Satellite or Aeroplane?

[Sam Kennedy]

Last night I was trying to spot satellites, and out of a list of about 8, I think I managed to spot 1. However I'm not sure if I spotted a satellite, or an aeroplane. I couldn't get a photo or video of it, but it looked like a 'moving star'. It followed the path on the star chart on the Heavens Above website, however it was about 1 minute ahead of the prediction(Is that normal?).

Could it have been an aeroplane high up and I was seeing it's lights? This was after sunset so it was quite dark outside.

[LukeSkywatcher]

If it was a single white light then it was more then likely a satellite. Planes have flashing green and red aviation lights on them.

[Sam Kennedy]

Yay

According to Heavens Above, it was the Resurs 1-4 Rocket.

Now I need to find that pair of 20x50's in the house somewhere and hope for another clear night

[Bizibilder]

Do you have Stellarium? (free download planetarium) it now (ver 10.3) shows satellites as they cross the sky - you can speed it up and watch for suspects then rush outside to try and spot them!

[Sam Kennedy]

Do you have Stellarium? (free download planetarium) it now (ver 10.3) shows satellites as they cross the sky - you can speed it up and watch for suspects then rush outside to try and spot them!

The only problem I have with Stellarium is that it's satellite database is quite small, and the ones which are in there aren't really visible.

It's still an excellent piece of software, I use it to orientate myself so I have a better idea where I should be looking to spot satellites.

[DarkerSky]

Satellite spotting is great fun. I love it. Definately recommend keeping an eye out for some of the Iridium satellites that flare. Some flare to mag -8 momentarily as they glint in the sun - and can be the brightest things in the night sky. Spectacular sight

[LukeSkywatcher]

I saw a mag -5 Iridium flare a few nights ago. It was spectacular.

[Sam Kennedy]

I've tried to spot maybe 15 over the last year and a bit(I got into astronomy for a short time last year). I've never seen one. However I found out a couple of weeks ago I was reading the tables wrong

[LukeSkywatcher]

I've seen 3 in the last year or so. 2 of those were on the same night within seconds of each other (i think it MAY have been the same Iridium satellite flaring up twice). I saw them purely by chance. I hadnt planned to observe them.

As DarkerSky says..............satellites are fun (unless you are a serious astro imager).

[superjody]

can anyone explain this????

couple of weeks ago i was going to my car to go to work at 7.45 am so it was between dark and light outside, i saw a light in the sky which i thought was a plane as there are alot that come over my house getting ready to land in manchester.

this light was similar to how mars looks but i didnt see any other flashing lights, now i know that there are alot of lanterns floating about at the moment but at that time in the morning???

as the light passed i expected it to go dimmer like a planes lights would but it just stayed nice and bright and went off into the distance.

oh forgot to say, when i first saw it it seemed to be moving very fast for the first1-2 seconds then slowed down to plane speed.

any thoughts on this??

[brianb]

satellites are fun (unless you are a serious astro imager).

No sweat, kappa sigma stacking will remove "intruders" from your starfield photos.

[yeti monster]

can anyone explain this????

couple of weeks ago i was going to my car to go to work at 7.45 am so it was between dark and light outside, i saw a light in the sky which i thought was a plane as there are alot that come over my house getting ready to land in manchester.

this light was similar to how mars looks but i didnt see any other flashing lights, now i know that there are alot of lanterns floating about at the moment but at that time in the morning???

as the light passed i expected it to go dimmer like a planes lights would but it just stayed nice and bright and went off into the distance.

oh forgot to say, when i first saw it it seemed to be moving very fast for the first1-2 seconds then slowed down to plane speed.

any thoughts on this??

We've been getting ISS around about that time for a while now, did it appear in the west and travel east?

[LukeSkywatcher]

No sweat, kappa sigma stacking will remove "intruders" from your starfield photos.

Good to know......just incase i ever become a serious astro imager. I doubt it.....

but never say never, but i'm too cheap to ever become a serious imager and the less gear i have to move around from A to B the better.

