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[vsnet-obs 4358] Re: Unidentified flying object (UFO)!

Lasse,

It is also possible that you recorded a NEO (Near Earth Object),
a small asteroid making a close pass to the earth.  I remember this
spring out at the Texas Star Party, a small asteroid (1996 JA1) passed
by almost as close as the moon!  You could actually *see* the asteroid
moving against the background stars!

The Russians also have a series of satellites in high elliptical orbits
with large inclinations.  That way they "hang" for long periods of time
in the northern skies (geosynchronous orbits cannot be seen well from
northern Russia, hence their clever solution).  

That is probably what you saw, but... if it cannot be identified as a 
satellite, you might what to report it to the Minor Planet Center at
Harvard (http://cfa-www.harvard.edu/cfa/ps/mpc.html) - you'll need to
get your positions down to ~1 arcsecond.

Regards,

Bill Dillon
bdillon@houston.geoquest.slb.com
http://vsnet.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/7477/