Satellites over Columbia, SC

Although most of the time astronomers are irritated by the number of manmade objects in orbit about our planet, there are times when seeing these satellites is nevertheless fun for the amateur astronomer. Besides, it doesn't take any fancy equipment to actually see many of the satellites. Best of all, you don't have to stay up too late. Satellites are most visible in the hours after sunset or before sunrise. One of the brightest of the permanent satellites is the ISS or International Space Station.

Sighting opportunities for ISS, the Space Shuttle, and other satellites and their orbital elements can be found at:

• Heavens-Above is one of our favorite sites. You can register and bookmark your own observing locations. Below are quicklinks to predictions for some of our observing locations.
  • Columbia, SC
    
  • Cromer Rd. (Sumter National Forest)
    
  • Congaree Swamp
    
  • MAC-Hunter Site
    
  • MAC-Durieux site.
  • Sugar Loaf Obs.
  
  
• NASA's Shuttle Web
• JTrack and JPass are interesting graphical views of satellite visibility (including ISS, the Shuttle, Hubble, COBE, and others). Really neat if your JAVA works!!!
• Visual Satellite Observer's Home Page (VSHOP) is recommended for learning more about tracking satellites!