Orbit Determination from Visual Sightings: An Investigation of Two Angles-Only Orbit Determination Processes Including a Science Activity for Middle and High School Students

摘要

This project will investigate the possibilities of determining the orbit of a satellite from the data obtained by observing the satellite passing across the sky. With simple tools such as a stopwatch, compass, and star map or camera, I believe that the orbit of a satellite may be determined by an angles only approach. In addition, young students, of middle school age and older, could be exposed to the fundamentals of orbital mechanics by conducting such an activity. The calculations required to complete this activity will be manipulated into a coded algorithm. This enables the user to enter information which they retrieved during the satellite pass and get back the calculated orbit of the satellite which they observed. This data could then be used to predict future passes of that satellite. This paper will contain a science activity to aid in teaching the fundamentals of orbital mechanics to middle school students. In addition, it will contain a detailed list of instructions for determining when a satellite will be visible to a user's location, as well as how to obtain pertinent data while observing a satellite pass.