# Things you can, surprisingly, see with the naked eye **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 18, 2023, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-can-surprisingly-see-with-the-naked-eye/984235 "2023-05-18T19:35:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2023, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-can-surprisingly-see-with-the-naked-eye/984235/1 "2023-05-18T19:35:54Z")
I recently read that the ISS is visible to the naked eye. That’s astounding. According to [space.com](http://space.com): _“The ISS is therefore a great skywatching target for those living in urban and rural areas alike. Spotting the ISS requires no specialist equipment as **it can be seen with the naked eye**. All you need to know is where to look and when.”_ Kind of on the other end of the spectrum, it’s possible to see a Tardigrade with the naked eye, at least according to [americanscientist.org](http://americanscientist.org): _“ **In the right light you can actually see them with the naked eye**.”_ ---
**Author:** ![Dorjan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dorjan/32/12440_2.png) [@Dorjan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dorjan)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2023, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-can-surprisingly-see-with-the-naked-eye/984235/2 "2023-05-18T19:40:24Z")
Nitpick: You can see the reflected light of the ISS with the naked eye, not the structure itself. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2023, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-can-surprisingly-see-with-the-naked-eye/984235/3 "2023-05-18T19:46:00Z")
True. And, the ISS isn’t unique in this regard; any orbiting man-made item that’s big enough, and/or reflective enough, can be seen by the naked eye, if you know when and where to look. In the past, I’ve seen the ISS, as well as Skylab, Space Shuttle Orbiters, and various satellites, including Iridium satellites, without using any optical devices other than my own eyes. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2023, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-can-surprisingly-see-with-the-naked-eye/984235/4 "2023-05-18T19:48:05Z")
> [@Dorjan](#): > > Nitpick: You can see the reflected light of the ISS with the naked eye, not the structure itself. Which is how we see anything, other than than the sun and other stars. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2023, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-can-surprisingly-see-with-the-naked-eye/984235/5 "2023-05-18T19:55:13Z")
> [@Dorjan](#): > > Nitpick: You can see the reflected light of the ISS with the naked eye, not the structure itself. I’m not sure what you mean by saying we are not seeing “the structure itself”. Unless the light is directly emitted, all seeing is reflected light. If I hold my hand up in front of my face, I’m seeing light reflected off it. ---
**Author:** ![Dorjan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dorjan/32/12440_2.png) [@Dorjan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dorjan)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2023, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-can-surprisingly-see-with-the-naked-eye/984235/6 "2023-05-18T20:05:00Z")
To be more clear, you can see a bright pinpoint of light which is the sun reflecting off the solar arrays of the ISS as it flies overhead. You cannot RESOLVE the structure of the ISS itself with the naked eye. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2023, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-can-surprisingly-see-with-the-naked-eye/984235/7 "2023-05-18T20:45:57Z")
'Zactly. Fast moving bright “planet”? Yes. Funky giant dragonfly thingy zooming through space? Nope. Here’s a website for finding stuff you can see by eye: **[Heavens-Above](https://www.heavens-above.com/main.aspx)**. ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2023, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-can-surprisingly-see-with-the-naked-eye/984235/8 "2023-05-18T21:02:02Z")
> [@Dorjan](#): > > To be more clear, you can see a bright pinpoint of light which is the sun reflecting off the solar arrays of the ISS as it flies overhead. You cannot RESOLVE the structure of the ISS itself with the naked eye. I don’t think anyone thinks I meant you could see the occupants waving down at us. It’s all a matter of degrees. From where I’m at, sitting in my office, I can look out the window and see the license plate of a car in the parking lot. But it’s far away so I cannot resolve the numbers. Can I still consider myself seeing it? ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2023, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-can-surprisingly-see-with-the-naked-eye/984235/9 "2023-05-18T21:04:59Z")
In 1957 people thought they could see Sputnik from the ground. What they actually saw was its rocket booster which also achieved orbit. ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2023, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-can-surprisingly-see-with-the-naked-eye/984235/10 "2023-05-19T03:34:12Z")
A human egg cell is large enough to see with the naked eye. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2023, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-can-surprisingly-see-with-the-naked-eye/984235/11 "2023-05-19T03:41:28Z")
