🚀 go-pugleaf

Follow-ups to sci.astro.

In article <Bup3qH.GC7@spock.dis.cccd.edu> markb@spock.dis.cccd.edu (Mark Bixby) writes:
>In article <CHRISB.92Sep16110334@lynx.ps.uci.edu> chrisb@lynx.ps.uci.edu (Chris Barrus) writes:
>>It reminded me a lot of one of the barium release tests, only MUCH brighter.
>>Can anyone else of there confirm?  Was it a possible launch/test from
>>Vandenburg?
>
>According to a news break on one of the LA TV stations, yes, it was a
>Vandenburg missile test.

Wow, I saw a missile test all the way up to Vancouver.  Cool.   :-)

Thu Sept 17 at 0100h PDT (0800h UT)
Vancouver BC (49N 123W)

Cool (13C), clear early morning with waning gibbous approx. 220-230 deg of N
Fairly "bright" sky from moon and scattered light from within the city.

Observations taken place at home about 1 mile east of downtown
(for those in the know, just outside of Chinatown).

Observable "wedge" of sky : approx 50 to 60 deg West to East
and approx 20 to 100 deg altitude looking North

Observed a bluish-green arc stretching West to East about 40 to 50 degrees
in arclength, arc "thickness" about 5 to 10 degrees

Arc evolved into two clumps, the East "clump" becoming "larger"
and somewhat "brighter" to the eye.  Noted that East "clump" moved
West to East in about 5 or so minutes.  Brightness variations fair
and on the order of minutes.

Also observed "spokes," "tendrils" from the North, stretching from
20 deg to 40 deg in altitude.

Other subsidiary tendrils appeared in the West as a "brighter" tendril
moved west to east.  Observed some minor substructure in the "brighter"
tendril.

New "clumps" or patches observed above and below (+/- 5 deg) the previously
mentioned observed arc.  Brightness variations now quite fast, on the order
of 10 sec, as patches appeared and disappeared.

Small "curtains," waves of light then swept the sky North to South;
brightness variations very fast, on the order of seconds (< 10 sec).

(Above observations took about 30 min; went inside and looked again 
30 min later)

Observed a "wavy arc" West to East, stretching approx 50 deg across.
"Wavy curtains" seen at both "ends" of the arc with substructure ("rays")
seen near the ends.  Also, a "wave" or "pulse-like" arc appeared
out of the West curtain and appeared to move West to East on the order
of minutes.  The West curtain started to lose its "wrinkliness" and
appeared like a smoother "single" curtain while the East curtain 
got more "bunchy."  At its brightest, the "curtain" appeared to
span approx 10 deg in its largest (N-S) dimension.

(then it was some shut-eye ....)
-- 
Henry Lee   <hlee@unixg.ubc.ca>