The ISS is relatively easy to spot and dazzling, too, outshining the stars and any visible planets. Of the roughly 3, spacecraft in Earth orbit, nearly stand apart: the Iridium communications spacecraft. They periodically reflect sunlight toward the ground, causing brief but brilliant displays of light. Even the smallest CubeSats will be visible when they deploy to Earth in massive balloons. Explore the Night with Bob King. The 60 Starlink satellites parading across the sky make an incredible sight, but some skywatchers wonder at what cost to the night.
By: Bob King May 29, The annual International Space Station marathon viewing season begins later this week, when skywatchers in the Northern Hemisphere can watch up to five successive ISS passes in one night. By: Bob King May 15, Spacecraft and Space Missions. So far, humans have sent five probes into space that are or will go far beyond the solar system: the Pioneers, the Voyagers, and New Horizons. As an exercise in fun, here's how you can find those probes' locations on the sky.
By: Daniel Johnson January 21, By: Bob King December 5, The annual International Space Station marathon is underway with multiple passes visible each night. Here are some fun and unique ways to see and share it. By: Bob King May 23, Just brought the light down a bit really but pulled the filter back off and wow I seen a very very fast shadow going around the moon.
I had to do some research on if that was a bug or acually something cool that I seen. Well, guess what It was a live satilight that I seen going around and around the moon. I love the stars now and I am getting a bigger scope so that I can see more of the night sky.
So much things are opened up now and I can not wait to learn and see more. There are great home movies and nasa videos of them. In fact sometimes they have to prepare to evacuate the space station if a piece of debris even gets too close.
But there is a great documentary about fixing Hubble where they shoot home movies of the Hubble as just a bright dot in the sky and it gets closer every orbit until they catch it with the arm. And by the way, I can see satellites passing overhead all the time at my parents place in the western Rockies. You can just lay out and watch them. Skip to main content. Earth Science. Articles Answers to Science Questions Can you see space satellites with a telescope?
Can you see space satellites with a telescope? Part of the show Merry Naked Christmas! Play Download. Question Can you see space satellites with a telescope?
Answer Dave - You certainly can see satellites with a telescope. Previous Why do we get goosebumps when we're scared? Next Why does my dog always poo on the path and not the grass? Related Content Space Technology. Can satellites collide? But they could potential be visible under the best observing conditions. During the northern summer, when the nights are the shortest, the time that a satellite in a low-Earth-orbit like the ISS can remain illuminated by the sun can extend throughout the night - a situation that can never be attained during other times of the year.
Because the ISS circles the Earth about every 90 minutes on average, this means that it's possible to see it not just on one singular pass, but for several consecutive passes. Moreover, because the ISS revolves around the Earth in an orbit that is inclined In the first case we'll call it a "Type I" pass , the ISS initially appears over toward the southwestern part of the sky and then sweeps over toward the northeast.
About seven or eight hours later, it becomes possible to see a second type of pass we'll call it "Type II" , but this time with the ISS initially appearing over toward the northwestern part of the sky and sweeping over toward the southeast. Type I passes will initially be visible in the morning hours, prior to sunrise. By early July, Type I passes will be visible during the evening hours, just after sunset, while Type II passes will be occurring in the early morning.
By late July, visibility of the Type II passes will have shifted into the evening hours. So what is the viewing schedule for your particular hometown? You can easily find out by visiting one of these four popular web sites:. Each will ask for your zip code or city, and respond with a list of suggested spotting times. Predictions computed a few days ahead of time are usually accurate within a few minutes. However, they can change due to the slow decay of the space station's orbit and periodic reboosts to higher altitudes.
Check frequently for updates. Some passes are superior to others. If the ISS is not predicted to get much higher than degrees above your local horizon, odds are that it will not get much brighter than second or third magnitude degrees is roughly equal to the width of your fist held at arm's length.
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