Why can artificial satellites be seen in clear night sky?

Answer 1

They have reflective surfaces so lights from the stars and earth are reflected making it seem to give out light. In greater depth: Some satellites, such as the International Space Station and the Space Shuttle, are big objects with large reflective surfaces. Other satellites are smaller, and not as easily visible. When the satellite is in sunshine, it reflects light like anything else.

It's easy to see satellites in the hour after sunset and hour before sunrise. Look for small bright objects moving rapidly in roughly west-to-east directions. It is common for satellites to quickly fade from view as they move from sunlight into the Earth's shadow in the evening, or suddenly appear in the morning going from dark to light.

There are several web sites that you can visit to see what satellites ought to be visible from your location; a few are linked in the "Related Links" section below this text.

One neat thing to watch for is an "Iridium Flare". The early-model Iridium satellite telephone system deployed a number of very large high-orbit satellites. Iridium satellites have very large solar power arrays, which act like giant mirrors in space. When the Sun's light is reflected from these panels, it is frequently visible as a very bright flash. These flares are only visible for a few seconds, and do not leave a trail like a meteor would.

Answer 2

At night, you can see:

-- The Moon

-- The International Space Station

-- The Space Shuttle, during a mission

-- The Hubble Space Telescope

For any one of them, you have to know the proper time and direction to look.

Answer 3

Satellites reflect the light of the Sun. So in the hour after sunset or before sunrise, the satellite is still up in the sunlight, and we can see them. Once the satellite passes into the Earth's shadow, they disappear.

Some satellites in higher orbits such as communications or cell-phone satellites orbit further from the Earth and stay in the sunlight longer. The "Iridium" satellites, with their enormous solar energy collectors, are sometimes exceptionally brilliant when they precisely reflect the Sun's light back to Earth. These occurrences are called "Iridium flares".

Answer 4

You just have to know where to look, and at what time.

Check out < Heavens-Above.com >.

There you can input your location, and the site will give you a listing of the times when you can

see several objects overpassing your location, as well as what direction to look.

Answer 5

Yes. Look at the sky a little after sundown (not too late). You will see what looks like moving stars, generally moving from west to east. After a while they will suddenly get dim and disappear - this happens when they get into Earth's shadow.

Answer 6

Frequently, yes. You have the best luck seeing satellites shortly before dawn and shortly after sunset, when you are in darkness but the satellite above you is in the light. Visit SpaceWeather.com and go to the "Satellite Flybys" link to calculate when some of the more common satellites will be in view from your location.

There's another class of satellites in fairly high orbits, called "Iridium". These were the satellites for an early sat-phone system. Each Iridium satellite has large shiny solar panels, and you sometimes catch an "Iridium flare" when the Sun's light is reflected from the satellite back to you. It only lasts a couple of seconds, but is quite noticeable. Google "Iridium flare" for a link where you can calculate good times to look from your location.

The website Heavens-Above.com can provide predictions for many satellite overpasses and Iridium flares.

Answer 7

You can see some of them if you know when and where to look. A few of them, like the International Space Station, are actually extremely bright (it can, under good conditions, be noticeably brighter than anything in the sky other than the Sun and Moon).

Answer 8

Yes, some are, if you know where to look, and when. The International Space Station

and the Hubble Space Telescope, among others, are visible when they pass close to

your location within a few hours of sunrise or sunset. To get the times for your location,

check out < heavens-above.com > .

Answer 9

They are reflecting the light of the Sun and the Earth as they travel around the planet.

Answer 10

YES
Yes, and very clearly, too. They look like bright stars that move fairly quickly, usually from west to east. You can see them after sundown.