For the record, these satellites are inserted in groups of 60 at half their orbital height. They have onboard thrusters to boost up to the final operational orbit. There is high atmospheric drag at lower altitudes, so they deploy their solar panels horizontally during this boost period, which usually lasts less than a month. These horizontal panels reflect the sun just after sunset and just before dawn. Once they are at their final height they rotate the panels so they are much less reflective. Basically, the constellation's effect on the night sky is proportional to the number of launches in the last month, not the total number in orbit.
This is my favorite Starlink tracker - also has a nice integration with Google Street View and shows you exactly where to look. <a href="https://james.darpinian.com/satellites/?special=starlink" rel="nofollow">https://james.darpinian.com/satellites/?special=starlink</a><p>EDIT: Removed "past times" parameter as suggested in comments. Also note you can remove also see loads of other satellites with an unadorned URL : <a href="https://james.darpinian.com/satellites" rel="nofollow">https://james.darpinian.com/satellites</a>
We also have a coverage map for Starlink: <a href="https://orbitalindex.com/feature/starlink-coverage/" rel="nofollow">https://orbitalindex.com/feature/starlink-coverage/</a>
Wow, I just saw a cluster of satellites go overhead earlier tonight. It must have been starlink. It was really really cool, and quite serendipitous for me to be camping, in a dark place, seated at the perfect angle to see them between the trees. Definitely a memorable experience.
Here’s my bitter Luddite take on the whole debacle:<p><a href="https://wyclif.substack.com/p/li-bai-and-the-abominable-prague" rel="nofollow">https://wyclif.substack.com/p/li-bai-and-the-abominable-prag...</a>
Wow those are few and far between. Isn't the idea of starlink that you'd have internet all the time?<p>Edit: Aahhh I see now, it's meant for stargazers (well, starlinkgazers) and it only shows the visible passes. Got it. I'm used to using sat trackers for ham radio purposes and they show all passes, that's why I was confused.
It's quite interesting how frequently Starlink satellites de-orbit (and how short a time some of them are up for)<p><a href="https://aerospace.org/reentries?field_reentry_type_target_id%5B%5D=32&field_reentry_sighting_value=All&sort_by=field_predicted_reentry_time_value&sort_order=DESC&format_select=tiles&reentry_timezone_selector=America%2FLos_Angeles" rel="nofollow">https://aerospace.org/reentries?field_reentry_type_target_id...</a>
Just tonight I was in the backyard with the kids when one one them yelled, “what’s that?”, pointing up. I immediately knew what it was, but just seeing that long string of satellites going by and going by and going by (it felt like it took 5 minutes for all of them to pass) was one of the most shocking things I’ve seen in the night sky (and I’ve seen some crazy stuff in my nearly 50 years). One thing I was a bit surprised about was how they weren’t as evenly spaced as I would have to expected. Most were in a straight line, but a few were a bit off from the others. Some were close together, leaving large gaps. Overall, I can see why the astronomers are worried.
I personally like <a href="https://www.heavens-above.com/" rel="nofollow">https://www.heavens-above.com/</a><p>Give it a location and it will tell you all the bright objects that should be visible
More detailed info about the satellite constellations, ground stations, and a map:
<a href="https://starlink.sx/" rel="nofollow">https://starlink.sx/</a>
Here's also live map with all Starlinks:
<a href="https://aviamaps.com/starlink/" rel="nofollow">https://aviamaps.com/starlink/</a>
If they want to cover the entire Earth with internet access, how is it that I see them come and go in bunches rather than just a steady stream all night such that there is always at least one overhead? Having a bunch show up and disappear doesn't sound like very continuous internet access
While I won't subscribe (I have fiber), I am excited about what this might mean for the future. It would amazing to improve the technology enough to replace 4G/5G dongles. It sounds like the technology relies on being in a somewhat fixed position though.
Every now and then I need to compile lists of locations for this or that application. The drop-down of locations in this tracker is very interesting. Does anyone know how the list was compiled?
For a 3d view of the satellites in orbit check out:
<a href="https://space-search.io/?search=starlink" rel="nofollow">https://space-search.io/?search=starlink</a>
I’m just leaving this link here again: <a href="https://www.darksky.org/new-satellite-study/" rel="nofollow">https://www.darksky.org/new-satellite-study/</a>
It's interesting to see so many of these satellites are listed as "Bright" in my area.<p>Before the launches, the HN crowd promised repeatedly that nobody would be able to see these satellites and they would not change the night sky at all, and that that looking up in wonder is only something that old people and luddites do, because nothing is more important than global always-on sacred holy internet access.
Satellites (or rather low earth orbit) should be like a well kept house: "One thing in, two things out". But no, let's just not look at history and learn anything at all from things like pollution etc. and let the richest countries make a mess of everything until they see it's a problem and then they (we) will point fingers at poorer countries when they want to launch satellites en mass too.<p>Clean up the damn lawn!
I honestly can't believe Starlink is allowed to do this. It's an absolute travesty, polluting the view of the sky for ALL people on Earth to an absolutely unprecedented degree, for profit of an American corporation. Absolutely despise it, wish all countries of the world came together and demanded the deployments to stop.