What am I seeing in the sky?

Question

i notice a lot when i am in the open where you can see A LOT of stars, theres this think in the sky it looks exactly like a star but it is moving throughout the sky in a straight line n it is going pretty fast. i KNOW that it's not a shooting star because those are much faster n they dissapear after a few seconds

Answer 1

One way to check and see if it is indeed a satellite is to note the direction of travel. 99% of satelites move in a Easterly ( though rarely EXACTLY) direction. A meteor only lasts a few seconds and quickly brighten until it fades at the end, but a satellite can last a minute or more, and will hold a steady intensity.

Answer 2

What you are seeing in the night sky that looks like a star, but is moving across the sky, is sunlight reflecting from a satellite. Man made satellites orbit high above the earth where the sun may still be shining on them. If you are watching in the evening, after the sun has set and the sky is turning dark, and if you see a satellite that happens to be moving toward the east, the satellite will seem to dim, then disappear as it enters earth's shadow from the sun. A passing satellite may be visible for a minute or two. Any clear evening, with a good view of the sky, you will probably see a satellite pass by every five minutes or so. You are right that a shooting star, or meteor, is visible for a second or two. If you see a light that blinks as it travels across the night sky, you are seeing an airplane.

Answer 3

The sky is amazing when you don't have light pollution. But, the clearness also makes some interesting questions.

Likely it's an airplane. Relative distance is difficult to distinguish in a clear night sky without light pollution. A high flying airplane will only be visible by it's main white light, and the telltale red and blue lights don't show up because the plane is too high. Sometimes, you'll even get where you just see moonlight reflecting off the side of an airplane.

It could also be a sattelite. Those are real clear on a good night, but usually don't appear to move fast.

Answer 4

Probably a satellite. You can usually see several satellites go over on any clear night, if the sky is dark and you bother to look.

Answer 5

the International Space Station.

Answer 6

That question has been asked and answered several times in the last couple of hours. Try reading a few questions before you repeat the same.

It the ISS.

Answer 7

One of the many man made satellites revolving the earth.

Answer 8

If it's the 3rd brightest star, it's the space shuttle.

Answer 9

An airplane

Answer 10

a weather balloon
it is a balloon equipped with meteorological apparatus which is sent into the atmosphere to provide information about the weather.