> So that adds a possibility that 2004 MN4 could be a > leftover rocket body from Surveyor 3.
I think this is unlikely. 2004 MN4 has a absolute magnitude of 19.6mag, which gives an estimated diameter of ~300 meters, assuming a typical (that is, dark) surface of an asteroid. If it is a rocket stage painted white, it may be smaller and still appear that bright, though. However, the object designated J002E3 that was observed in 2002 and turned out to be the third stage of the Saturn IV rcoket that brought Apollo 12 to the moon, had a absolute magnitude of 26.4mag (that is, 600 times fainter than 2004 MN4). I would say that it is highly unlikely that an object that bright/big is man made. Happy holidays, Herbert Raab ______________________________________________ Meteorite-list mailing list Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
