NavList:

In less than twelve hours, if all goes according to plan, the last flying Lockheed L-1011 will take off from Kwajalein Atoll in the Pacific Ocean (the largest atoll in the world, home to a US military base among the Marshall Islands). It is an air-launch platform for small satellites that is nearly out-of-business. This is almost certainly the last flight of this last L-1011. Read about the unusual mission on space.com here.

In the article, there is a photo of star trails. Simple question: what was the latitude of the airport where this time-exposure photo was taken? Was it on Kwajalein Island? Or Wallops Island in Virginia? Or somewhere else?

After you get the latitude, you might consider another question: is the photo consistent with recent photography? You can read the approximate Sidereal Time (equivalent to LHA Aries) from the photo. And the sky suggests evening or morning twilight. That should tell us the date. Does it match the end of June??

I have not checked either of these issues! I'm just suggesting that these are the sorts of things that the photo should be able to tell us. :)

Frank Reed
PS: There is a surprising "hazard to navigation" also located at Kwajalein Atoll: a witness to the sinking of HMS Hood in 1941.

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