celestron NexStar 8i SE
SBIG ST-9XE CCD
|
Michael A. Earl
vendor- Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
Reged: 11/17/08
Posts: 1113
Loc: Brockville, Ontario, Canada
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After a dismal start of May, I finally have the opportunity to detect new satellites tonight. I am expecting about 20 more new satellites tonight and the same tomorrow.
Right now, I have only 91 satellites to go before the magic milestone number of 2,500 arrives!
--------------------
Michael A. Earl - Vendor
Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
www.castor2.ca
Celestron NexStar 11 GPS
Celestron NexStar 8i SE
SBIG ST-9XE CCD
|
ido
sage
Reged: 06/29/06
Posts: 366
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Very nice !
We are also capturing man made satellites with our remote Internet telescope. The last image we took was of the HOT BIRD array.
http://bareket-astro.com/movies/Satellites%20Hot%20Bird%209,8%20&%206.html
We opened the scope for the public, at the IYA09 100HRA projects, a few weeks ago. (more info available at our web site)
Keep up the great work.
Ido.
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Michael A. Earl
vendor- Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
Reged: 11/17/08
Posts: 1113
Loc: Brockville, Ontario, Canada
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Quote:
The last image we took was of the HOT BIRD array.
I assume that is Hot Birds 6, 8 and 9? From here in Brockville, they are (always) several degrees below my eastern horizon. I did detect EutelSat's Hot Bird 1 in 2007, however.
One day, I will travel to the other side of the world to finish my survey of the GEO objects.
Thanks for the encouragement!
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Michael A. Earl - Vendor
Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
www.castor2.ca
Celestron NexStar 11 GPS
Celestron NexStar 8i SE
SBIG ST-9XE CCD
|
Michael A. Earl
vendor- Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
Reged: 11/17/08
Posts: 1113
Loc: Brockville, Ontario, Canada
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CASTOR has detected another 19 geosynchronous satellites on May 11th, bringing its total to 2,427 satellites since January 1, 2007 and 374 satellites since the beginning of the IYA.
I am expecting another 20 MEO satellites (or so) tonight. I also plan to re-observe the tumbling satellite Molniya 3-39, which is undergoing orbit decay.
--------------------
Michael A. Earl - Vendor
Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
www.castor2.ca
Celestron NexStar 11 GPS
Celestron NexStar 8i SE
SBIG ST-9XE CCD
|
ido
sage
Reged: 06/29/06
Posts: 366
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What software are you using in order to predict the satellite's position and in order to rack it ?
Send us an email (we have it on our web site) if you have a need to capture satellites from the "other side" of the globe. I'll be delighted to assist.
Thanks,
Ido.
--------------------
http://bareket-astro.com/en.htm
Bareket observatory, Israel.
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Michael A. Earl
vendor- Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
Reged: 11/17/08
Posts: 1113
Loc: Brockville, Ontario, Canada
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I currently use Software Bisque's TheSky Version 5 to propagate the orbit elements to locate the satellites. I find that it is the most reliable of all, especially for satellites.
Thanks for your generous offer! Once I complete my survey of the satellites visible from the northern hemisphere, I might give you a ring.
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Michael A. Earl - Vendor
Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
www.castor2.ca
Celestron NexStar 11 GPS
Celestron NexStar 8i SE
SBIG ST-9XE CCD
|
Michael A. Earl
vendor- Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
Reged: 11/17/08
Posts: 1113
Loc: Brockville, Ontario, Canada
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On the night of May 12th, I picked up another 28 MEO satellites to bring my total to 2,455. This number is nearly 500 objects over the original goal in 2007 for my Sputnik 50th Anniversary celebration (1,957). I had no idea that so many satellites could be detected with my equipment.
I am expecting to reach the milestone number of 2,500 unique satellites by next week. The weather for the beginning of next week looks favorable (so far). I am nearly half way through my goal for the celebration of the IYA (1,000 satellites). Since January 1, 2009, I have detected 402 satellites.
There still seems to be no end in sight to the satellites that I can detect. I know there is a limit somewhere, but so far I cannot see it approaching.
On May 11th, CASTOR was able to detect the final Telesat satellite for the catalogue (Anik A3). CASTOR has now detected and catalogued all of Telesat's property since it began with Anik A1 in 1972. Anik A3 is CSC #2410.
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Michael A. Earl - Vendor
Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
www.castor2.ca
Celestron NexStar 11 GPS
Celestron NexStar 8i SE
SBIG ST-9XE CCD
|
Michael A. Earl
vendor- Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
Reged: 11/17/08
Posts: 1113
Loc: Brockville, Ontario, Canada
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With another 24 satellites detected last night, CASTOR is only 22 satellites away from hitting the 2,500 satellite milestone mark!
CASTOR has detected a total of 425 satellites in the IYA year! This is nearly half way from the 1,000 goal for this year.
--------------------
Michael A. Earl - Vendor
Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
www.castor2.ca
Celestron NexStar 11 GPS
Celestron NexStar 8i SE
SBIG ST-9XE CCD
|
Michael A. Earl
vendor- Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
Reged: 11/17/08
Posts: 1113
Loc: Brockville, Ontario, Canada
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With another 15 Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites last night, I have a mere 7 satellites remaining until I hit the 2,500 mark.
While observing last night, I saw an object suddenly appear about 3 degrees to the north and east of Spica. It originally had a magnitude of about 3 or 4. I could see it moving slightly which indicated a satellite for sure. By the time I slewed the wide field CCD camera to the position of the object, it had seemingly disappeared. I took several images anyway. I managed to find the object, which appeared quite bright in the CCD field.
