Me and Hugh were doing a solar observing event at a school in Petts Wood yesterday. At roughly 10:30 I saw what looked like a tumbling rock pass in front of the sun. About the size of venus when it transited. Took about 5 secs to transit. Anyone any ideas as to how we can find out what it was. Maybe Ceres or Vespa?
Wow!! :o
Sure it wasn't a tumbling satellite?
Try heavens above.
Have you checked for asteroids using planetarium software?
Maybe get in touch with the minor planet centre?
Pretty certain it was not a satellite as it was quite irregularly shaped. Also most satellites would not be tumbling. I only caught a glimpse of it so cannot be certain but my first thought was asteroid. does Heavens above do objects eclipsing the sun?
Not Vesta or Ceres and nothing showing between 10:20 - 10:40 in Starry Night.
Could be a lost and confused Taurid
The critical information is how long it took to pass in front of the Sun, because that gives you a hint of the distance. Five seconds or so sounds like something pretty close to us, to be honest, so a satellite seems most likely.
At 10:24-ish Iridium 81 passed very close to the Sun (according to Starry Night's best efforts, which may not be that wonderfully accurate at the scale concerned) and it would travel a solar diameter in about five seconds, so it's a possible candidate.
There may be alternatives Starry Night doesn't know about; an old rocket booster, or a dead spy satellite, either of which could be tumbling.
Intriguing. The Iridiums are dead I think so could be tumbling. thanks
Jim ...... Rose has seen an article in the "Maily Dail" about amateur rocket launches.
It could have been a small V2 tumbling around the sky. It did reach 2000 ft high and was launched from Elsworth, 10 miles north west of Cambridge. Have a look, if you read the Mail.
Doug.
Iridium was taken over by the US Military when the phone company went bust, so much of it's still working.
Whatever you saw, I think, with that transit duration, that it was much nearer than the Moon's orbit, so if it was an asteroid we'll be seeing the headlines soon... ;)
Here's a possibility although report quotes the 21st
Debris (http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/interplanetary-space-junk-buzzes-earth-100528.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+spaceheadlines+(SPACE.com+Headline+Feed))
I don`t think that the tumbling object was a bird, as has been suggested. I agree that it could have been space junk or a small rock or summat like that. But the kids still thought that it was great seeing a UFO in the sky.
Is it a bird ... is it a plane ... ??????????
Doug.