Geostationary Satellites

[funkymoped]

now that the night sky is getting darker i was wondering if its possable to see geostationary satellites with the naked eye. i know orbital satellites are visable 365 days of the year, but ive never knowingly seen a stationary satellite.

any and all help appreciated.

thanks in advance.

[Andyvon]

I doubt it Funkymoped - not with the naked eye. Geo-stationary satellites are positioned at an altitude of about 23,000 miles I believe, so they would be incredibly faint, if visible at all. You certainly wouldn't distinguish them against the starry background.

[mibn2cweus]

It is possible but highly unlikely. At least one (magnitude 3) sighting has been reported.

A friend of mine observed an odd blinking through 10X50 binoculars. I was able to locate the periodic blinking in my telescope. Returning for another look after several minutes it was still where I had left it; (my telescope and the satellite). As I recall we were out most of that night for the autumnal equinox but the Moon was not and the sky was cloudless. With the satellite in view, the telescope was pointing perpendicular to (~90 degrees from) Polaris (the North Star). The satellite remained visible (through the telescope) for at least an hour.

[funkymoped]

mibn, nice answer "thank you".

do you think it would be possable to see anything with night vision ?? ive got a monocular night light.. it can pick stars out of the sky that are not there with the naked eye...

[tomtech]

i just wondered why the night sky is getting darker, i thought when it was dark, it was dark. or is the sun slowly burning out ? i dont know anything about geography anyway.

[tomtech]

actually someone said that in the pub today, now its getting darker. i said , what are you on about? why is it getting darker? do you mean its getting darker earlier? it was funny at the time . im sorry ,i will climb back in my hole. cant remember what her name is!

[mibn2cweus]

At extreme northern latitudes twilight persists during the summer. Above the Artic Circle the Sun remains above the horizon all day/night around Summer Solstice.