Feb 12 2007
With a good pair of binoculars is it possible to see space station?
aorton27 asked:
Say with a 30x80mm or 50×100 lens binoculars and a very steady hand is it possible to see any kind of detail of the space station or satelites as they pass overhead?
Cdn, I can see Jupiter with the ***** eye as well. Wondering if I can see detail with binoculars.
As in detail I mean the general shape and maybe see the solar arrays.
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Say with a 30x80mm or 50×100 lens binoculars and a very steady hand is it possible to see any kind of detail of the space station or satelites as they pass overhead?
Cdn, I can see Jupiter with the ***** eye as well. Wondering if I can see detail with binoculars.
As in detail I mean the general shape and maybe see the solar arrays.
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8 responses so far
hmm im not sure but with smaller binoculur zoom i saw the craters on the moon so mabye
You can see it even without binoculars.
Yes, I’ve looked at the Space Station through only a pair of 10 x 50 binoculars and it is definitely noticeable as not being a point of light like a star but has a definite shape. I though it looked vaguely like a letter T. It’s very bright and there is a lot of glare, so I’ve been meaning to try this in twilight to see if there’s a better view. As for other satellites, I can’t say I’ve ever seen any detail.
You won’t see minute details, but you can see it as a small bright dot in the night sky with the ***** eye if you have 20/20 vision. You’d have to use a telescope with a higher power, but good luck locking on to an object traveling 17,000 mph at an altitude of 200 miles up.
non-stellar, yes.
detail, no.
I doubt you can see any kind of recognizable shape unless you happen to catch it passing in front of the moon.
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ISS is visible to ***** eye.But you must know when it make a passage in your area.You may get this information NASA /JPL wesite.Space station is now a big object about the size of 5 school buses+Its solar panels.
i live in texas and at one point when the ss passed over us we could see a tiny white dot with the bare eye and see it quite good with a good pair of binocculars. so if you have a lucky oppertunity like i did yes it is quite possible