Starlink : Satellite Spotting

[Comga]

I have yet to see a Starlink train, but am struggling to get the times right.
I used heavens above for the last couple of days, but during the predicted times nothing was visible, even though they were supposed to be bighter than Venus which was clearly visible.
I just tried three different sites (satflare.com, me.cmdr2.org/starlink, heavens-above) and getting three different times for my location? It also does not help that there does not seem to be a consistent naming of the sats.

Based on your experience, what is the best website to track the sats?
Thanks!!

I trust Heavens Above
Be sure to set your location correctly and check the time offset to UTC. It’s easy to get the longitude reversed East to west.
Their page on the leading V1L2 satellite says Heavens-Above pulled down the orbit data today, so the predictions should be real good.
Note that if the data gets stale, while the orbits are being raised the passes will be a few minutes later and a bit farther East each day. This happened for my observation of the V1L2 train above.
Note that Heavens-Above says that the first satellite is already at 370 km, 100 km higher that it’s initial orbit, and that they are all above Magnitude 5 for fairly low passes tonight here.  These will be hard to spot in anything but totally clear skies.

[niwax]

I have yet to see a Starlink train, but am struggling to get the times right.
I used heavens above for the last couple of days, but during the predicted times nothing was visible, even though they were supposed to be bighter than Venus which was clearly visible.
I just tried three different sites (satflare.com, me.cmdr2.org/starlink, heavens-above) and getting three different times for my location? It also does not help that there does not seem to be a consistent naming of the sats.

Based on your experience, what is the best website to track the sats?
Thanks!!

I trust Heavens Above
Be sure to set your location correctly and check the time offset to UTC.

This is the most important thing and my one annoyance with Heavens Above. If you don't explicitly set a location it defaults to null,null as opposed to most websites which either prompt you or try to infer a location. I've looked forward to seeing satellites a few times, luckily noticing the error before heading out.

[gongora]

One thing to keep in mind if you're not looking right after the launch is that they start spreading out quickly.  I think a week ago the last launch was already a train that would take over half an hour to fully see.  It's a good idea to find one of the animations showing all of the satellites and find the ID number of one from the leading edge of the train to make sure you're looking at the right time/place to see most of them.  Choosing a random satellite from the launch and getting the pass time for it might not give you the desired results.

[2megs]

Heavens Above now has preliminary pass information for this morning's launch.

https://heavens-above.com/PassSummary.aspx?satid=72001

[gongora]

https://twitter.com/TSKelso/status/1222747573951389697

1/3 If you’ve been wondering why you can’t see the new #Starlink satellites in the Northern Hemisphere right now, here’s why. This shows the areas on the Earth where STARLINK-1194 is visible—more than 10 deg above the horizon, Sun below -6 deg, & satellite in sunlight--each day.

2/3 Here is a short video clip showing these visibility areas day by day from Jan 30 to Feb 13. While this video assumes no changes in the orbit (maneuvers), it clearly shows what I refer to as visibility seasons for a satellite: https://celestrak.com/pub/video/STARLINK-1194-Visibility.mov

3/3 These visibility seasons are why you can see the ISS for a week or two and then it isn't visible for another week or two. I find it fascinating how the seasons evolve for different types of orbits. I hope you do, too. [Images generated with #STK Coverage]

[FutureSpaceTourist]

Here’s that twitter thread, and referenced video, on YouTube:

[AndrewRG10]

Starlink L5 just flew over my house 45 minutes after sunset at altitude of 350km. 1 fairly bright one in the lead separated half a degree from the rest which were much dimmer. Even with some decently powered binoculars the 59 in the trail were quite dim, probably Mag 3 or 4.
Definitely coolest thing I've ever seen but I will say they look better a couple days after launch

[gongora]

https://twitter.com/ralfvandebergh/status/1243175334817734657

My best close-up image of a Starlink-2 satellite, this frame from an imaging session on March 24 shows clearly the (flat) satellite bus and solar panel. Info: https://spaceweathergallery.com/indiv_upload.php?upload_id=160272

[HVM]

https://twitter.com/turndownformars/status/1233235459762843653
There's old tweet for size, (4x15 m). It's not far for my estimate; from F9 fairing inside diameter 4.5 m and SpX CAD visualizations ~3 x 1.5 x 12 m

[niwax]

Slightly postponed my daily isolation walk to find a murmuration of Starlinks crossing just under the big dipper.

