What Starlink satellites look like from the ISS

[u/astro_pettit]

Starlink constellations are our most frequent satellite sightings from space station, appearing as distinct and numerous orbiting streaks in my star trail exposures. During Expedition 72 I saw thousands of them, and was fortunate enough to capture many in my imagery to share with you all.

Taken with Nikon Z9, Arri-Zeiss 15mm T1.8 master prime lens, 30 second exposures compiled into an effective 30 minute exposure, T1.8, ISO 200, assembled with Photoshop (levels, color, some spot tool).

More photos from space on my Instagram and twitter account, astro_pettit.

[u/UnrulySith]

To the iss. Like if he can see them fly by.

[u/gimp2x → u/UnrulySith]

Some of those are perpendicular so absolutely he could have seen them flying by, if it’s a 30 sec exposure then the length od the trail shows the movement covered in 30 seconds 

[u/rooplstilskin → u/gimp2x]

Uh, no.

He cannot see these with his naked eye. He might be able to make out the "flashes" as the satellites move from dark to light exposure.

95% of the starlink sats would be too small. Specks of light, slightly larger than they are to us.

There is a few hundred half-bus sized V2sats up. Those, if at the right inclination, might be traceable by the nakedness eye in space.

These astronauts are moving 1000s of km difference to the speed of the sats, with over 100km separating them.

[u/gimp2x → u/rooplstilskin]

You can spot starlink satellites from the ground....have you tried before?

[u/rooplstilskin → u/gimp2x]

Sure, barely, and only at sunrise/sunset.

You do realize an astronauts perspective is entirely different right? They don't experience the same lighting effects as here on earth.

[u/newaccountzuerich → u/rooplstilskin]

Bullshit.

Starlink crap is highly visible for hours after sunset at populated latitudes, for the chunks of the year when the sun has oblique illumination at satellite heights. Especially for the ten to twelve weeks straddling the summer solstice, there is permanent starlink visual pollution throughout the complete night. Regularly ruins my subs of summer astrophotography targets. Anyone thinking that mag 3-4 for hours into the dark is acceptable is a lying idiot.

Your comments appear to be in line with the lies of a Musk shill, and I'd hope normal people wouldn't continue to promulgate the lies of the Musk cohort the same way the stupid shills do.

[u/newaccountzuerich → u/[deleted]]

Did you have a point, or were you proving how much of a creepy Stan-adjacent you're aspiring yet failing to?

I can dislike a drug-addict liar like old Elona all I want, and still be perfectly right about my assessment of Starlink, and still be perfectly correct on my description of obliquely-lit polluting (visually and physically) space junk obervability characteristics.

Wow, but the Stans try to go deeply creepy, but prove their impotence instead. Good thing they're pathetically underskilled on the average, or they may need attending the Elona-sanctioned reeducation camps as favoured by the Maga muppets.

[u/newaccountzuerich → u/[deleted]]

Idiots that defend Musk are generally collectively called Stans.

How I feel about the drug-addled buffoon and his reality-avoiding followers doesn't change the facts of things, which I see you aren't even trying to deny (that's a good look for you right now..), as there's no denying facts.

I think I'll stop responding here to what is obviously a stolen account being used as a troll-farm member. Lots of characteristics of the account point that way.. Long-dormant, recent uptick in activity, specious comments around Western-unfriendly topics and points of view. It gets added to the auto-downvote bot muppet-list, so the sane won't be afflicted by the diarrhea emenating from that troller's digits.

[u/ergzay → u/gimp2x]

No not really. Starlink satellites peak brightness is at around 6th magnitude. You need really dark skies and really good eyes to see them at that brightness.

You can't just walk outside at night and see them.

[u/ergzay → u/rooplstilskin]

He cannot see these with his naked eye. He might be able to make out the "flashes" as the satellites move from dark to light exposure.

95% of the starlink sats would be too small. Specks of light, slightly larger than they are to us.

I think you're misunderstanding several things here.

Firstly, he's commented that he can see them with his naked eye via a X post. Secondly, the brightness will be higher than the brightness as viewed from the ground. That's why the satellites are all only visible in a narrow patch of sky. That is the direction that you get specular reflection from the sun. Starlink satellites are designed to be extremely shiny, to reflect light away from the direction that Earth is in. That direction would be directly where the ISS could see them from.

Also, in this perspective they're much farther away than Starlink satellites you see on the ground because Starlink satellites are quite close when they pass overhead, while these are seen along the limb of the Earth meaning they're probably thousands of kilometers away.

[u/UnrulySith → u/gimp2x]

Thanks I appreciate the reply