Satellite Spotting

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Monday - Friday: 9am-5.00pm

2) Click on the town you have selected to let the site know where you are for their calculations.

(If you are just interested in seeing the International Space Station just click on ISS. Envisat is another good one as it is slow moving due to its height. This one is partly made in Britain).

4) You should now have a list of all the satellites visible that night. Use the table at the centre under 'Highest Point' as the main guide. The altitude refers to height above the horizon. 0 degrees is on the horizon, 90 degrees overhead. Anything below 35 degrees or so isn't really worth bothering with as there may be trees, buildings or just air turbulence to restrict the viewing. The times are your local time. The date can be changed at the top of the screen, but the further ahead you chose, the less accurate the timings. Azimuth simply means compass bearing.

satellite spotting

Satellite Spotting... is a space age version of Train or Plane Spotting. It is possible to watch satellites passing over your home town. They look like moving stars... Dozens of satellites can be seen from home every clear night. We may be in the dark down here, but hundreds of miles up, the sun is still lighting up the satellites. Anything larger than a car that is less than 600 miles up can be seen without any binoculars or telescopes. This hobby is free!

1) From the Heavens-Above home page, click on the 'from database' button and select your country then type in your home town or nearest major town if it's not listed.

www.heavens-above.com

If you want to do this regularly, you can create an account then just login. All your location settings will be remembered.

3) You will now be taken back to the home page but is now configured to your location. Click on 3.5 for an average location or 4.5 if you have a very dark site.

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