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Viewing satellites


Max and 99

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I know the chances are slim, but I'm hoping to catch a pass of the Starlink parade before they separate and are on their own.  It's not looking great, but I'll try. 

 

Has anyone seen other satellites?

 

I know I'm not the only one who has seen another satellite while watching for the ISS.

Edited by Max and 99
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Amazing!! Bad weather last week kept us from looking.  We set the alarm for 5:15 a.m. this morning and headed out for a dark NE view of the sky. Temperature was 36°F  and my glasses kept fogging up. Brrr. From 5:33 am to 5:56 am we observed the Starlink2 satellites passing overhead,  most near the Little Dipper. The first satellite appeared about 52° altitude. The first several satellites appeared one at a time but eventually we saw 11 satellites in a train (that was amazing to see!). The last few had a close brush with Polaris. The magnitude was about 2.8. In total we saw dozens of the Starlink2 satellites.  The train was the best part! 

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17 hours ago, Max and 99 said:

Today's Starlink launch was amazing. Now is the time to start checking heavens-above for viewing opportunities!

My brother was sitting in his outdoor hot tub in northern Illinois and saw a Starlink train pass over. He asked on Facebook what they were. I explained.

I have a Starlink train of 60 coming right toward me on April 30 out of the NW. They should have been about 85° but the first one enters the Earth's shadow at 61° to the NW at 9:20 pm.

At 9:23:30 the middle of the train enters the shadow at 50°, and the last of the train enters the shadow at 30° at 9:33 pm. An interesting note is the last one is 2.5 minutes behind the previous one. The last 11 hit shadow below 45°.

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I love viewing satellites. I've seen Starlink 3 pass over a few times now and it's cool but haven't been lucky enough to have clear skies when 4 & 5 were going to be visible. You can install the Starlink app on your phone to view dates and times when any of the Starlink satellites are estimated to be visible at your location. 

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A geocacher 15 miles north of me saw so many satellites in the train that they lost count. We went to the lake, where we had very little light pollution, and saw a total of two. So disappointing. But tomorrow night will be an even better opportunity, so I'm hoping the weather cooperates.

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Gonna try and view them in a few minutes. Surprisingly a clear night here in SoCal. I remember when SpaceX launched some of them from Vandenberg Air Force Base in central California a few years. I can usually see launches from my house as the rocket heads south towards the equator.

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Ended up driving to a high point in my city with a great overlook. Unfortunately it got a little hazy so I wasn't able to see the entire train go by. Only saw one starlink satellite for sure, and another unknown satellite going roughly 90º angle with Starlink's path, which I thought was pretty cool. The haze made the light pollution a bit worse so what I did see was pretty dim. Looks like there will be another pass on May 3rd so hopping it won't be hazy then.

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My Niece lives in Loma Linda, CA. She went out to see them with neighbors last night. They were scheduled to pass at 85°. None were seen due to haze.


These satellites are about the size of a table and weigh 500 pounds. Although still gaining altitude, they are currently 100 km lower than the International Space Station. That also means they enter the earth's shadow sooner.

You will also see larger changes in their flight path. You have to check the schedule almost daily.

For the ISS - If it's path is NW to SE and OK City sees it at 45° SW, I will see it at about 44° NE. from Donna, TX.

The schedule (at this moment) shows for Starlink-1332 on May 1, OK City will see it at 31° SW and I will see it at 44° NE. Because of the lower flight path, the altitude of view drops faster also.

 

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Last weekend we had the chance to see an almost perfect pass. Totally clear sky at 10 P.M. and an angle of about 50°. My eyes are not the best, but my wife could identify 57 individual light points in a perfect row (with a gap somewhere in the middle).

 

Some days before she already noticed a similar row of bright points, slower, larger distance and 24 points. We did not know what it was then, but I guess it was an older Starlink row, maybe 4 or 5. Is there a site to identify passes of the past?

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4 hours ago, fi67 said:

Last weekend we had the chance to see an almost perfect pass. Totally clear sky at 10 P.M. and an angle of about 50°. My eyes are not the best, but my wife could identify 57 individual light points in a perfect row (with a gap somewhere in the middle).

 

Some days before she already noticed a similar row of bright points, slower, larger distance and 24 points. We did not know what it was then, but I guess it was an older Starlink row, maybe 4 or 5. Is there a site to identify passes of the past?

Have you tried in Heavens Above, in the brighter satellites link, then going back to that date? 

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New Starlink launch tomorrow night (Thanks Bon Echo for the heads-up). Heavens above has a big notice at the top about the launch. There's only a place-holder for now, but in a few days we should see data for the viewing opportunities.

Just letting you know in case you missed it previously and were wanting another chance.

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Did anybody watch today's historic launch? It sure was exciting! I hope you didn't look away and miss the sparkly dinosaur. ?

They talked a lot about the international space station, and watching Christina, who has set the record for the most time by a female living and working in space, was a real treat for me. 

Like Elon Musk said, those astronauts have nerves of steel. 

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On 5/16/2020 at 6:25 PM, Max and 99 said:

New Starlink launch tomorrow night (Thanks Bon Echo for the heads-up). Heavens above has a big notice at the top about the launch. There's only a place-holder for now, but in a few days we should see data for the viewing opportunities.

Just letting you know in case you missed it previously and were wanting another chance.

The new group of 60 launched tonight. Fascinating to watch! The first fifth landing, on Just Read the Instructions was very exciting.

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