Can a person see a satelite from the ground?

Question

I just looked up and saw a red light blinking slowly, and it hardly moved, but it was moving... lol... idk

Answer 1

1. Yes, I see the moon almost every night.
2. Like someone said, it was probably an aircraft.

Answer 2

You won't see one with a blinking red light, satellites don't usually have blinking red lights and they would be too far away to see.

Other than our natural satellites (the Moon) most satellites are very faint as the only light they produce is by reflection of sunlight. Low Earth Orbit satellites can sometimes be seen with the naked eye.

You can also see the International Space Station occasionally, usually at sunrise or sunset. It's about the size of a Jumbo Jet. When it's up (like right now) you may also glimpse the Space Shuttle,which is much smaller.

The blinking light you saw would likely be a high altitude aircraft.

Answer 3

You definitely can see satellites, spent rocket stages, the Space Shuttle and the International Space Station from the ground. I see them all the time as I observe with my telescopes. Two weeks ago, I saw a geostationary satellite with the unaided eye when it was perfectly places to reflect sunlight my way. It was staying stationary in my Dobsonian as the stars drifted through the field of view. It was plainly visible as an extra star in Cetus that was not there an hour before. Blinking lights however indicate it's an airplane. But if the object itself blinks, it's something that is tumbling up there. Defunct satellites and spend rocket stages do tumble as they wander around the Earth until drag finally causes them to fall into the atmosphere to their destruction.

Answer 4

Yes, and on any good clear night you might be as lucky to view around 10 satellites. Moving acorss the sky like a star. No blinking lights though. Anytime you see the blinking lights, rest assured that it was an airplane.

Answer 5

Definitely, but only as a fast moving white star. They look exactly like other stars but move noticeably faster, maybe 10 minutes to cross the sky.

Your blinking light was probably an aircraft of some sort, or possibly a ship if it was low on the horizon.

Answer 6

It was probably an airplane. I know it might not look like it, but if it's far away and heading towards you, it looks stationary for many minutes at a time. Satellites don't blink, so it's much more likely to be an airplane. But yes, you can see satellites from the ground.

Answer 7

You probably saw a small aircraft. But yes, many but not all satellites can be seen from the ground. In October 1957 I saw the parts of the rocket that launched Sputnik 1 orbiting the Earth. You could not see Sputnik 1 itself, it was too small, but the rocket casing or upper stage could be seen.

Answer 8

Yes, but generally satellites don't have "blinking" lights. Satellites will sometimes vary in brightness as they rotate, but if it was really "blinking", it was probably a high-altitude airplane.

You're much more likely to see satellites after sunset or just before sunrise.

Answer 9

check out the website heavens-above.com for predictions of all visible satellites for your location.

It is a cool site, and I've never seen it fail to be right on as far as a prediction is concerned.

Answer 10

you can only see it if its like ginomously huge.

and that blinking light was probably a plane or helicopter or something.