While I see the point you are making, I think there is perhaps a distinction to be made between being able to see only a pinpoint of light, and being able to resolve some shape to the light. I miss the Iridium satellites. Iridium flashes were fun. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2023, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-can-surprisingly-see-with-the-naked-eye/984235/12 "2023-05-19T03:54:38Z")
That person on the Internet? Man, they don’t look _ANYTHING_ like that in real life. Needless to say, it was only my eye that got naked. Not the rest of me! ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2023, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-can-surprisingly-see-with-the-naked-eye/984235/13 "2023-05-19T04:05:43Z")
When I was young, one night lying in the back yard, I spotted a faint object crossing the sky very quickly. I think if you were able to follow it from horizon to horizon, in say Kansas, it might have been visible for about 90secs or less. I was duly creeped out. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2023, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-can-surprisingly-see-with-the-naked-eye/984235/14 "2023-05-19T04:41:58Z")
A single atom: > **[A single atom is visible to the naked eye in this stunning photo](https://www.newscientist.com/article/2161094-a-single-atom-is-visible-to-the-naked-eye-in-this-stunning-photo/)** > > This photo shows a strontium atom suspended in electric fields. A blue laser makes the tiny dot visible, though it’s only 215 billionths of a millimetre wide ---
**Author:** ![alovem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@alovem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alovem)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2023, 7:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-can-surprisingly-see-with-the-naked-eye/984235/15 "2023-05-19T07:25:51Z")
There’s an official ISS website that, once you tell it where you are (or the nearest town), will tell you when and where to look for the ISS. I’ve been following it sporadically for five or six years and it can be mildly entertaining. [https://spotthestation.nasa.gov/home.cfm](https://spotthestation.nasa.gov/home.cfm) In order to see it, the satellite has to be high enough in the sky at a reasonable time on a cloudless evening, which might happen once a month or more. As LSLGuy said, it looks like a fast-moving, bright planet, and, if your friends are as dumb as mine, they’ll say, “That’s just an airplane.” So, no big deal. But there’s something unusual about it (probably the silence of its passing). It can take up to five minutes to cross the sky, and it’s kind of cool to watch it disappear while considering the height and speed of its flight. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2023, 9:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-can-surprisingly-see-with-the-naked-eye/984235/16 "2023-05-19T09:29:38Z")
A type of bacteria: > **[The largest bacterium discovered is visible to the naked eye | Engadget](https://www.engadget.com/largest-bacterium-discovered-thiomargarita-magnifica-133019003.html)** > > Thiomargarita magnifica is 5,000 times bigger than most bacteria and is as long as a human eyelash.. ---
**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2023, 10:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-can-surprisingly-see-with-the-naked-eye/984235/17 "2023-05-19T10:44:27Z")
> [@Dorjan](#): > > You cannot RESOLVE the structure of the ISS itself with the naked eye. If you consider that people can see planets and non-solar stars with the naked eye, you have to grant the same status to the ISS. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2023, 11:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-can-surprisingly-see-with-the-naked-eye/984235/18 "2023-05-19T11:17:35Z")
The Andromeda Galaxy is the most amazing (and distant) thing. On a dark and chest night, look for an elongated smudge between the square of Pegasus and the M/W of Casseopea. You’re looking at a billion stars (and surely planets, and some civilizations) as they were two million years ago! And anyone there who’s looking at us…is seeing a planet that includes a primate, Australopithecus, that has just started walking upright, but isn’t especially numerous or notable. ---
**Author:** ![Yelnick\_McWawa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/839c29/32.png) [@Yelnick\_McWawa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yelnick_McWawa)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2023, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-can-surprisingly-see-with-the-naked-eye/984235/19 "2023-05-19T12:48:04Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > In the past, I’ve seen the ISS, as well as Skylab, Space Shuttle Orbiters, and various satellites, including Iridium satellites, without using any optical devices other than my own eyes. In October, 1957, several classmates awoke two hours before sunrise and proceeded to a hill where we saw Sputnik, less than two feet in diameter. These can only be seen when (A) it is dark, and (B) the satellite is high enough to still be in sunlight. ---
**Author:** ![Yelnick\_McWawa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/839c29/32.png) [@Yelnick\_McWawa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yelnick_McWawa)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2023, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-can-surprisingly-see-with-the-naked-eye/984235/20 "2023-05-19T12:57:35Z")
After finding it with a pair of binoculars, I once saw Uranus with the naked eye. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-can-surprisingly-see-with-the-naked-eye/984235.md?page=2)