After identifying the satellite the next day, I found that it was the American MilStar 3 satellite; not a new object. However, I added it to my satellite archives.
--------------------
Michael A. Earl - Vendor
Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
www.castor2.ca
Celestron NexStar 11 GPS
Celestron NexStar 8i SE
SBIG ST-9XE CCD
|
Michael A. Earl
vendor- Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
Reged: 11/17/08
Posts: 1113
Loc: Brockville, Ontario, Canada
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I am proud to say that I finally breached the 2,500 satellite mark as of May 20th!!! The current number that I have detected since January 1, 2007 now stands at exactly 2,525 satellites.
Since the beginning of the IYA, I have detected 472 satellites. Almost half way to the 1,000 goal!
There does not seem to be any signs of hitting the "brick wall" of detection at the present time.
However, I am beginning to make lists of those specific satellite types that I have NOT detected yet.
I expect to hit the 500 mark (for the IYA year) by the end of this month. With only 28 to go, this seems simple!
I am expecting to detect the remaining 528 satellites by the December 31, 2009 deadline.
I am updating my CASTOR Catalogue with the satellites that I have seen over the past several days. You can view the catalogue at www.castor2.ca/13_Catalogue
--------------------
Michael A. Earl - Vendor
Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
www.castor2.ca
Celestron NexStar 11 GPS
Celestron NexStar 8i SE
SBIG ST-9XE CCD
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Michael A. Earl
vendor- Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
Reged: 11/17/08
Posts: 1113
Loc: Brockville, Ontario, Canada
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On May 25th, CASTOR detected another 11 Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites to bring its total catalogue number to 2,536 unique satellites.
Since the beginning of the IYA, it has detected 483 satellites; only 17 under the half way point for this year!
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Michael A. Earl - Vendor
Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
www.castor2.ca
Celestron NexStar 11 GPS
Celestron NexStar 8i SE
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|
Michael A. Earl
vendor- Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
Reged: 11/17/08
Posts: 1113
Loc: Brockville, Ontario, Canada
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|
CASTOR has detected an additional 130 satellites in May. Many of these are in the Low Earth Orbit (LEO).
Three new satellites were detected on May 31st, bringing the new total to 2,539 satellites since January 1, 2007.
The three new LEO satellites detected on May 31st were detected accidentally while attempting to detect other satellites. These satellites just happened to drift into the CASTOR Wide Field camera's field. This is phenominal, given that the Wide Field camera has a field of view of 11.5 degrees (just over a fist at arm's length). This also shows that CASTOR has many more satellites to detect before it has detected them all.
Since the IYA began, CASTOR has detected 486 new satellites, which leaves another 514 to complete the 1,000 goal for this year. So far, CASTOR is a month ahead of schedule!
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Michael A. Earl - Vendor
Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
www.castor2.ca
Celestron NexStar 11 GPS
Celestron NexStar 8i SE
SBIG ST-9XE CCD
|
jfsiteings
newbie
Reged: 05/27/09
Posts: 1
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great i am interasted in this how does one become
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Michael A. Earl
vendor- Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
Reged: 11/17/08
Posts: 1113
Loc: Brockville, Ontario, Canada
|
|
Exciting News!
CASTOR has detected another 35 satellites on the night of June 5th, bringing its total to 2,574 satellites.
Since the beginning of the IYA, CASTOR has detected 521 new satellites. June 5th brought it over the half way mark for this year! Only 479 satellites to go until the magic number 1,000!
I will be taking a little break over June, as the nights will not be too long and I need to rest up before the remaining number.
I am now certain that CASTOR will be able to detect the final 479 satellites to reach its IYA goal. It is already nearly one month ahead of schedule!
During the night of the 5th, I thought I had detected several new pieces of the Iridium 33 debris. However, a few SL-8 rockets and Iridium 33 itself tricked me into believing that I did. I will keep trying to detect more of the collision debris in July.
Exciting times!
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Michael A. Earl - Vendor
Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
www.castor2.ca
Celestron NexStar 11 GPS
Celestron NexStar 8i SE
SBIG ST-9XE CCD
|
Michael A. Earl
vendor- Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
Reged: 11/17/08
Posts: 1113
Loc: Brockville, Ontario, Canada
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|
After a few years compiling the CASTOR Satellite Catalogue (CSC), I am now in the process of cleaning up any errors that might have been made along the way.
Errors such as number typos, common name typos, incorrect orbit type, incorrect country of origin, etc. have to be corrected to improve the integrity of the catalogue.
I have tried to be very careful when entering the data for each satellite, but over time and with 2,574 entires, some mistakes (however minor) are bound to be made.
If you see any mistakes in the catalogue, please feel free to tell me so that I can have a look at it.
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Michael A. Earl - Vendor
Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
www.castor2.ca
Celestron NexStar 11 GPS
Celestron NexStar 8i SE
SBIG ST-9XE CCD
|
Michael A. Earl
vendor- Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
Reged: 11/17/08
Posts: 1113
Loc: Brockville, Ontario, Canada
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|
As I was checking my catalogue for errors, I found another satellite in an image of Cosmos 1470. It was barely visible in the image, but it defintely was a satellite streak. I checked it out and found that it was the SaudiSatCom 3 communications satellite (NORAD #31125) from Saudi Arabia.
The object was originally captured on May 19th, but I decided to add it to the end of the catalogue (#2575) to preserve the integrity of the catalogue.
Sometimes when I target a particular satellite to track, another satellite will drift into the FOV. Sometimes the interloper will be barely visible and I will miss it completely at first check. Over time, I might go back to check for errors (like now) and find another one.
