Can you see satellites with naked eyes?

Only some satellites are large enough, reflective enough, and on low enough orbits to be seen by the naked eye, but on a good night I have seen between five and 10 of them in a few hours of watching. A typical satellite can be visible for several minutes.
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What satellites are visible with the naked eye?

One of the biggest and brightest man made satellites you can see with the naked eye is the International Space Station (ISS). It is the largest man made object in space and it travels in Low Earth Orbit, about 348 km (216 miles) from the surface of the Eath. It is easy to spot on a clear evening if the timing is right.
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Can a satellite be seen with the human eye?

And in fact most satellites -- especially the bits of debris -- are too faint to be seen with the unaided eye. But depending on who's counting, several hundred can be spotted with the unaided eye.
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What does a satellite look like to the naked eye?

To identify a satellite you are looking for a star that looks like it is slowly moving across the night sky. On average they are visible for several minutes although some can be present for longer.
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Are any satellites visible from Earth?

You can't see the little objects, but you can definitely spot the larger stuff with the naked eye if you have a little patience and clear skies. The two undisputed rock stars of satellite spotting are the Hubble Space Telescope and the International Space Station (ISS), the largest manmade object in Earth orbit.
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Starlink satellites simulation - naked eye view



How do you tell if it's a star or satellite?

A satellite will move in a straight line and take several minutes to cross the sky. A meteor, or shooting star, will move in less than a fraction of a second across the sky. Observe the kind of light from the "star". A satellite will brighten and dim in a regular pattern as it crosses the sky.
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How can we identify satellites in the night sky?

  1. Satellite tracking apps will display satellites against the night sky, allowing anyone to identify those tiny moving lights. ...
  2. The ISS' orbit is approximately 250 miles (402 km) high, so it is one of the objects that completes one orbit of the Earth every 92.5 minutes (or 16 per day). (
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Do satellites blink?

Many satellites do not have a constant brightness, they give off flashes at (usually) regular times. This flashing behavior is caused by the rotation of the satellite around its rotation axis. The satellite's metallic surfaces act as mirrors for the sun (specular reflection).
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Do satellites twinkle?

Satellites glow and do not flicker, blink or twinkle. The twinkling of objects in the sky is a result of atmospheric turbulence. Satellites can not possibly glow red and blue since the sunlight that falls on them is a bright white light.
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Are satellites visible in daytime?

There are two sorts of satellites you're most likely to see in daylight. One is the International Space Station (ISS), which is sometimes (but not always) the third-brightest object visible in our sky, after the sun and moon.
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How many satellites are in the night sky?

The Union of Concerned Scientists, which keeps a record of operational satellites, said that – as of January 2021 – there were 6,542 satellites in Earth orbit. Of that total, 3,372 are active and 3,170 are inactive.
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How many satellites in the sky right now?

More than 4,500 satellites currently orbit Earth, with more being launched all the time.
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Can you see the space station with the bare eye?

Like many other satellites, the International Space Station is occasionally bright enough in the night sky to be seen by the naked eye. It is in one of the lowest orbits possible, about 242 miles overhead.
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How big are satellites in the sky?

Satellites come in all sizes. The smallest satellite is the size of a loaf of bread. The largest satellite — the International Space Station — is the size of a football field. It took over 1,000 hours of extra-vehicular activity to piece together the station's 159 separate components.
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How do you know if you see a satellite?

Viewing is best away from city lights and in cloud-free skies. The satellite will look like a star steadily moving across the sky for a few minutes. If the lights are blinking, you probably are seeing a plane, not a satellite. Satellites do not have their own lights that make them visible.
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What colors are satellites?

When you look up right after dusk or before dawn, you are very likely to see passing satellites passing overhead, still illuminated by the sun and reflecting daylight towards you. All theses appear to be yellowish white.
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Do satellites have red lights?

Individual satellites never deviate in their velocity (speed and direction). They can be distinguished from aircraft because satellites do not leave contrails and do not have red and green navigation lights. They are lit solely by the reflection of sunlight from solar panels or other surfaces.
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How do satellites look like from Earth?

Viewing is best away from city lights and in cloud-free skies. The satellite will look like a star steadily moving across the sky for a few minutes. If the lights are blinking, you probably are seeing a plane, not a satellite. Satellites do not have their own lights that make them visible.
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Why do satellites shine bright?

After dusk and before dawn, when the Sun has dipped just below the horizon, the satellites reflect the Sun's light back onto the ground, making them shine quite brightly. As they pass overhead, they appear like a bright train of lights as the satellites follow one after the other in orbit.
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How bright is a satellite?

Satellites are visible when the sky is dark and the satellite is able to reflect sunlight back to the observer. These conditions generally occur up to about 45 minutes before sunrise (before the sky becomes too light) and 45 minutes after sunset. These satellites (or objects) are normally brighter than magnitude 4.
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Do satellites move across the sky?

Satellites move steadily and intently, often taking three to five minutes to travel from one horizon to the other. You can expect to see 10 to 20 satellites in the hour after twilight. They often travel west to east, but a few move north to south or south to north.
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Do satellites have lights on them?

Satellites do not have their own lights that make them visible. What you will see is sunlight being reflected off the satellite, often off the large solar arrays that provide power to the satellites.
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Do satellites move fast?

They complete an orbit in about 90 minutes because they are close to the Earth and gravity causes them to move very quickly at around 17,000 miles per hour. Many satellites need to be used for communication relay because the area they cover on Earth's surface is small and they are moving so quickly.
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How can I see what satellites are above me?

Satellite Tracker is a powerful free application that will help you observe artificial satellites, like Starlink and the ISS, crossing the night sky. It can show the exact position of any satellite above the Earth and send notifications when the satellite you're interested in will be passing over your location.
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Are satellites brighter than stars?

SpaceX satellites marching through the sky from Brazil, late 2019. Note that the satellites are brighter than the brightest stars. Photo by Egon Filter.
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