How to spot the SpaceX Starlink satellite train overhead this week, Ars Technica

      

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At the start of the week,SpaceX launched its first (operational Starlink satellites– the company’s 50 th consecutive successful launch. And as innovative as thiscommunication network’s entire conceptmight be, many onlookers are curious for a much simpler reason.

You want to view — maybe even photograph — these things in the pre-dawn, post-sunset, or night sky , right? Well, you’ve come to the right place.

First, you’ll want to be quick. Since separating from the upper stage on November 11 at about 11 am Eastern Standard Time (Nov.) , 16: 00 UTC) and with each hour that passes, the satellites have been spreading out by individually raising their orbits to the correct height. And after a while, they will be on their own instead of appearing in this initially clustered formation.

At this point in the week, you still have a few options to try to find SpaceX’s satellites overhead in the skies. You’re only going to be able to see them ~ 30 minutes or earlier before sunrise, ~ 30 minutes or later after sunset, or at night when the sky is dark enough or the Sun is below your local horizon yet still illuminating these devices, since they are at a much higher altitude.

To help find the satellites within these limited windows, luckily, there are a few good resources available online.

Heavens-Above.com (free)

Heavens-Above’s strength lies in its sky charts. If you’re intending to only view Starlink’s passes (not photograph it), this is the one site you want to use since Heavens-Above is the easiest. The step-by-step process looks like this:

1. Go toHeavens-Above.comand make a free account.
2. Set your locationto where you would like to view the Starlink satellites.
3. From thehomepage, there is a “Starlink Launch 2” under the “10 – day predictions for satellites of special interest “section midway down the left side of the page. Click on that.
4. The page “Starlink Launch 2” directs you to a list of the upcoming visible passes listed in a 24 hour time format. (So, remember, 21: 46=9: 46 pm your local time.)

This particular page also shows you things like “start time,” “highest point” and “end point.” Here’s how Heavens-Above defines those:

(Start time) : the time and compass direction (north, south, east, west) that the satellites rise above your local horizon or emerge from the Earth’s shadow (no longer illuminated by the Sun).

Highest point: the time and direction the satellites will be highest above your local horizon.

(End point) : the time and direction the satellites will enter into the Earth’s shadow or set (like a sunset) below your local horizon.

One tip if you’re using this method: if you do not see any upcoming passes, try selecting “All” instead of “visible only” and see if there are any within 20 – 30 minutes of your local sunset. For example, if your local sunset is 4: (PM) 16: 34) and it shows a pass at 4: (PM) 16: 55), it will be difficult to photograph the satellites because the sky is still so bright, but you should still be able to see them with your naked eye.

CalSky.com (free)

A second freely available tool is a website calledCalSky.com(account not required, but recommended). CalSky allows you to predict not only upcoming Starlink passes, but it also tracks things like solar / lunar transits and more interstellar points of interest. For instance, CalSky was a big part of the preparation for Destin Sandlin fromSmarter Every Day,and I used this tool to capture the solar eclipse and ISS transit back in August of (********************************************************************************************************************************:

If opting for CalSky to help locate Starlink satellites, the process looks like this:

1. 1. Go toCalSky.com.
   2. Start bysetting your locationhere. (You can view Starlink without making an account, but I would recommend it so you can save a location for later use).
   3. Here is a linkto the viewing opportunities for the “Starlink Trail “after you’ve set your location.
   4. Select your duration at the top of the page for the amount of time you would like to see future fly-by’s. (I usually select ‘3-6 Days.’)
   5. Check the following boxes (you can utilize others like transits / close encounters later on, but for the sole purpose of viewing use these) “Show satellite passes” and “Satellite must be illuminated.”
   6. Scroll back up to the top and click “GO” again to refresh.
   7. Scrolling down, you’ll see a list of the upcoming passes of the Starlink constellation.
   8. If you are confused by the 24 – hour time format, it’s just like before (say: “(****************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************: 36: 42 “for example simply means 9: 36: 42 pm; ( 9=21). Unlike Heavens-Above, there is an option here to switch to the 12 – hour formatting located on the page where you set your location.

To know where to look, CalSky offers a little map on the right side of each pass. Reading these isn’t tricky with a little guidance. The image to the right shows the satellites will be starting from the southwest direction, peaking in the southeast part of the sky ~ 45 degrees up or so (halfway to straight up), then going toward the northeast, for instance.

To illustrate this with one other example:this oneshows the satellites coming from the northwest, going straight over your head, and toward the southeast. Starlink satellites will always be coming from the west and going east. (So ​​NW->SE & SW->NE, never from the east.)

If you’re not familiar with which way is north / south / east / west, grab a compass app on your phone’s App Store / Google Play Store to assist. Otherwise, the details to note in these maps are:

(Appears (start point):where the blue line starts (SW in example two),

Culmination (highest point):where the point of the blue arrow is (straight over your head),

Disappears (end point):Where the blue line ends (NE) They are not always directly overhead; some may reach their peak height closer to the horizon, in one area of ​​the sky (like # 10, peaking in the SSE sky ~ 45 ° up) .

FlightClub.io (paid)

If you are seeking to photograph the trail of satellites or get a bit more advanced with your viewing, the only paid tool I’d recommend is calledFlightClub.io. Created by Declan Murphy, this app can be utilized in combination withCalSkyto plan out (with a 3D viewer) your photography to a T. It allows you to visualize the Starlink fly-bys in real time on your phone while in the field.

      

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