So, the catalogue has a new member! It is CASTOR's first detection of a Saudi satellite. I will be resuming my efforts in July.
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Michael A. Earl - Vendor
Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
www.castor2.ca
Celestron NexStar 11 GPS
Celestron NexStar 8i SE
SBIG ST-9XE CCD
|
Michael A. Earl
vendor- Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
Reged: 11/17/08
Posts: 1113
Loc: Brockville, Ontario, Canada
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Wow! I found another new satellite hiding im my images! This time it was a Delta 1 rocket body (NORAD #03616). It is CSC #2576.
It is nice to add to my catalogue without really trying!
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Michael A. Earl - Vendor
Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
www.castor2.ca
Celestron NexStar 11 GPS
Celestron NexStar 8i SE
SBIG ST-9XE CCD
|
Michael A. Earl
vendor- Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
Reged: 11/17/08
Posts: 1113
Loc: Brockville, Ontario, Canada
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|
I will be back to observing the remaining 500 satellites for the IYA by July 7, 2009, weather permitting. With a few launches happening in the past few weeks, it will give me a few new objects right away!
Currently, the total is 2,576. I plan to break the 2,600 mark by mid July.
I plan to have a total of at at least 3,053 satellites by the end of this year. I will be really lucky to have over 3,100.
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Michael A. Earl - Vendor
Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
www.castor2.ca
Celestron NexStar 11 GPS
Celestron NexStar 8i SE
SBIG ST-9XE CCD
|
Michael A. Earl
vendor- Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
Reged: 11/17/08
Posts: 1113
Loc: Brockville, Ontario, Canada
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|
CASTOR got another 5 satellites last night (3 geosynchronous and 2 mid-earth orbit), bringing its total to 2,581.
Only 472 satellites remain until the 1,000 satellite goal for the IYA is reached.
I expect to breach the 2,600 total satellite mark within the week.
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Michael A. Earl - Vendor
Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
www.castor2.ca
Celestron NexStar 11 GPS
Celestron NexStar 8i SE
SBIG ST-9XE CCD
|
Michael A. Earl
vendor- Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
Reged: 11/17/08
Posts: 1113
Loc: Brockville, Ontario, Canada
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|
On the evening of July 9-10, CASTOR grabbed another 30 satellites, bringing its total to 2,611.
Two satellites in this new crop are the new GOES 14 weather satellite and the new Sirius FM-5 satellite (satellite radio). Sirius FM-5 is the first geostationary satellite for Sirius (the rest are geosynchronous with an inclination of 63 degrees).
Since the beginning of the IYA, CASTOR detected a total of 558 satellites, which leaves another 442 satellites in order to reach its 1,000 satellite goal for the IYA year. I am very confident that I will be able to reach this goal!
Thanks to all who have viewed this thread. Over 5,000 hits and counting!!!
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Michael A. Earl - Vendor
Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
www.castor2.ca
Celestron NexStar 11 GPS
Celestron NexStar 8i SE
SBIG ST-9XE CCD
|
Michael A. Earl
vendor- Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
Reged: 11/17/08
Posts: 1113
Loc: Brockville, Ontario, Canada
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|
CASTOR detected another 11 new satellites on July 14, making its total to date 2,622.
There might be another opportunity for more this week.
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Michael A. Earl - Vendor
Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
www.castor2.ca
Celestron NexStar 11 GPS
Celestron NexStar 8i SE
SBIG ST-9XE CCD
|
Michael A. Earl
vendor- Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
Reged: 11/17/08
Posts: 1113
Loc: Brockville, Ontario, Canada
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|
Another successful night of satellite detection has resulted in another 11 satellites to bring the total to 2,633. 580 have been detected since the IYA began.
I am planning to get more MEO objects the next chance I get.
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Michael A. Earl - Vendor
Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
www.castor2.ca
Celestron NexStar 11 GPS
Celestron NexStar 8i SE
SBIG ST-9XE CCD
|
ottovonrotton
member
Reged: 01/01/09
Posts: 65
Loc: Where is Port Perry?
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Hello Michael, I see a lot of satellites from my backyard could use a handy way to figure out what is what or who. and a way to predict there transit so they can be photo'ed and not be in the way of other photos.
Good luck with the venture
John Blair (Glad to see another Canuck doing good)
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Go Modern, Go Gas, Go Bang!
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Michael A. Earl
vendor- Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
Reged: 11/17/08
Posts: 1113
Loc: Brockville, Ontario, Canada
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|
Last night saw an additional 18 satellites for the CASTOR Satellite Catalog. All were Mid Earth Orbit (MEO) and comprised of Russian, American, French and Chinese payloads and rockets.
The catalogue now stands at 2,651 unique satellites. 402 satellites remain for this year.
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Michael A. Earl - Vendor
Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
www.castor2.ca
Celestron NexStar 11 GPS
Celestron NexStar 8i SE
SBIG ST-9XE CCD
|
Michael A. Earl
vendor- Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
Reged: 11/17/08
Posts: 1113
Loc: Brockville, Ontario, Canada
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|
Quote:
could use a handy way to figure out what is what or who. and a way to predict there transit so they can be photo'ed and not be in the way of other photos.
There is no guarantee that a satellite will not pass through your FOV during your imaging, but there is one area that you absolutely stay away from.
The geostationary belt is a high density area of satellites that is the "no man's land" for long exposure imaging. The approximate declination of the GEO belt for southern Canada is about -6.5 degrees, but the higher in latitude you go, the lower declination the belt appears.
