Can you see the running satellite with the naked eye?

The running satellite can be seen by the naked eye.

Like the planets and the moon, artificial satellites emit light from the reflected sunlight, and their metal shells and solar panels are good reflecting surfaces.

Because the lower the sun sets, the higher the shadow of the earth will be, so the best time to search for satellites is the first hour after nightfall in spring and summer (in autumn and winter, the visibility of satellites will be reduced due to the higher position of the shadow of the earth in the sky).

However, like a solar eclipse, satellites that enter the earth's shadow will "disappear" because the sun is blocked. Satellites are small and close to the earth, so it is easy to "disappear".

Extended data

More often, the bright spot you can see walking quickly between constellations is the artificial satellite. Satellites that are easily visible to the naked eye are usually as big as a truck. They move at a speed of 28,000 km/h at a height of 300-500 km, and can cross the sky in two or three minutes.

Due to the fast flight speed, these satellites have changed their relative positions with us, their reflecting surfaces have changed their angles, and their brightness may soar in a few seconds.

Iridium satellite, for example, is not a monster, only the size of a car, but its biggest feature is that it always aims at the ground with a large antenna, which has three polished metal surfaces and a door panel, and its reflectivity is very high. When sunlight is reflected to the ground through them.

You can see a very bright flash. In a few seconds, its brightness will reach the peak of -7 or even -8, almost comparable to that of the moon.

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