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The CSS made another neck-straining pass overhead during twilight Wednesday evening. As it passed by Vega it matched its brightness of mag. 0.0. When it passed nearest the zenith (17° away), skirting north of Delphinus, it was mag. -2.0 (the same as Jupiter currently). However, it continued brightening for another 10-15° past the meridian, topping out at--I would guess--mag. -2.5 in the high east. If it began dimming as it got lower, it wasn't plain to see. Alas, it disappeared about 20° up in the sky behind rooflines and treetops, so I didn't get to really check on its pre-shadow dimming behavior.
It always surprises me how asymmetrical the CSS's light curve is, the way it reaches its maximum brightness somewhat east of the meridian. It makes me wonder how, during a passage, its external profile changes and what reflective surfaces are involved to create the curve.
Data for the ISS, CSS, and many other satellites can be found at heavens-above.com.
Photo data:
Panasonic GX8, Olympus 9mm f/8 140° semi-fisheye body-cap lens, tripod
... 11 frames x (f/8, 15 sec, ISO 400) = 2 min 45 sec
... N 20° left of up, W clockwise
... stacked in startrails.exe, edited in PSP 2023
... date: Nov 4, 2026 6:19-6:21pm MST mid-twilight
Photographer's website:
No URL provided.
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