For the really bright satellites, you can go to Heavens Above (www.heavens-above.com), but it only predicts the naked eye satellites, which are few and far between. It is a good bet that very few of them would bother your images, unless you are using really high exposure times within a few hours after sunset or within a few hours before sunrise.
Quote:
Good luck with the venture
Thank You.
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Michael A. Earl - Vendor
Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
www.castor2.ca
Celestron NexStar 11 GPS
Celestron NexStar 8i SE
SBIG ST-9XE CCD
|
Michael A. Earl
vendor- Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
Reged: 11/17/08
Posts: 1113
Loc: Brockville, Ontario, Canada
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|
As of July 21, I have 400 satellites left to reach my 1,000 satellite goal for the IYA!
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Michael A. Earl - Vendor
Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
www.castor2.ca
Celestron NexStar 11 GPS
Celestron NexStar 8i SE
SBIG ST-9XE CCD
|
Michael A. Earl
vendor- Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
Reged: 11/17/08
Posts: 1113
Loc: Brockville, Ontario, Canada
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|
Well, it has been a long time, but I have finally managed to get clear skies just in time for the end of the month of July.
CASTOR got another 31 satellites, mainly mid Earth orbit, but a few GEOs on July 31st, bringing its grand total to 2,684 satellites.
CASTOR has detected 631 satellites since the beginning of the IYA. It has another 369 to go before reaching its 1,000 satellite goal!
In the month of July, CASTOR got a total of 108 new satellites; a little on the low side, but with only 7 days of decent weather this month, it is a good haul.
I hope August is much better though!
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Michael A. Earl - Vendor
Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
www.castor2.ca
Celestron NexStar 11 GPS
Celestron NexStar 8i SE
SBIG ST-9XE CCD
|
Michael A. Earl
vendor- Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
Reged: 11/17/08
Posts: 1113
Loc: Brockville, Ontario, Canada
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|
Another milestone has been reached with the 2,700th satellite detected by CASTOR on August 8th, 2009.
The 2,700th satellite detected was the Japanese H-1 rocket that launched the Himawari 4 weather satellite into orbit.
CASTOR detected the Himawari 4 payload back in 2007. It is CASTOR Satellite Catalog #1676.
Two geosynchronous satellites were detected on August 8th. The first was the German "Equator S" satellite, and the second was the American "EchoStar 1" satellite.
It is becoming apparent that CASTOR is beginning to run out of accessible geosynchronous satellites. To date, CASTOR has detected 602 of the 1,000 geosynchronous satellites currently orbiting the Earth. In order to detect the remaining 400, there would have to be a CASTOR facility on the other side of the world.
In order for CASTOR to make it to the 2,800 mark, it would have to rely on the remaining accessible satellites in LEO and MEO orbits.
Since the IYA began, CASTOR has detected 647 new satellites, nearly 2/3 of the 1,000 goal for this year.
--------------------
Michael A. Earl - Vendor
Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
www.castor2.ca
Celestron NexStar 11 GPS
Celestron NexStar 8i SE
SBIG ST-9XE CCD
|
Michael A. Earl
vendor- Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
Reged: 11/17/08
Posts: 1113
Loc: Brockville, Ontario, Canada
|
|
The past 4 days have been extremely productive, as CASTOR detected another 59 satellites to add to its ever-growing catalogue. I took advantage of the amazing clear skies in this part of the world to catch them.
One of the satellites detected this week was the now tumbling Hipparcos satellite, which once revolutionized trigonometric parallax measurements for stars. It is now in the ever-growing satellite graveyard, forever doomed to tumble in space.
As a sign that the end is near for its survey, CASTOR cannot detect any further geosynchronous satellites without relocating to the other side of the world. Still, it has detected over 600 of the 1,000 total geosynchronous satellites currently in orbit, which is not bad for just one detector.
To date, CASTOR has detected 2,759 satellites from all orbit types since January 1, 2007. Since the IYA began, it has detected 706 new satellites, nearly 3/4 of the 1,000 satellite goal set on January 1, 2009.
The end of the long journey is near. I expect to finish by November 2009.
--------------------
Michael A. Earl - Vendor
Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
www.castor2.ca
Celestron NexStar 11 GPS
Celestron NexStar 8i SE
SBIG ST-9XE CCD
|
Michael A. Earl
vendor- Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
Reged: 11/17/08
Posts: 1113
Loc: Brockville, Ontario, Canada
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|
The night of August 17th has resulted in another 14 satellites, bringing my total since January 1, 2007 to 2,773 satellites.
Only 280 satellites remain to reach the IYA goal. I am nearly 3/4 there.
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Michael A. Earl - Vendor
Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
www.castor2.ca
Celestron NexStar 11 GPS
Celestron NexStar 8i SE
SBIG ST-9XE CCD
|
PSS
journeyman
Reged: 08/22/09
Posts: 9
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This sounds very interesting.
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Michael A. Earl
vendor- Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
Reged: 11/17/08
Posts: 1113
Loc: Brockville, Ontario, Canada
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|
CASTOR grabbed another 17 satellites on Monday night, bringing its grand total to 2,790 satellites.
Since the IYA began, CASTOR has detected 737 unique satellites. Only 13 to go before it reaches the 3/4 mark! This is expected to occur on the next clear night.
I have decided to suspend detection of Geosynchronous satellites until new accessible satellites in this orbit type have been launched. At the present time, CASTOR has detected all of the detectable geosynchronous satellites from its location.
Detection of LEO and MEO satellites will carry on as normal.
