Interest in watching for satellites has really increased over the past decade mainly due to the International Space Station being assembled in orbit, growing in size and brightness, etc.  The amount of hardware orbiting over head has also increased. With all this stuff circling around above, your chances of seeing one of these spacecraft glide across the pre-dawn or evening sky only increases. Perhaps you’ve seen a “moving star” yourself and wondered what it might be? An airplane perhaps? But wait, there were no navigation lights blinking to give it away. Maybe it was a UFO? Chances are what you saw was a satellite silently sweeping across the sky, and possibly looking down at you.

The Hubble Space Telescope, International Space Station and   dazzlingly bright flares from Iridium satellites along with hundreds of other objects can be seen from your corner of the globe, and its easier than you might think. You just need good weather and to be armed with a little information prior to a pass to enjoy seeing a wide variety of satellites including spent rocket bodies, communications satellites, weather satellites, global positioning satellites, reconnaissance satellites, science experiments, amateur radio satellites, etc.

For information regarding satellites and their visibility from your location check out the Heavens-Above web site. Heavens Above provides times of visibility for satellite passes and also detailed star charts showing the satellite’s track through the sky and on the ground. All of this information is generated and customized for your specific location and time zone.

Start out by picking brighter satellites that will be well overhead during their pass (above the horizon by 40 degrees or more) and bright like magnitude 4.0 or brighter.  Brighter passes will be listed with negative numbers like magnitude -2.  It a good idea to choose these types of satellites when you are first starting to observe. This makes a big difference when you’re in a suburban setting and contending with street lights and your neighbors motion sensing flood lights. A pair of Binoculars can be very handy as you begin to observe fainter craft.

The Astronomical League‘s Earth Orbiting Satellite Observing Program is a great introductory program geared toward introducing observers new to satellite observing with the terminology, and techniques of tracking satellites. The list of objects required for the basic award include targets that can be easily tracked using the unaided eye or binoculars.

I completed the EOSOC program in November 2005. I highly recommend it if you are interested in viewing a diverse list of satellites and enjoy a challenge.  Manned and unmanned craft, spent rocket bodies and active payloads, formation passes and multinational satellites are just a few of the targets you’ll catalog.

If that sounds too ambitious, no worries. Check out Heavens-Above.com and see what’s passing over your place tonight. Set the alarm on your cellphone and run out for a “sighting.”  But be warned. You might find yourself hooked on super bright Iridium flashes or ISS passes before you know it.