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Originally Posted by RNajarian
Not exactly a traditional celestial body. . . but I have been fascinated with the failed 1972 Soviet Venus probe currently in a highly elliptical orbit (perigee 128 miles, apogee 1271 miles). I’ve tried to spot it in the evening sky when it is over my location and near perigee to no luck.
https://www.n2yo.com/satellite/?s=6073
Well respected photo astronomer Ralf Vanderbergh has been able locate and photograph the spacecraft. There below are a couple of examples.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kosmos_482
https://youtu.be/QHsHrL-DnEQ
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For some weird reason this story fascinates me. . ..
Apparently Cosmos 482 is expected to enter the atmosphere in May 2025 after 53 years in orbit.
https://www.mlive.com/news/2025/04/a-1000-pound-space-object-orbiting-earth-since-1972-is-expected-to-crash-land-in-may.html
As of 4/26/2025 its perigee is 100 miles. That number has been decreasing steadily in recent months. Looks like the upper atmosphere is having an effect.
I’ve been tracking the decaying orbit for 5 years or so. Looks like it will survive reentry, hope it lands somewhere we could inspect it.