--------------------
Michael A. Earl - Vendor
Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
www.castor2.ca
Celestron NexStar 11 GPS
Celestron NexStar 8i SE
SBIG ST-9XE CCD
|
Michael A. Earl
vendor- Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
Reged: 11/17/08
Posts: 1113
Loc: Brockville, Ontario, Canada
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|
CASTOR got 20 new satellites on August 26, bringing its grand total to 2,810.
The 2,800th satellite was the Russian Cosmos 2303 payload (NORAD #23445).
With this new total, CASTOR has only 190 satellites to go to reach the 3,000 mark and another 243 satellites to go to reach the 1,000 satellite goal for the IYA.
--------------------
Michael A. Earl - Vendor
Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
www.castor2.ca
Celestron NexStar 11 GPS
Celestron NexStar 8i SE
SBIG ST-9XE CCD
|
Michael A. Earl
vendor- Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
Reged: 11/17/08
Posts: 1113
Loc: Brockville, Ontario, Canada
|
|
At the month's end, CASTOR observed another 11 satellites, bringing its grand total to 2,821.
Since the IYA began, CASTOR has detected 771 new satellites. Just 229 satellites to go to reach its 1,000 satellite goal for the IYA.
--------------------
Michael A. Earl - Vendor
Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
www.castor2.ca
Celestron NexStar 11 GPS
Celestron NexStar 8i SE
SBIG ST-9XE CCD
|
Michael A. Earl
vendor- Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
Reged: 11/17/08
Posts: 1113
Loc: Brockville, Ontario, Canada
|
|
CASTOR observed a total of 137 new satellites in the month of August. This number is 54 over the average number of satellites required per month to reach the 1,000 satellite goal for the IYA.
So far, the first week of September looks exquisite to detect many more new satellites!
--------------------
Michael A. Earl - Vendor
Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
www.castor2.ca
Celestron NexStar 11 GPS
Celestron NexStar 8i SE
SBIG ST-9XE CCD
|
Michael A. Earl
vendor- Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
Reged: 11/17/08
Posts: 1113
Loc: Brockville, Ontario, Canada
|
|
Last night, CASTOR grabbed another 10 satellites, including the Japanese Micro LabSat satellite, only 70cm by 50cm in size.
This brings the grand total to 2,831 satellites.
The adventure continues tonight!
--------------------
Michael A. Earl - Vendor
Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
www.castor2.ca
Celestron NexStar 11 GPS
Celestron NexStar 8i SE
SBIG ST-9XE CCD
|
Michael A. Earl
vendor- Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
Reged: 11/17/08
Posts: 1113
Loc: Brockville, Ontario, Canada
|
|
Last night, CASTOR grabbed another 10 satellites, mainly old Russian SL-8 rockets and the 400kg German CHAMP satellite.
This brings the grand total to 2,841 satellites. Only 159 satellites to go before reaching the great 3,000!!!
The adventure continues tonight!
--------------------
Michael A. Earl - Vendor
Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
www.castor2.ca
Celestron NexStar 11 GPS
Celestron NexStar 8i SE
SBIG ST-9XE CCD
|
Michael A. Earl
vendor- Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
Reged: 11/17/08
Posts: 1113
Loc: Brockville, Ontario, Canada
|
|
Last night, CASTOR grabbed another 9 satellites; Russian SL-8, SL-14, SL-16 and SL-24 rockets and 3 American Iridium satellites.
This brings the grand total to 2,850 satellites. Only 150 satellites to go before reaching the great 3,000!!!
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Michael A. Earl - Vendor
Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
www.castor2.ca
Celestron NexStar 11 GPS
Celestron NexStar 8i SE
SBIG ST-9XE CCD
|
Michael A. Earl
vendor- Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
Reged: 11/17/08
Posts: 1113
Loc: Brockville, Ontario, Canada
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|
Last night, CASTOR grabbed another 9 satellites; mainly Iridium satellites and a new American GPS satellite.
This brings the grand total to 2,859 satellites. Only 141 satellites to go before reaching the great 3,000!!!
The adventure continues tonight; the sixth night of clear skies in a row!
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Michael A. Earl - Vendor
Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
www.castor2.ca
Celestron NexStar 11 GPS
Celestron NexStar 8i SE
SBIG ST-9XE CCD
|
Michael A. Earl
vendor- Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
Reged: 11/17/08
Posts: 1113
Loc: Brockville, Ontario, Canada
|
|
Last night, CASTOR grabbed another 9 satellites; mostly inactive classified American geosynchronous satellites.
This brings the grand total to 2,868 satellites. Only 132 satellites to go before reaching the great 3,000!!!
The adventure continues tonight; the seventh straight night of clear skies!
--------------------
Michael A. Earl - Vendor
Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
www.castor2.ca
Celestron NexStar 11 GPS
Celestron NexStar 8i SE
SBIG ST-9XE CCD
|
Michael A. Earl
vendor- Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
Reged: 11/17/08
Posts: 1113
Loc: Brockville, Ontario, Canada
|
|
Last night, CASTOR grabbed another 10 satellites; mainly Russian Cosmos satellites, SL-8 rockets and American Iridium satellites. The last object of the night was the French SPOT 5 Earth imaging satellite.
This brings the grand total to 2,878 satellites. Only 122 satellites to go before reaching the great 3,000 and 175 satellites to go before reaching the IYA 1,000 goal!!!
So far in this month of September, CASTOR has detected 57 satellites: 68% of the month's quota of 83 satellites.
If the adventure continues tonight, it will be the eighth straight night of clear skies!
