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One of the things I enjoy when in my Marloth Park home is to have a sundowner on our terrace, watching the sky darken and the incredible sight of the milky way come out. Whilst waiting to hear the first lion call, I often spend time lazing back on a lounger and looking for satellites passing overhead.

For a half hour or so after dusk it is possible to spot satellites as they are still in sunshine, so you can see what looks like a small star moving quickly across the sky. Some of these are real satellites, earth sensing, communications etc. Others can be old rocket stages, large amounts of junk, and sometimes you can see the Hubble telescope or the International Space Station. If you know when and where to look you can even see the toolbag dropped by the astronaut on the last Hubble repair mission, although you will need binoculars for that. Most of the time they are steady, but occasionally one will be variable, sometimes disappearing altogether. This is usually because the object is spinning or tumbling in its orbit, with different parts having different reflectivity.

There are several websites that can predict what you can see from your location at a given time and date. I use the following:
http://www.heavens-above.com/
A fascinating site - lots of info about all sorts of things.

Now who is going to start a list of satellites spotted

Happy skywatching
Allan

Interesting site ... thanks Allan!

Could this be a Satellite. Top right.
One of my first attempts at Star Trails.

In East Africa/Equator we spotted Satellites quite often.

Hi Pepperjuice,
It certainly looks like one.

I haven't tried star trail photos yet. If we get clear skies when we are out in SA in just over two weeks time I'll give it a go.

Love your photo by the way

Allan

Thanks for the link hobbit, it's fascinating for sure!

Hi pepperjuice. Yes, that looks very much like a satellite. I wouldn't be surprised if it's an Iridium Flare. What was the exact date and location of that photograph?

Awesome pic by the way!