What kind of plane looks like a star that moves in the night?

[shance]

I was looking out in the sky and found this "star" that is moving very slowly, not a shooting star, but a slow moving plane that appears like a star.

It's interesting. I've never seen a moving plane like that before.

Is it a drone?

[tatertop]

1. sounds like a satellite

[Viva_La_Revolution]

4. 2nd vote for a satillite

99% percent of the time it is... the other 1%... ALIENS :)

[tatertop]

13. I forgot about the aliens

[shance]

11. I didn't think satellites moved.

I've never seen anything move like this.

Like a slow moving shooting star.

I guess they do?

[tatertop]

17. they orbit the earth

[shance]

20. I've never seen anything like this and I've been on the earth

for forty plus years now.

Seems to be I would have seen this.

[Frank Cannon]

46. Go sleep out under the stars on a clear night some night

Way away from the lights of the city.

Try to stay up as late (or early) as you can. You'll see several of these.

And yes, they're satellites. Sometimes it's the space shuttle.

[Steve A Play]

18. Only geosynchronous satellites stationed at 22,300 +/- miles altitude

'appear' stationary. Most others are in LEO. (Low Earth Orbit) Check out the link I posted below. I think you'll enjoy it. :)

On Edit: Wrong altitude!

[onehandle]

19. Some do, some don't.

The earth is spinning at over 1,000 mph.

Faster than any passenger plane.

(on edit, BrotherBuzz in the next post down is saying what I actually meant. I'm just lazy.)

[BrotherBuzz]

21. They'd crash into earth if they didn't move

Stationary orbiting satellites move around the earth in exactly 24hrs and are really moving fast out in their 23,000 mile high orbit. Interesting, Kepler worked out that distance in the fifteenth century just using observations and mathematics (P squared equals R cubed).

[Steve A Play]

27. Yeah but it was Arthur C. Clark that first envisioned using satellites

stationed at that altitude for communications, thus the 'Clark Belt' designation!

[BrotherBuzz]

29. Absolutely!

And you better believe Clark understood every word Kepler wrote. :thumbsup:

[Javaman]

47. There are two types of satellites...

Geocentric and orbital. Geocentric basically stay put. Remaining centered over at specific area. While orbital do what the name implies.

[BrotherBuzz]

12. 3rd vote for satellite

[beam me up scottie]

2. Don't say another word

and come with me...

[Brigid]

3. Planes

I live close enough to the Indianapolis airport that I see what you are describing all the time, especially since it's also a major FedEx hub. As far as I know, when you see that, it's just . . . a plane. Do you live fairly close to an airport that takes passenger size planes?

[shance]

25. Yes, but no way they could reach near that altitude that fast.

and there were no other lights.

It was very high.

[realisticphish]

satellite

they can appear to be slowly moving nearby craft, when they're actually traveling at ridiculous speeds in orbit

[onehandle]

7. ...and seem lit because the sun is reflecting off of them.

I've been a satellite watcher all of my life. A few years ago, my wife and I spotted a Space Shuttle connected to Mir. Much brighter than any satellite I've ever seen.

[realisticphish]

8. wow

that would have been cool...

one thing i've missed about moving from my rural home to the city for school is the inability to stargaze

[onehandle]

15. We were on a pitch black beach North of St. Augustine, Florida.

This was in the late nineties. It was so bright and so sudden that the sight literally stunned us for several minutes.

[Whoa_Nelly]

5. Saw the same thing tonight

It was moving slowly. So I grabbed the binocs...it had stopped moving...was like that for about 20 seconds, so started thinking maybe I had been wrong and it WAS a star...then it started moving again. Lost sight of it because of trees. Through the binocs couldn't see any of the typical flashing wing lights. Thought it must be a small plane, but there was no sound, and it wasn't that far away. This was around or just before 10 PM here west coast.

[shance]

9. West coast here too. Lala land.

Around the same time.

I agree on the no sound.

Clouds blocked it, then the phone rang, watched it for a few, and then I lost track.

[orleans]

6. maybe one of our fun little war toys? n/t

[Steve A Play]

10. Sounds like you saw the International Space Station

You can view what satellites do flyovers of your area in 'realtime' at this site,

http://science.nasa.gov/Realtime/JTrack/3d/JTrack3D.html

You must have JAVA enabled to use this. This applet allows you to zoom in and out, rotate the earth, and click on any given satellite to identify it and see it's ground track. Also try out the J-Pass function on this page to find out what satellites will be visible overhead at any given time. Keep in mind that the best viewing occurs just after sunset and just before sunrise.

