is it possible to see satellites with the naked eye as they orbit the earth?
597723
yes , if you live in a place that is dark and the sky is clear...we can see them here at Lake Tahoe all the time
682284
yes u can see them .go far awy from city where there is vry less artificial light source n enjoy this event at dark night .u can see them moving as though a star is moving . satellite don't flicker.\n\nor see tht in film the octubar sky.
125603
This depends on a couple of things -- how high the satellite is and the time of night. Remember, satellites are visible only because of light reflected from the Sun. If it's early in the evening where you are, the Sun isn't too far below the horizon, therefore any satellites passing overhead will readily catch sunlight because they're farther up in the sky. Very late at night, the number of satellites you're going to see will decrease because now the Sun is far below your horizon, and any satellites passing overhead must be quite high too still catch sunlight.
110001
You couldnt see yourself.\nYou, the Earth, the Sun, and the Milky Way galaxy would all blend together be a faint blurr, even through a telescope.
186009
No, this is an urban legend.  See the reference\nfor pictures taken by one of our astronauts\ndisproving it.\n\nNow if you're talking about being visible from\nsomewhere farther out in space (like the moon\nor another planet), then the answer is different.\n\nBut from a shuttle, things like open pit mines,\nairports, dams, and even the Great Pyramids are\nvisible.
978319
The orbit is called geosynchronous.  Check out the NASA website.  Your can see all the satellites we human have put into orbit.  It'll shock you!
579128
No, the line between day and night, called the terminator, is imperceptible at the earth's surface, although you can see it clearly from space
345281
None, at least no natural ones.  There may be artificial satellites sent there though.
307797
It would appear as a dim ball revolving around itself and orbiting earth, phaes will not be visible of course, it will look like a ball all the time to an observer flying near by it in space.
271369
Under ideal conditions such as no smoke, smog, dust, in a flat area, we should be able to see till infinity. Everytime you gaze at the night sky, you see stars millions and billions of miles away. However, you won't be able to see an object, say a golf ball, that is a mile away.  This is because our ability to see things is limited by the resolution of our eyes i.e. how small an object we can discern. Even though bacteria are all around us, we can't see them because they are too small for our eyes to resolve. In the same manner, large objects that are very distant, will also be invisible to us.  However, the earth is not flat, but curved, so the curvature also limits our ability to see distant objects. the higher up you are, the farther away you can see. Even the satellites or astronauts in space can't see more than half the area or circumference of the earth (only one side of it) when they are in space.
93570
google earth, download and install this software and you will be able to watch the entire earth. :P
167535
If your telescope has a finder scope (a much smaller telescope mounted on the main telescope) stick with observing objects that you can locate in it. In order to observe more distant objects that you can't see with either your naked eye or the finder scope, you'll need to learn about the celestial coordinate system (right ascension and declination) There are hundreds of fascinating objects that even smaller telescopes can bring into your vision, but can't be easily located without knowing their celestial coordinates and how to locate those coordinates.
651175
If you want to know the names of celestial objects, you need to be familiar with landmarks in the celestial sphere, such as Polaris, the Big Dipper, Orion, etc. These are easy to find constellations and stars that provide guides to harder to find objects. Get a star gazing guide, or the excellent Starry Night Pro software: http://www.starrynight.com/ .\nIf you mean how to tell satellites from planets and stars, note that objects near Earth do not scintillate (twinkle) like stars. Most satellites move very fast, and are obviously moving too fast for the Earth's rotation to be the only cause. Planets are extremely bright compared to stars and do not scintillate.\nDon't expect to see nebulas and other faraway objects without a (good, not department store style) telescope or a strong pair of binoculars. The only galaxy you can see with the naked eye is our own, the Milky Way, and at that only in non-light polluted areas. I have never seen the Milky Way from NYC, but from the equator, it's a beautiful sight (it's a milky white band across the sky).
524364
No.  But you can see live images at www.nasa.gov or at the JPL site.  Pretty coolio stuff.
1180421
It is not possible to see any man-made object left on the moon with any already existing telescope from Earth or near-Earth Orbit....the objects are just too small and too far away.\nGoverned by certain laws of physics, telescopes of a given size can only see objects of a certain minimum angular size or larger.  The angular size of any/all man-made object on the moon as seen from the Earth is just way too small to see, even when being very generous with size and distance estimations.\nSo, in short, no, you cannot see the flag on the moon with a large telescope.
754180
Here's one simple animation: (I'll keep looking).\nhttp://janus.astro.umd.edu/javadir/orbits/ssv.html\n\nHere's a FANCY video:\nhttp://www.bbc.co.uk/science/space/solarsystem/3d_tour.shtml
272885
No you would not be able to see them through the largest telescope on earth because they are too small an object to be  seen. You can see the area on the moon where they are very well and clear but not the lunar rovers.