From: mark@unicorn.com
Date: Tue Aug 24 1999 - 07:18:06 MDT
Aaron Davidson [ajd@ualberta.ca] wrote:
>Just curious if anyone knows what would cause a satelite to
>blink/change in brightness.
Some of this may be due to normal atmospheric effects (stars often change in
brightness for the same reason). But a more likely explanation is that many
satellites -- particularly the fast-moving low-orbit ones you normally see --
spin for stability, and their reflectivity will vary depending on which part
of the satellite you're seeing. Hence their brightness will vary over anything
from a fraction of a second to several seconds depending on spin rate.
Mark
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