I had an image of a meteor (least i think it was a meteor). I messed around with it and used Kappa Sigma. The meteor vanished from the image.

I guess it was a satellite instead of a meteor. I couldnt really tell what it was because it was too faint.

Here is a lovely image of Jupiter RUINED by skyglow and a passing plane:

[superjody]

We've been getting ISS around about that time for a while now, did it appear in the west and travel east?

just checked and yes, thats the direction it was heading, i did capture a bit of it on my phone but not much. pity i didnt have my scope out

[LukeSkywatcher]

just checked and yes, thats the direction it was heading, i did capture a bit of it on my phone but not much. pity i didnt have my scope out

Its pretty pointless trying to observe/track or image the ISS through a scope. I've seen it done but not often. Best way to enjoy a pass of the ISS is with your eyes OR even with a compact digi cam using the video capture feature. I have a clip of the ISS taken with a Nikon Coolpix. I think it is about 10 seconds long. I showed it to my uncle who asked about the ISS and he honestly thought i was joking with him as to what he was watching.

[superjody]

Its pretty pointless trying to observe/track or image the ISS through a scope. I've seen it done but not often. Best way to enjoy a pass of the ISS is with your eyes OR even with a compact digi cam using the video capture feature. I have a clip of the ISS taken with a Nikon Coolpix. I think it is about 10 seconds long. I showed it to my uncle who asked about the ISS and he honestly thought i was joking with him as to what he was watching.

i did video it on my phone but it was just a light passing through the sky, cant pick anything up from it really

[LukeSkywatcher]

i did video it on my phone but it was just a light passing through the sky, cant pick anything up from it really

Sounds like my vid clip of it. Infact it looks pretty similar to Jupiter in the image i posted above (maybe not as bright though). It was in the same area as Jupiter is in that image but lower down and vanished behind the trees in the image.

but it was just a light passing through the sky,

True. But the thing that AMAZES me whenever i see it is that that light in the sky is traveling at about 17,000 miles (Kilometres?) per hour and there are people living in it.

Thats pretty MIND BLOWING.

Here is a single frame from my vid clip of the ISS. Honestly...............the little white light in the image IS the ISS:

[brianb]

Its pretty pointless trying to observe/track or image the ISS through a scope

Nevertheless it works - there are some incredible hi-res images of the ISS taken with nothing more sophisticated than a hand-pushed Dob.

The ISS is very easy to track with binoculars and is clearly more than just a point of light even at 10x.

[LukeSkywatcher]

Nevertheless it works - there are some incredible hi-res images of the ISS taken with nothing more sophisticated than a hand-pushed Dob.

The ISS is very easy to track with binoculars and is clearly more than just a point of light even at 10x.

You are correct Brian. It IS possible. I remember seeing images of the ISS taken through i believe a 20" Obsession Dob by a couple of Irish guys (Frank Ryan was one of them) . One of them (i think it was Frank) was acting as the autoguiding system while the other guy (his name eludes me.............i think it is Trevor) was at the EP.

FANTASTIC images. You could see every single compartment of the structure.

I have also tracked the ISS with both 10x50 bins(handheld) and 20x90(mounted).

I kid you NOT that one night while tracking with my 10x50 Bressers.....i could CLEARLY distinguish the main body of the ISS and the outline of 2 solar panels (one on either side of the main body).

Others have reported the same thing while observing with 10x50 bins.

The "seeing" that night must have been absolutely outstanding.......something we here in the UK,Ireland dont experience very often

[superjody]

Sounds like my vid clip of it. Infact it looks pretty similar to Jupiter in the image i posted above (maybe not as bright though). It was in the same area as Jupiter is in that image but lower down and vanished behind the trees in the image.

but it was just a light passing through the sky,

True. But the thing that AMAZES me whenever i see it is that that light in the sky is traveling at about 17,000 miles (Kilometres?) per hour and there are people living in it.

Thats pretty MIND BLOWING.

Here is a single frame from my vid clip of the ISS. Honestly...............the little white light in the image IS the ISS:

ha ha that pic is almost identical to how i captured it, i started recording just before it went over some trees