I have updated and fixed the files for tracking satellites and the ISS on Google Earth. You are no longer offered driving directions to the satellites either.
Categorized | Google Earth, Try This
Satellite Tracking Google Earth Files Update
Posted on 20 April 2008 · 1,302 views · 35 words.
This post was written by:
ttfnRob - who has written 486 posts on Orbiting Frog.
I am studying for my PhD in Astronomy at Cardiff University in the UK. Star formation is my main area of research but really I like anything to do with space, science and the internet.
3 Comments For This Post
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September 8th, 2008 at 3:14 am
Hi Rob,
I live on the south shore of Long Island facing the Atlantic to the south. I am trying to locate the ISS by using Google Earth. When I see it, I know it but I can’t prove to my friends that’s what it is. They try to tell me it’s Venus, which it ain’t.
Can you help?
Cheers,
Michael Safdiah
September 9th, 2008 at 8:59 am
Sure I can help: in fact I think the answer is simpler than you might think. The ISS moves very quickly over the night sky - the space of just a few minutes. Venus does not detectably move (other than setting slowly, like the Sun and stars).
So if the bright object you can see is moving and is gone in a few minutes, then yes it is the International Space Station. If it stays approximately still then it is likely Venus.
I should say that if it is Venus, try and get a good pair of binoculars or a telescope and look at it. Venus shows phases, like the Moon’s phases, which are quite satisfying to see. Worth noting too, is the fact that Venus is roughly the same size as the Earth - and since you see it as a dot in the sky this gives you an inkling of the scale of the Solar System.
I hope this helps.
October 17th, 2008 at 3:01 am
It helped, and it also confused me. I thought the ISS was in geosynchronous (sp) orbit, and would be in the same part of the sky all year long. The bright object I see appears almost rectangular, and is the brightest object in the sky. Also, it is not near the horizon.
Thus enlightened, I send you my thanks!
Michael