--------------------
Michael A. Earl - Vendor
Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
www.castor2.ca
Celestron NexStar 11 GPS
Celestron NexStar 8i SE
SBIG ST-9XE CCD
|
Michael A. Earl
vendor- Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
Reged: 11/17/08
Posts: 1113
Loc: Brockville, Ontario, Canada
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|
Last night, CASTOR grabbed another 8 satellites; mainly Russian and American satellites of history, including the American Radiation Sat, launched in 1963, and the Russian naval search and rescue satellite Nadezhda 1, launched in 1989.
This brings the grand total to 2,886 satellites. Only 114 satellites to go before reaching the great 3,000 and 167 satellites to go before reaching the IYA 1,000 goal!!!
So far in this month of September, CASTOR has detected 65 satellites: 78% of the month's quota of 83 satellites.
The adventure continues tonight!
--------------------
Michael A. Earl - Vendor
Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
www.castor2.ca
Celestron NexStar 11 GPS
Celestron NexStar 8i SE
SBIG ST-9XE CCD
|
Michael A. Earl
vendor- Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
Reged: 11/17/08
Posts: 1113
Loc: Brockville, Ontario, Canada
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|
Last night, CASTOR grabbed another 10 satellites; mainly Russian Cosmos payloads (of which there are many) and spent rockets. One satellite detected was the French geodesy satellite Diademe 2, launched in 1967.
This brings the grand total to 2,896 satellites. Only 104 satellites to go before reaching the great 3,000 and 157 satellites to go before reaching the IYA 1,000 goal!!!
So far this month, CASTOR has detected 75 new satellites: 90% of the month's quota of 83 satellites.
The 2,900 satellite mark is imminent!
--------------------
Michael A. Earl - Vendor
Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
www.castor2.ca
Celestron NexStar 11 GPS
Celestron NexStar 8i SE
SBIG ST-9XE CCD
|
ottovonrotton
member
Reged: 01/01/09
Posts: 65
Loc: Where is Port Perry?
|
|
Go Michael Go!
--------------------
Go Modern, Go Gas, Go Bang!
|
Michael A. Earl
vendor- Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
Reged: 11/17/08
Posts: 1113
Loc: Brockville, Ontario, Canada
|
|
On the night of September 12, CASTOR breached the 2,900 satellite mark. The 2,900th satellite was a run-of-the-mill Russian SL-8 rocket body that was used to launch the Cosmos 2184 payload on April 15, 1992.
On September 13, 14 and 16, CASTOR performed more detection and tracking, however after the all-night tracking run of Septmebr 16-17, it will take a few days to tally up the new satellites detected. It is expected, however, that the new total will lie somewhere within the 2,930 to 2,950 range.
More tracking will be performed tonight with another 10 to 20 additional satellites expected.
The new total will be posted in several days.
The big 3,000 is now right around the corner!
--------------------
Michael A. Earl - Vendor
Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
www.castor2.ca
Celestron NexStar 11 GPS
Celestron NexStar 8i SE
SBIG ST-9XE CCD
|
Michael A. Earl
vendor- Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
Reged: 11/17/08
Posts: 1113
Loc: Brockville, Ontario, Canada
|
|
On the night of September 13, CASTOR detected another 10 satellites, bringing its temporary total to 2,913.
Satellite tracking data from September 14, 16 and 17 is still being analyzed. Stay tuned!
--------------------
Michael A. Earl - Vendor
Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
www.castor2.ca
Celestron NexStar 11 GPS
Celestron NexStar 8i SE
SBIG ST-9XE CCD
|
Michael A. Earl
vendor- Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
Reged: 11/17/08
Posts: 1113
Loc: Brockville, Ontario, Canada
|
|
On the night of September 14, CASTOR detected another 5 satellites, bringing its temporary total to 2,918. The skies clouded over about 1 hour into my tracking session. The total could have been larger, but as with all ground-based optical astronomy, clouds can certainly get in the way.
Satellite tracking data from September 16 and 17 is still being analyzed. Stay tuned!
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Michael A. Earl - Vendor
Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
www.castor2.ca
Celestron NexStar 11 GPS
Celestron NexStar 8i SE
SBIG ST-9XE CCD
|
Michael A. Earl
vendor- Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
Reged: 11/17/08
Posts: 1113
Loc: Brockville, Ontario, Canada
|
|
On the night of September 16-17 and on the evening of September 17, CASTOR detected another 62 satellites, bringing its total number detected to 2,980.
Only 20 satellites to go to reach the big 3,000 and another 73 satellites to complete the IYA goal of 1,000 satellites for this year.
I am now seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. It seems that the satellites have no ending!
--------------------
Michael A. Earl - Vendor
Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
www.castor2.ca
Celestron NexStar 11 GPS
Celestron NexStar 8i SE
SBIG ST-9XE CCD
|
Michael A. Earl
vendor- Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
Reged: 11/17/08
Posts: 1113
Loc: Brockville, Ontario, Canada
|
|
I have been determined to detect the last and 1,000th IYA satellite on or before October 31, 2009. At this time, I have only 72 satellites left to go. Depending on how many accessible satellites I have left and the weather (of course) I should be able to make this goal. If not, I came pretty close!
My next report will be sent on October 1.
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Michael A. Earl - Vendor
Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
www.castor2.ca
Celestron NexStar 11 GPS
Celestron NexStar 8i SE
SBIG ST-9XE CCD
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Michael A. Earl
vendor- Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
Reged: 11/17/08
Posts: 1113
Loc: Brockville, Ontario, Canada
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CASTOR grabbed another 16 satellites on the evening of October 2nd, bringing its total to 2,997 individual satellites.
