# Ever have a Satellite pass infront of your Telescope? Q? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 20, 2003, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-have-a-satellite-pass-infront-of-your-telescope-q/156347 "2003-02-20T16:16:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Phlosphr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Phlosphr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phlosphr)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2003, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-have-a-satellite-pass-infront-of-your-telescope-q/156347/21 "2003-02-20T18:06:27Z")
Thanks for telling me before Mrs.Phlosphr and I had kids… ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2003, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-have-a-satellite-pass-infront-of-your-telescope-q/156347/22 "2003-02-20T18:10:47Z")
Right, but as **Doghouse** points out, if you can see anything on the dark side of the moon, it’s due to Earthshine. ---
**Author:** ![mambozzy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@mambozzy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mambozzy)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2003, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-have-a-satellite-pass-infront-of-your-telescope-q/156347/23 "2003-02-20T18:15:44Z")
Right. What causes night on Earth, Phlosphr, the moon’s shadow? No, the moon, like the Earth, is rotating and thus, while one side is in sunlight, the other side is in twilight. It’s simple physics, man. -Oz ---
**Author:** ![mambozzy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@mambozzy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mambozzy)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2003, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-have-a-satellite-pass-infront-of-your-telescope-q/156347/24 "2003-02-20T18:18:58Z")
Wow, I missed that one by a solid 14 minutes. That’s what I get for putting SDMB second. ---
**Author:** ![Phlosphr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Phlosphr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phlosphr)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2003, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-have-a-satellite-pass-infront-of-your-telescope-q/156347/25 "2003-02-20T18:47:13Z")
> [@](#): > > the moon, like the Earth, is rotating and thus, while one side is in sunlight, the other side is in twilight. This I understand. I was having a bit of trouble with the whole crescent moon thing… ---
**Author:** ![Drum\_God](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drum_god/32/44_2.png) [@Drum\_God](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drum_God)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2003, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-have-a-satellite-pass-infront-of-your-telescope-q/156347/26 "2003-02-20T20:15:04Z")
Okay then, back to artificial satellites… As a plot point in many _Star Trek_ episodes, the good ship _Enterprise_ arrives in orbit around some industrial world. Sometimes it’s even “Earth in the past.” Kirk (or Picard) and Company then conduct their clandestine operations on or around the planet and no one is aware of their presence. Now, supposing a ship the size of any of the various _Enterprise_s were to really orbit our planet, would we notice it? Would average people walking around on Earth wonder what that thing was or would it be too small to notice or stand out? In _First Contact_, LaForge uses a telescope to point out the Enterprise-E to a skeptical Zephram Cochran. Could a typical hobbyists telescope identify the _Enterprise_? Or would it take fancy military or scientific equipment. ---
**Author:** ![Ankh\_Too](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3ab097/32.png) [@Ankh\_Too](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ankh_Too)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2003, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-have-a-satellite-pass-infront-of-your-telescope-q/156347/27 "2003-02-20T20:21:42Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Phlosphr \* > \*\*This I understand. I was having a bit of trouble with the whole crescent moon thing… \*\* Try [this website](http://www.astro.umd.edu/education/astro/moon/phases.html). The illustration should make it much easier to follow. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2003, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-have-a-satellite-pass-infront-of-your-telescope-q/156347/28 "2003-02-20T20:22:03Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by adam yax \* > \*\*??? **Phlosphr** , how were you looking at the dark side of the moon? The dark side of the moon is, by defintion, not facing the earth. \*\* There’s no such thing as the dark side of the moon. Matter of fact, it’s all dark. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Llama\_Llogophile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@Llama\_Llogophile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Llama_Llogophile)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2003, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-have-a-satellite-pass-infront-of-your-telescope-q/156347/29 "2003-02-20T20:41:28Z")
I’ve had this happen several times while using my 4" refractor. Once at a star party, I saw something zoom through the field. I thought it was me, but a moment later someone else who was observing the same faint galaxy as me said, “Hey, did you see that?” No details - it just looked like a fast moving star. About the Star Trek: First Contact thing. I’m guessing that you MIGHT be able to see detail in that situation, but only because the Enterprise is supposed to be massive. Nearly a mile long, as I recall. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2003, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-have-a-satellite-pass-infront-of-your-telescope-q/156347/30 "2003-02-20T20:47:55Z")