Does one of the tracking afficionados on here know if one of the satellites is ever so slightly out of plane (second image)?

[harrystranger]

I finally did my first Starlink spotting attempt. It wasn't the best (I'll blame allergies) but it's something! + The list of sats I was looking for.
https://twitter.com/HarryStrangerPG/status/1253628876128784384?s

[ZChris13]

The June 4th ~9:35 PM eastern time pass for the Southeastern United States was absolutely beautiful. They were glittering.

[WannaWalnetto]

I’m not sure if this should go in the v1.0 L7 Update / Discussion thread, or the spotting thread at https://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=47030.0 ; or the current Starlink general discussion thread at https://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=48297.0 ; or possibly even the thread about the effect of satellite constellations on astronomy thread https://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=48302.0 . 

Since I think this might have something to do with the new sunglasses on the pizza boxes, I’ll put it in the L7 discussion and trust that the mods will move it if need be.

Let me preface this by saying I am a novice at spotting sky objects.  Using the data found at n2yo.com, I saw that I had two visible passes of the ISS about an hour after dark occurring the last two days (June 3rd and 4th).  I had no trouble spotting the station, and it was quite a treat!  I was surprised by how bright it actually appeared as it moved quickly across the sky.

Based on that success, I thought I would enjoy seeing Starlink.  I found that the Starlink train would be passing almost directly overhead about 20 minutes after the ISS (yesterday the 4th).  I’ve seen many posts / pictures in these forums describing observations from all around the globe, so I thought this would be easy.

It wasn’t. I could NOT see the train until it was almost directly overhead, and even then I almost missed it.  To my eyes it was the faintest hair-thin wisp of a line that I would never have seen if I did not know exactly where to look, and when.  What I expected to be a several minute viewing window lasted a little more than 40 seconds for me.

Since I don’t have any previous experience viewing a Starlink train, I can’t tell how the L7 bunch compares to the other launches.  But this pass came almost exactly 24 hours after launch, so I expected it to be much more visible than it was. 

Does this mean that the new sunshade is having the desired effect on visibility?

[salpun]

Probable means they are edge on already.

[cppetrie]

I’m not sure if this should go in the v1.0 L7 Update / Discussion thread, or the spotting thread at https://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=47030.0 ; or the current Starlink general discussion thread at https://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=48297.0 ; or possibly even the thread about the effect of satellite constellations on astronomy thread https://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=48302.0 . 

Since I think this might have something to do with the new sunglasses on the pizza boxes, I’ll put it in the L7 discussion and trust that the mods will move it if need be.

Let me preface this by saying I am a novice at spotting sky objects.  Using the data found at n2yo.com, I saw that I had two visible passes of the ISS about an hour after dark occurring the last two days (June 3rd and 4th).  I had no trouble spotting the station, and it was quite a treat!  I was surprised by how bright it actually appeared as it moved quickly across the sky.

Based on that success, I thought I would enjoy seeing Starlink.  I found that the Starlink train would be passing almost directly overhead about 20 minutes after the ISS (yesterday the 4th).  I’ve seen many posts / pictures in these forums describing observations from all around the globe, so I thought this would be easy.

It wasn’t. I could NOT see the train until it was almost directly overhead, and even then I almost missed it.  To my eyes it was the faintest hair-thin wisp of a line that I would never have seen if I did not know exactly where to look, and when.  What I expected to be a several minute viewing window lasted a little more than 40 seconds for me.