The new satellites detected included the Italian SkyMed 3 Earth observation satellite, an Indian PSLV rocket, several Russian rockets, a recently launched Russian Meteor-M rocket and three presently uncorrelated high altitude objects.
Since the IYA began, CASTOR has detected 942 unique satellites. Three satellites remain to reach the 3,000 mark and only 56 satellites remain to reach the 1,000 goal for the IYA.
If the weather cooperates, I should have these satellites by mid October.
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Michael A. Earl - Vendor
Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
www.castor2.ca
Celestron NexStar 11 GPS
Celestron NexStar 8i SE
SBIG ST-9XE CCD
|
LivingNDixie
Lord of Ferrets
Reged: 04/23/03
Posts: 16252
Loc: Hoover, AL
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As an Astronomical League member, I really enjoyed earning the Earth Orbiting Satellite Club pin. I still love watching some of the brighter satellites pass over even from moderate light polluted skies. My favorite observation was seeing the HST flare a couple months ago to -3 or -4.
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Preston
Celestron 11" Nexstar GPS XLT
Tak FS 78
Tak Teegul-Lapides
Lunt LS60T/Ha 60mm f/8.33
Vixen Porta Mount
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Michael A. Earl
vendor- Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
Reged: 11/17/08
Posts: 1113
Loc: Brockville, Ontario, Canada
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I enjoy seeing any satellite that I can actually detect. It is quite interesting to know their brightness without knowing beforehand if I can detect them or not.
I did get a (slim) chance to detect HST a few weeks back. From this latitude (+44 degrees), it was only a few degrees above the southern horizon. Unfortunately, it was too distant to detect with my wide field camera.
One day, I might get a chance to travel to latitudes (and longitudes) where I can pick up the remaining satellites that I can detect. Until then, I am still picking up new ones from this latitude (and longitude).
In some ways, it is like climbing Mt. Everest. Every time I take a break and "look up" there is still more mountain to climb. Of course it does not help that the "mountain top" gets higher and higher (new satellites launched every week) 
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Michael A. Earl - Vendor
Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
www.castor2.ca
Celestron NexStar 11 GPS
Celestron NexStar 8i SE
SBIG ST-9XE CCD
|
Michael A. Earl
vendor- Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
Reged: 11/17/08
Posts: 1113
Loc: Brockville, Ontario, Canada
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After a long spell of depressing cloudy weather, CASTOR finally detected the satellites needed to bring its catalogue to over 3,000 unique satellites!!!
Four low earth satellites were detected on the evening of the 10th: An American Atlas F Burner Rocket (#2998), a Russian SL-8 rocket (#2999), an American Delta 2 Rocket (#3000!!!) and the GlobalStar M023 communications satellite (#3001). Soon after #3001 was detected, the clouds rolled in once again.
Only 52 satellites remain to reach the 1,000 satellite goal set out by CASTOR at the beginning of the IYA. CASTOR had already detected 2,053 satellites in 2007 (Sputnik's 50th anniversary).
I expect to reach the goal by mid to the end of this month if the clouds allow.
Exciting times indeed!
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Michael A. Earl - Vendor
Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
www.castor2.ca
Celestron NexStar 11 GPS
Celestron NexStar 8i SE
SBIG ST-9XE CCD
|
ottovonrotton
member
Reged: 01/01/09
Posts: 65
Loc: Where is Port Perry?
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Congrats on the 3000th mark, with lots of time to get the next 52, hope the weather cooperates!
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Go Modern, Go Gas, Go Bang!
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Michael A. Earl
vendor- Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
Reged: 11/17/08
Posts: 1113
Loc: Brockville, Ontario, Canada
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I took advantage of a clear break in the many clouds we have had here in southern Ontario to collect another 18 new satellites for CASTOR.
The total number now stands at 3,019 unique satellites. Since the IYA began, CASTOR has detected 966 new satellites, leaving only 34 satellites to go before reaching the IYA goal of 1,000 satellites for this year.
CASTOR detected three Iridium satellites, seversl Russian rockets (of course), several American Atlas and Delta rockets (of course), the American IRAS satellite, the South Korean KitSat 3 satellite and a few Russian Cosmos payloads (of course).
After all this, I am still left wondering how many of the total satellite population I can detect. It seems that there is no end!
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Michael A. Earl - Vendor
Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
www.castor2.ca
Celestron NexStar 11 GPS
Celestron NexStar 8i SE
SBIG ST-9XE CCD
|
Michael A. Earl
vendor- Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
Reged: 11/17/08
Posts: 1113
Loc: Brockville, Ontario, Canada
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I took the opportunity last night to track the NASA TDRS 3 tracking and data relay satellite that was recently moved from the Indian Ocean to the western hemisphere to replace the recently decommisioned pioneer known as TDRS 1.
I also took the time to detect the new Amazonas-2 satellite.
CASTOR's total to date is 3,021 satellites. Only 32 satellites remain to reach the 1,000 IYA goal set for this year. I expect to reach that number by the end of the week (weather permitting of course).
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Michael A. Earl - Vendor
Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
www.castor2.ca
Celestron NexStar 11 GPS
Celestron NexStar 8i SE
SBIG ST-9XE CCD
|
Michael A. Earl
vendor- Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
Reged: 11/17/08
Posts: 1113
Loc: Brockville, Ontario, Canada
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CASTOR conducted its last sweep of the skies for undetected MEO and GEO satellites for this year. It found 2 new GEOs and five new MEOs, including the Russian geosynchronous Cosmos 2397 satellite, several Russian and American rockets and the MaqSat B dummy satellite launched by the ESA.