Have fun! :)

[shance]

14. So what are these satellites "looking" for?

n/t

[Steve A Play]

24. It depends on the satellite

Many are use for satellite telephone communications, some are 'polar orbiting' spy satellites like the KH-11, KH-12, and various other 'spy' satellites. {KH stands for 'Key Hole'.) Many others are merely rocket booster stages locked in orbit. Lots of 'geo' and weather satellites monitoring everything from the ozone layer, x-ray emissions, magnetic flux or measuring ocean temperatures.

[opihimoimoi]

16. vote for sat

[shraby]

22. I've seen them before, always assumed they

were satellites after seeing the first satellite ever put in orbit..Sputnik.

[shance]

23. Could be.

I've just never seen a moving star like this before.

[onehandle]

26. They are very odd "feeling".

Moving at a constant speed. Not blinking.

What is really cool is seeing them disappear into the earth's shadow.

Eerie.

[BrotherBuzz]

34. Way cool! Disappearing into the earth's shadow makes total sense...

but I never observed it. I suspect it works best with west to east satellites in the evening sky ;)

Observing it is now on my 'to do' list. Thanks for the inspiration

[Steve A Play]

36. Use the link I posted in post #10

You will not only know where and when to look for them but what satellite you're looking at!

Lots of fun. The J-Pass link even shows you where the satellite will pass the terminator from sunlight into darkness. (The green line shows where it's in sunlight, the violet where it's in darkness.)

I'm in the Santa Cruz mountains and can view quite a few on any given night. Sometimes we can see 2 or 3 moving in different directions at the same time.

[BrotherBuzz]

40. My model shows red and violet lines, no green

do I have the right Java, or do I need another cup of joe? ;)

Cool site. :thumbsup:

[tridim]

28. I got that beat

When I was a kid I watched a bright star move from one point to another. First it was stopped.. Then it was moving at a constant velocity across the sky, about 10 moon widths in 3 seconds.. Then it stopped again! Any guesses? My dad suggested that it might be a satellite correcting it's orbit. Could be, but it was really bright, Venus bright.

[magellan]

32. We saw something similar in the UK 6 yrs ago

Nowhere near as bright as Venus and no sound, suggesting great altitude. It moved in zigzags at precise angles, and at such speed that a pilot would never survive the Gs. We watched it for over a minute, dumbfounded, and then it simply disappeared.

We also saw many satellites, and the shuttle on occasion. Totally different movement -- straight trajectory. Shuttles move fast across the sky compared to satellites, perhaps an illusion because they're in lower orbit?

Anyway, we still wonder what we saw that one night.

[Mr_Jefferson_24]

30. I made the same observation this evening...

...and it seemed to be getting closer and closer. I took a break to watch Dukes of Hazzard and when I returned to my back yard, apple tree observation post, it was much much closer. I was able to get this picture---I don't think it's a satellite.



Don't worry, they're friendly---no rectal probing or anything like that.

[shance]

31. Now that's an amazing shot. Was Richard Dreyfuss around

by any chance?

Or Steven Spielberg?

You may want to steer clear of mashed potatoes.

;)

[Mr_Jefferson_24]

33. Haven't seen any sign of Dreyfuss or...

Spielberg, but this guy keeps offering to mow my yard for $20.00 cash (no checks).



I think they're illegals.

[shance]

35. Well, I think it goes back to the mashed potato thing.....

mow the lawn in alien terms.....well, its kind of a whole different deal.

[Mr_Jefferson_24]

37. I think you may be right...

MMMM GOOD!!!

[shance]

39. Mmmm.....those make close encounters truly worth my while.........

Thanks for posting***

[Warren DeMontague]

43. That's it- No More Owsley Acid for you before bedtime, young man!

I mean it.

[ThoughtCriminal]

38. Here's a cool website for spotting satellites

On clear dark nights I can spot quite a few after twilight. This website lets you enter your location and tells where and when to look:

http://www.heavens-above.com

[bananas]

41. I also recommend "Heavens Above"

It will also show the secret "black triangle" satellites if you know the secret code.

[Warren DeMontague]

42. Could be the International Space Station.

Supposedly, it's very bright. Always wanted to catch it.

here's a cool site:

http://science.nasa.gov/Realtime/jtrack/3d/JTrack3D.html

[ladjf]

44. You may be having an eye problem. If you see such a plane

again,try looking through binoculars. The "star" might turn into a regular light.

[TheBaldyMan]

45. it could have been the ISS, it's meant to be one of the brightest

satellites. Unfortunately I haven't managed to get out into the wilds for years and go stargazing.

[Thirtieschild]

48. I've wondered about the light we saw

Moving like a plane, but no red lights. Must have been a satelite (sigh). I hoped it was a UFO - after all, we're in New Mexico now. We're not near an airport or city and it's wonderful to see the stars again.