Although it is unlikely that one could track the OTV in LEO with a binocular or amateur telescope, it is probably as much a likelihood as an uninformed observer looking directly at the sun with a telescope — which does happen, although most observers would be too dazzled to look at such a bright object for more than a brief glance. Since the misaligned solar panel in LEO subtends an angle of only 0.17 that of the sun, it would require 1/.17 = 5.9X more magnifying power to create the same hazard as viewing the sun with a 7X binocular. This suggests that a telescope with 38 power or greater could create a thermal injury hazard from viewing the SPS solar panel in LEO. A still greater magnifying power (3 X 38) would be required to render the less reflectant flat aluminum back panel hazardous to view from a thermal injury standpoint. Viewing any object in GEO would require an incredibly large telescope to create a 1-mm retinal image and is not considered a realistic concern. Thus we may conclude that ordinary field binoculars would not increase the hazard of viewing the OTV in LEO as much a thermal injury as from the blue-hazard, which would be reduced to a t of 0.84 sec. max The actual retinal irradiance gain relative to the retinal irradiance when viewing an extended source without magnifying optics is: since, the magnifying power P is defined as the objective diameter Dq divided by the exit pupil diameter D^; d^ is the eye's pupil and T is the transmittance of the optical system (typically 0.6 - 0.8 for a binocular). In both of the above cases the ''gain” in retinal irradiance is less than one.
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