CASTOR's total now stands at 3,028 unique satellites. It has detected 975 satellites in the IYA.
Only 25 satellites remain to reach the IYA goal of 1,000.
The incredible journey is near its end.
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Michael A. Earl - Vendor
Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
www.castor2.ca
Celestron NexStar 11 GPS
Celestron NexStar 8i SE
SBIG ST-9XE CCD
|
Michael A. Earl
vendor- Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
Reged: 11/17/08
Posts: 1113
Loc: Brockville, Ontario, Canada
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CASTOR grabbed another 5 satellites on the nights of October 18 and 19 to bring its grand total to 3,033 satellites.
The satellite that is #3031 in the catalogue is of particular interest to us Canadians. It is Alouette 1, the first Canadian satellite. I feel particularly honoured to have detected such a satellite: something that extremely few Canadians have ever done.
The other four satellites detected were the Russian Cosmos 890 and Cosmos 982 satellites, a Russian SL-11 rocket and the Russian "Informator 1", the prototype satellite of the failed "Koskon" communications system.
Only 20 satellites remain to reach the 1,000 satellite goal for the IYA!!!
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Michael A. Earl - Vendor
Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
www.castor2.ca
Celestron NexStar 11 GPS
Celestron NexStar 8i SE
SBIG ST-9XE CCD
|
Michael A. Earl
vendor- Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
Reged: 11/17/08
Posts: 1113
Loc: Brockville, Ontario, Canada
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At 03:45:50.670 UTC October 26, 2009; exactly 297 days, 5 hours, 20 minutes, 7.42 seconds after it began, CASTOR has finally detected its 1,000th satellite of the IYA year!
The satellite itself is of a sensitive nature for two reasons: one, it is probably classified, two it is unidentified. The satellite does not seem to be tumbling, which does not necessarily mean that it is still active. However, its orbit is geosynchronous and inclined, thereby suggesting that it is no longer active.
To date, CASTOR has detected a total of 3,057 satellites since January 1, 2007 and 1,004 satellites since January 1, 2009.
One such satellite that was detected on October 25 was the Celestis 03 (Taurus Rocket Body). Some might better recognize this payload as the Millennium Flight, in which ashes from the diseased are lofted into space. CASTOR detected Celestis 02 (the Ad-Astra Flight) in 2007.
CASTOR will continue to detect satellites for the IYA until the end of December, however, not at such a frantic rate. It will also stick to low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites for the remainder of the year.
Thanks to the many people that have been monitoring this thread for the past year. The satellite totals will be updated on this page (and on www.castor2.ca) until January 1, 2010.
I certainly did not expect over 9,000 hits!
Thank You.
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Michael A. Earl - Vendor
Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
www.castor2.ca
Celestron NexStar 11 GPS
Celestron NexStar 8i SE
SBIG ST-9XE CCD
|
ottovonrotton
member
Reged: 01/01/09
Posts: 65
Loc: Where is Port Perry?
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Whoo who!, Congrates Michael, job well done.
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Go Modern, Go Gas, Go Bang!
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Michael A. Earl
vendor- Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
Reged: 11/17/08
Posts: 1113
Loc: Brockville, Ontario, Canada
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Quote:
Whoo who!, Congrates Michael, job well done.
Thank you very much. At least one person is watching. 
I am wondering if anyone else (other than NORAD or possibly the Russian space agency) has actually detected as many satellites (3,057) as CASTOR has. I know no one else in Canada has. That includes the military. If not, the obvious question now is: why not?
If I can detect so may satellites, it is a good bet that others can as well. If we can detect them, we can track them. If we can track them, we can contribute to the international community.
Seriously, there is so much potential in this subject, yet so many refuse to see it. If I can do all this, just imagine what a large worldwide team of dedicated professionals such as myself can do for satellite tracking as a whole.
My web site has the proof that I have detected all of thse satellites, in the form of time tagged images. All you need to do is pick any random image and check it out with a TLE from that same time.
If you find any mistakes, please let me know. I will make sure to correct them.
Thanks to everyone who has been monitoring this thread. Updates are still coming as I find more satellites this year!
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Michael A. Earl - Vendor
Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
www.castor2.ca
Celestron NexStar 11 GPS
Celestron NexStar 8i SE
SBIG ST-9XE CCD
|
ottovonrotton
member
Reged: 01/01/09
Posts: 65
Loc: Where is Port Perry?
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Michael, you are one of a kind, only a CANADIAN could come up with this, very good work.
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Go Modern, Go Gas, Go Bang!
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Michael A. Earl
vendor- Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
Reged: 11/17/08
Posts: 1113
Loc: Brockville, Ontario, Canada
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While looking at the Moon and Jupiter, I also took some time to detect a few more GEO and MEO satellites.
Three new satellites were detected, none of which were Russian or American!
One was the French TeleCom 2C communications satellite. The second was the ArabSat 1A communications satellite and the third was a Chinese CZ-3A rocket. All three are inactive. The ArabSat 1A satellite is tumbling wildly, as its light curve suggests.
The CASTOR Satellite Catalogue now stands at 3,060 objects; 1,007 of which were detected during the IYA.
More to come!
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Michael A. Earl - Vendor
Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
www.castor2.ca
Celestron NexStar 11 GPS
Celestron NexStar 8i SE
SBIG ST-9XE CCD
|
Michael A. Earl
vendor- Canadian Satellite Tracking and Orbit Research
Reged: 11/17/08
Posts: 1113
Loc: Brockville, Ontario, Canada
|
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