Since I don’t have any previous experience viewing a Starlink train, I can’t tell how the L7 bunch compares to the other launches.  But this pass came almost exactly 24 hours after launch, so I expected it to be much more visible than it was. 

Does this mean that the new sunshade is having the desired effect on visibility?

My understanding is that the sunshades are for use when they are in their operational orbit and orientation. Also, only one of the satellites from this launch has a shade. As another post noted, they have also changed the orientation during orbit raise to reduce brightness starting with this launch. My guess is that the orientation change is most responsible for the reduction in brightness. The sats do change brightness as they arc across the sky as well.

On a side note, the length of the show depends on how much the sats have spread out. The closer to launch the closer they are spaced and the quicker the show is over. I spotted the last batch about 5 days after launch and it lasted a solid couple minutes but they were much more spread out.

[gongora]

The June 4th ~9:35 PM eastern time pass for the Southeastern United States was absolutely beautiful. They were glittering.

They were beautiful and glittering for the one second I saw them through a gap in the clouds, with lightning behind me to the west.  I didn't bother trying to get up at 5:30am to see them again..

[Semmel]

From Berlin, they just passed overhead. I didnt count them but seemed many. Also, interestingly, they all flared at the same location in the sky. I havent seen that before in starlinks passing by. This means, they all had the same orientation at the same location in sky, which means they are well in control and healthy.

[guckyfan]

From Berlin, they just passed overhead. I didnt count them but seemed many. Also, interestingly, they all flared at the same location in the sky. I havent seen that before in starlinks passing by. This means, they all had the same orientation at the same location in sky, which means they are well in control and healthy.

I was out for a look at 11:20 PM yesterday, also Berlin. The sky was only slightly hazed but I did see nothing. Very disappointing after I had seen a few vey bright through a small hole in the clouds a day earlier.

OT Edit: Where do you come from if you call a Schrippe Semmel?

[Semmel]

From Berlin, they just passed overhead. I didnt count them but seemed many. Also, interestingly, they all flared at the same location in the sky. I havent seen that before in starlinks passing by. This means, they all had the same orientation at the same location in sky, which means they are well in control and healthy.

I was out for a look at 11:20 PM yesterday, also Berlin. The sky was only slightly hazed but I did see nothing. Very disappointing after I had seen a few vey bright through a small hole in the clouds a day earlier.

OT Edit: Where do you come from if you call a Schrippe Semmel?

I only saw them 20 deg from zenith, they were pretty hard to see in the city glare + twilight + haze. I had the advantage that I knew where to look and I went 5 mins early to get my eyes dark adapted.

PS:
I know its off topic, but ohh well... A Schrippe has primarily this shape:

The image I use for my user pic is the Austrian 'Semmel', sometimes called 'Kaisersemmel'. I got that name after a friend continuously called me that whenever I made a minor mistake in the execution of an otherwise brilliant plan.. which lead to its ultimate demise. And I was born in a small town near Bernburg called Strenzfeld. To all you American readers: it is as funny as it sounds Try say it out loud with a bad German accent! Also, it fits my user name pretty well in concept and tone. It doesnt get more backwater than that.

[CJ]

Anyone having any luck spotting Starlink "sky trains"?

I'm using Heavens Above, and stayed up until after 4am this morning, trying to spot the Starkink 8 sats. A pass was predicted at mag 1.7, becoming visible right near Jupiter and Saturn (thus easy to spot, I thought).

I'm in a fairly dark sky (well away from cities and towns) high altitude location in northern Arizona, and I have absolutely no trouble at all seeing Polaris as a bright star (even at partial disk and dawn) at mag 8.7 with unaided vision (it's one of the few stars I can both identify and name). Jupiter and Saturn were very, very bright.  Yet, even alternating good binoculars with unaided eyesight, I could not see ANY sats along the Starlink predicted path, though I did spot a couple of sats (including one heading ENE) but none even close to Starlink's predicted path and heading. I kept trying for about ten minutes, just in case.

I've tried Starlink train spotting several times in recent months, always within a few days of launch, and so far, nothing.