🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <47jcbt$5fr@news.cc.utah.edu>, pwiggins@fcom.cc.utah.edu 
says...
Add me to the list of Columbia re-entry observers!

I am in Colorado Springs, and Columbia passed just to the south of
here at about 4:30am MST. Columbia's overflight was clearly visible,
there was not a cloud in the sky. The plasma trail stretched across
the entire sky, rising just south of Pike's Peak and passing just below
Orion before disappearing on the southeast horizon. The trail was
visible for many minutes after Columbia had passed, but I didn't time
how long as I wanted to watch the landing on NASA-TV and so went back
inside.

I had seen a re-entry once before from Colorado Springs (STS-62 in 1994)
but that had been within a half-hour of sunrise and I could not see the
plasma trail. This time, Columbia flew past about two hours before
sunrise, and the trail was brilliant. I'm not enough of an astronomy
buff to guage how bright the trail was, but Columbia herself easily
outshown Rigel and Betelgeuse in Orion. It was an absolutely spectacular 
sight!

-Brian