As a matter of fact, Phlosphr, when there IS a lunar eclipse - the Earth’s shadow on the Moon - it doesn’t make the Moon dark. It makes it a reddish color. There will be a total lunar eclipse on May 16 and against on November 8 of this year. ---
**Author:** ![Shiva](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/85e7bf/32.png) [@Shiva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shiva)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2003, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-have-a-satellite-pass-infront-of-your-telescope-q/156347/31 "2003-02-20T20:51:00Z")
From NASA’s J-Pass website [http://liftoff.msfc.nasa.gov/RealTime/JPass/20/](http://liftoff.msfc.nasa.gov/RealTime/JPass/20/) > [@](#): > > Ever see a light moving across the night sky and wonder if it’s an airplane or a spacecraft (or even a UFO)? Many people enjoy satellite watching as a fun hobby, and you can join them using J-Pass. Using your location and the latest available tracking data, J-Pass can predict the times a satellite will pass overhead, and even give you a chart showing the path of the craft through your sky. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2003, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-have-a-satellite-pass-infront-of-your-telescope-q/156347/32 "2003-02-20T21:02:26Z")
In my childhood, they sent up into orbit two HUGE balloons that were to have signals bounced off them (Hey NASA geeks- what were those called?). They were clearly visable by the naked eye. ---
**Author:** ![Hanna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b3f665/32.png) [@Hanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hanna)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2003, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-have-a-satellite-pass-infront-of-your-telescope-q/156347/33 "2003-02-20T21:04:40Z")
On summer nights I often sit in the backyard and stare up at the sky. I see a lot of satellites naked eye. At first it looks like a star, but it is moving. They don’t go fast, like a meteor, but slowly move across the sky. Really neat. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2003, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-have-a-satellite-pass-infront-of-your-telescope-q/156347/34 "2003-02-20T21:12:17Z")
I hope nobody will mind the slight hijack, but it’s too close a question to warrant opening another thread: Are satellites in orbit visible to the naked eye? One very dark, clear night, I went out to the countryside with some friends and we were far away from light pollution and smog; after our eyes had fully adjusted, we could see and incredible number of stars, but also some tiny specks that were moving; might these have been satellites or would they be something else? ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2003, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-have-a-satellite-pass-infront-of-your-telescope-q/156347/35 "2003-02-20T21:16:59Z")
[www.heavens-above.com](http://www.heavens-above.com) can give you the same information as NASA. You should also be able to specify a date in the near past and look for a likely candidate for your lunar transit. This page has an AVI of a lunar transit: [http://home.no.net/jonbent/Moon.html](http://home.no.net/jonbent/Moon.html) (third from the bottom). It requires the DIVX codec, though, so I couldn’t play it. I’ve never seen a satellite cross the field while I was looking through a scope, but on one occasion I saw a meteor flash by. **DrDeth** : those were the ECHO satellites. I remember seeing them, too. **Mangetout** : absolutely yes. You can even visit the NASA site or Heavens Above to find out what they were. You can also very easily see bright reflections from the Iridium satellites just about anywhere. ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2003, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-have-a-satellite-pass-infront-of-your-telescope-q/156347/36 "2003-02-20T21:17:11Z")
If they weren’t blinking, they were probably satellites. ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2003, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-have-a-satellite-pass-infront-of-your-telescope-q/156347/37 "2003-02-20T21:19:19Z")
Wow, a question answered before it was even asked. This is a helluva message board! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2003, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-have-a-satellite-pass-infront-of-your-telescope-q/156347/38 "2003-02-20T21:22:16Z")
Satellites can blink too. Some of the are rotating and will appear to blink as different sides reflect the sunlight differently. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2003, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-have-a-satellite-pass-infront-of-your-telescope-q/156347/39 "2003-02-20T22:35:23Z")
rowrrbazzle- Yep, “Echo”, thanks. And, Yes- some other satelites, but the sky has to be clear, and you have to look sharp. But not EchoII, that was real obvious, even in smoggy LA. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2003, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-have-a-satellite-pass-infront-of-your-telescope-q/156347/40 "2003-02-20T22:40:21Z")
The Enterprise would most certainly be visible. Under the proper conditions, the Space Station is brighter even than Venus, and the Enterprise is a lot bigger than the ISS. So far as I know, she also doesn’t have any features to make her difficult to detect (yes, I know that the Enterprise doesn’t have a cloaking device, but you could also just paint her black, which nobody seems to even think of). Details, though, would require a scope. It is possible to get distinguishable pictures of the Space Station or the Shuttle with an amateur scope (that is to say, detailed enough to recognize what it is), so Geordi showing Cochraine in a telescope is probably plausible, depending on what sort of scope Cochraine had. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-have-a-satellite-pass-infront-of-your-telescope-q/156347.md?page=1)