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<p align="left"><font size="3" color="#FF0000" face="Arial,
Helvetica, sans-serif"><strong>RE-ENTRY ALERT: </strong></font>NASA's
UARS satellite is making its final orbits around Earth, tumbling
and flashing brightly as it descends toward a Sept. 23rd re-entry.
Amateur astronomer Jim Saueressig II caught the bus-sized
satellite flying over Burlington, Kansas, on Sept. 20th (<a
href="http://spaceweather.com/submissions/large_image_popup.php?image_name=Jim-Saueressig-II-2011_0920-062x800_1316638919.jpg">image</a>).
"It was easily visible in spite of the moonlight and the twilight
of the sunrise. The tumble and associated flares were very
apparent," he says.</p>
<p align="left">Satellite tracking expert Ted Molczan has used
USSTRATCOM's orbital elements of UARS to predict a decay time
"late on Sep 23, roughly between 18:00 and 22:00 UTC."<br>
</p>
<p align="center"><a
href="http://www.spaceweather.com/swpod2011/22sep11/UARS_decay_2011_Sep_23_UTC_v1.jpg?PHPSESSID=h9jafq3rge4pj0g0i98i943050"><img
src="cid:part1.06050100.07090906@gmail.com" alt=""></a></p>
<p align="left">"There is still potential for the estimated time of
decay to shift somewhat before it begins to narrow down," cautions
Molczan.</p>
<p align="left">The disintegration of UARS is expected to produce a
fireball that could be visible even in broad daylight. Not all of
the spacecraft will burn up in the atmosphere, however; according
to a NASA <a
href="http://www.nasa.gov/pdf/585584main_UARS_Status.pdf">risk
assessment</a>, as many as 26 potentially hazardous pieces of
debris could be scattered along a ground track some 500 miles
long. The same report puts the odds of a human casualty at 1 in
3200.</p>
<p align="left">For last-chance sightings of this brightly flashing
satellite, please check the <a
href="http://www.spaceweather.com/flybys?PHPSESSID=h9jafq3rge4pj0g0i98i943050">Simple
Satellite Tracker</a> or download the <a
href="http://simpleflybys.com">Satellite Flybys app</a> for your
smartphone.</p>
<p align="left"><strong>more images:</strong> <a
href="http://legault.perso.sfr.fr/uars_110915.html">from Theirry
Legault</a> of Dunkerque, France; <a
href="http://spaceweather.com/submissions/large_image_popup.php?image_name=Oscar-MartAsn-Mesonero-IMG_8761_pix_rec-texto_1316523253.jpg">from
Oscar Martín Mesonero</a> of Madrid, Spain;<br>
</p>
<p align="left">Fonte: <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="http://www.spaceweather.com/">http://www.spaceweather.com/</a><br>
</p>
<pre class="moz-signature" cols="72">--
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QRA: Pedro Ribeiro // Callsign: CR7ABP // GRID Locator: IM58mr
QTH: São Francisco, Alcochete, Portugal
Homepage: <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.qrz.com/db/CR7ABP">http://www.qrz.com/db/CR7ABP</a>
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
# HAM operation very limited by class 3 rules until April 2012 #
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= </pre>
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