I Spy ... plus some other stuff.

For those of you interested, or that may become interested, there's some interesting articles about secret spy satellites, that can lead to black ops programs if you want to take the hints of information you find and follow the trails, or become a satellite spotter yourself.

www.studio360.org...

www.nytimes.com...

Granted, these articles are old news, but they give an interesting perspective in taking a practical approach to spying on the spies.
For instance, all satellites, domestic and foreign are tracked and listed on databases that can be found on the www.
You can get satellite predictions on sites likewww.heavens-above.com...

The secret spy stuff is, of course, not listed on the formal online databases, but, there are independent sites, should you care to do some looking, that will be happy to point you in the right direction.

Know your sky, and what's in it.
Spotting satellites will also educate you on the planets, stars the moon, and might, for some of you, stop these ridiculous "OMGWTF teh moon is upside down and doing strang schtuff" topic posts. Really? I swear. Sometimes I see posts that remind me of portrayals of cavemen in retro movies encountering thunder and lightning, getting all scared and freaked out.
Please, a request; before asking about stuff going on the sky, why the moon appears to be doing something strange that you've never ever seen before, what that light is, etc., educate yourself about what's in the sky so you don't keep sounding like cave man seeing thunder and lightning.

Questions to find the answers to that might help you:
1. What is an iridium flare?
2. Atmospheric lensing and meteorological effects on star gazing.
3. When and what are the annual meteor showers, and the differences between meteor, meteorite, and bolide.
4. What do satellites, like the ISS actually look like from the ground?
5. What do Jupiter and Venus look like from naked eye observation, and how might things listed in #2 change the view?

In summary, there's lots of stuff whizzing about over head, some of it secret, and you should take the time to educate yourself on at least the most common items like at least the moon so you can avoid the quivering cave man complex.

All those satellites, with a little bit of atmospheric lensing, plus the right combination of dust in the atmosphere will appear closer than they are. Satellites will be lights in the sky that make absolutely NO sound.
Depending on the direction they are travelling, satellites may create the illusion that they are close and 'flying' an ascent trajectory from the ground into space, or even descending for a landing, when in fact, they're simply following an orbit.
Satellites will suddenly disappear, winking out, when they no longer catch illumination from the sun.

Here's some other stuff concerning I spy...

www.youtube.com...

AHHHH! The vid didn't work.

reply to post by nineix


But you forgot the WOW factor. There are a ton of people on earth nowadays and a lot of them have access to cheaper and cheaper cell phone cams and computers that they can use to share their first time revelations.
When I was a kid I would wander outside and look up at the night sky and see my first meteor or planet or hi flying jet and go ooohh, ahhh, look at that! I'm standing there pointing and shouting, hey look!

And I find myself all alone standing in the dark shouting at no one and feeling a little sheepish. So I grow quite, drop my arm and enjoy it quietly until I become bored and wander inside to watch TV.
No Harm Done...

reply to post by nineix


Thank you for a good laugh at the OMG caveman stuff; it was truly funny. I was just trying to do some research tonight myself on satellite traffic and what corporations owned them--whole different slant on it. But I wanted to ask, I noticed a couple of years ago, a pattern of lights in the sky shaped something like a key, with a rounded end, and then a series of lights in a downward straight line. I thought at the time it was perhaps a series of satellites, rather than a constellation, as to my knowledge,(although limited I admit), there is no constellation fitting this description. Perhaps I am wrong. Would appreciate yours, or someone's, expertise in this matter?
Thanks again for the laugh

Originally posted by tetra50
reply to post by nineix

 

... But I wanted to ask, I noticed a couple of years ago, a pattern of lights in the sky shaped something like a key, with a rounded end, and then a series of lights in a downward straight line. I thought at the time it was perhaps a series of satellites, rather than a constellation, as to my knowledge,(although limited I admit), there is no constellation fitting this description. Perhaps I am wrong. Would appreciate yours, or someone's, expertise in this matter? ...

It was almost certainly a fleet on invading Draconis reptilians coming to subject humanity into slavery through our televisions and smart phones, forcing us to eat GM Foods, floridated water, all posing as important real people like presidents, and political figures. Jenna Bush is one of the reptile supreme commanders as detailed in this video: youtu.be...

Joking aside, when verifying celestial objects, it's a good thing to make note of exact date, time, position on the planet you are viewing from, azimuth en.wikipedia.org...
and weather conditions, and anything else you may consider relevant for someone else to go back, look at and see what you saw.
Saying you saw a strange cluster of stars in the constellation of Gemini a few years ago is impossible to cross check.

Time to the second is pretty important when it comes to satellites since they tend to only have a few minutes of viewing time when you can actually see them, if even that. With an iridium flare, for instance, all you see is just a flash.

Oh....thanks, feel really stupid now. Next time I will keep a journal and take pics, but I appreciate, again, the humor....though I'm not sure if you are making fun of me or what, but if you are, hope you enjoyed it .....

Oh, and I never mentioned Gemini? Just wondered where that assumption came from, and from the planet I am observing from..... Well, of course, everyone says we are in earth, in the Milky Way, but how do we truly know we aren't really in Andromeda, and someone just SAID it was the Milky Way.... Not trying to argue with better minds than mine, just trying to understand and be humble as to my lack....

Sorry misreadm the location on the planet I am viewing from: southeastern united states or hell. Not to say the two are synonymous, think I'm the only one here, really. But where did Gemini come from?

reply to post by tetra50


I am not making fun of you. I have a huge tendency toward sarcasm, but, no, I'm not making fun of you.
The Draconis reptilian thing was total humor.
Mention of Gemini was just a for instance example. I have not seen anything strange in Gemini, nor was I inferring that you had. It was an example of a vague statement.
Don't feel stupid if you're approaching something with scientific interest, but, just don't know best practice and the way to go about it just yet.
For any observation of anything to be acceptable, it needs to be verifiable. Keeping a notebook of observations with times, coordinates, local weather conditions and such gives you credibility, and also a means for others to verify anything unusual you might observe.

reply to post by nineix


Ahhh. I thank you very much for the advice to achieve answers, and appreciate your response, the info and, also, the sarcasm. Perhaps a little insecure with my lack of knowledge here, but wanting to learn, thanks