Several hundred spacecraft now orbit around our planet. Many of those in low earth orbit (LEO) are bright enough to be seen by the naked eye as they streak across the night sky.

A video made by Gary Eldridge from his backyard with an amateur telescope
of a solar transit by the ISS and docked Shuttle. For more details, see the posting here:
Capturing solar transits of ISS and Shuttle from a back yard - Space for All blog - Mar.13.08

• sci.astro. satellite
• Ed's ISS Transits Page
  
• Computing sun & moon transits by the International Space Station - Thomas Fly
• SatTrackCam Leiden station (b)log

The easiest way to get started perhaps is to use the Heavens Above online program to find the time and coordinates of satellites that are passing over your location tonight.

Remember to bookmark the prediction page that is returned after you submit your location information. The bookmark holds your location so that the next time that you click on this bookmark, you will get the satellite visibility page already setup for you.

See also the information at Project Starshine in which a mirror covered spherical satellite was tracked by students: Beginner's guide FAQ.

The Astronomical Leagues satellite observing program is called the Earth Orbiting Satellite Observers Club (EOSOC) and teir website offers resources for the satellite observing enthusiast such as this tutorial.

As you get more involved in satellite observing, you probably will want to use one of the offline tracking programs, many of which are freeware. Many of these provide star charting as well and thus can lead you into general astronomy.

Twisst.nl supports a Twitter service that tweets you when the ISS is going to fly over your location. Follow the Twisst account to get the notices. It uses your Twitter account profile information to determine your location.

Here's an overview of satellite observing:

• How to Spot and Track Satellites - Universe Today - July.11.13

Thierry Legault, astrophotographer extraordinaire, talks with Nancy Atkinson of UniverseToday.com about the art of observing and imaging spacecraft in orbit:

• How to Avoid Bad Astrophotography: Advice from Thierry Legault - Universe Today - Mar.2.12
• Thierry Legault: Astrophotography is an Adrenaline Rush' - Universe Today - Mar.1.12

Here are interesting historical accounts of a nationwide program in the US started in the 1950s to organize amateur astronomers in the tracking of satellites:

• Operation Moonwatch:
  • Operation Moonwatch - Leaping Robot Blog/Patrick McCray - Feb.6.13
• Keep Watching the Skies: The Story of Operation Moonwatch & the Dawn of the Space Age by Patrick McCray, 2008.
• Citizen Science, Old-School Style: The True Tale of Operation Moonwatch - Universe Today- Mar.15.13
• Remembering "Project Moonwatch" - SkyTel Beyond the Page/SkyandTelescope.com
• CN FORUMS ARCHIVE Telescope Reviews: Moonwatch telescopes

Run in your browser the Satellite Tracking Tool provided to HobbySpace by BINARY SPACE .
The program allows you to track a large set of satellites in low earth and geostationary orbits.
(Note: the program requires Microsoft Silverlight, version 5 or higher, as well as the latest version of your preferred browser. Currently the program works on the Microsoft Windows platform only.)

The program also presents satellites in a choice of 3-D views.

Use the program's interactive controls to obtain data on satellites, to predict their orbits, and more.

Visual Satellite Observer
This web site is devoted to amateur observations of satellites. Lots of info on everything related to seeing spacecraft passing overhead.

• SeeSat-L - the mailing list for visual satellite observers. Many of the most advanced amateur observers participate in this group.
• How Amateur Sleuths Spot Satellites - SPACE.com - Feb.4.09

EOSOC - Earth Orbiting Satellite Observers Club
This group, sponsored by the Astronomical League, is administered by the Colorado Springs Astronomical Society. The club provides lots of resources for the satellite watcher. such as this Tutorial.

Google Maps/Google EarthTools
The Google Map system can be used by outsiders to develop interesting utilities with it. Here are Google map based tools that track satellites:

• Real Time Satellite Tracking - www.n2yo.com
  
  • Satellite categories
    
• Analytical Graphics provides a database of 13,000 objects in orbit for use with Google Earth:
  • SatelliteDatabase.kmz
  • Analytical Graphics, Inc. - Downloads: Satellite Database
• DogstarRadio.com Sirius Radio Satellite and Repeater Map
• Dick's Rocket Dungeon: Real-time satellite tracking in a Google Maps mashup

• Human Space Flight (HSF) - Realtime Data
  • Sightings
• NASA Skywatch Applet
• NASA's app for iPhone and iPod Touch - provides dates and crossing times, including those for particular US National Parks.
• ISS Sightings - NASA JSC
• Science@NASA Realtime
  • J-Track Applet
  • J-Track 3D Applet
  • J-Pass Applet

• Satellite Tracker at SpaceWeather.com provides a list for US and Canadian locations of upcoming flyovers of spacecraft like the ISS and Bigelow Genesis I and II.
  • Global Flybys is available for other locations around the world.
• Space-Track - US government site for access to space object tracking data. Requires a free registration.
  • CelesTrak: Important Notice - periodic updates on the efforts to deal with the new US restrictions on orbital tracking data.
  • Satellite watchers worried about Air Force restrictions - Spaceflight Now - Mar.2.05
• Satellite_database - Union of Concerned Scientists
  • Union Of Concerned Scientists Updates Free Database - Space-for-All - Feb.2.09
• AMSAT - Online Satellite Pass Predictions
  • AMSAT - Amateur Satellite Summary
• Gpredict - a "Free, Real-Time Satellite Tracking and Orbit Prediction Software" package
  • Track satellites with Gpredict - ghacks.net - Sept.16.10
  • Browse Gpredict Files on SourceForge.net
• SOCRATES - Satellite Orbital Conjunction Reports Assessing Threatening Encounters in Space at Celestrak
• Top 50 - List of Bright Satellites
• Brooke's Astronomy - info & links
• Celestial Observer - calsky.com - lots of info and resources about satellites observation
• Muskegon Astronomical Society
  
• Satellite Tracking Houston
• Satellite Control Center SatcoDX - satellite footprints
• Satellite Observations - Sky and Telescope
• SatTrackCam Leiden satellite tracking camera station
  • SatTrackCam Leiden station blog
• Sky & Telescope - Satellite Observing
  Information and links related to satellite observing at Sky and Telescope, a leading amateur astronomy magazine.
• Space Data Association: "an international organisation formed in 2009 dedicated to safe and responsible satellite operations, including the prevention of collisions in space and improving satellite communications."
• Star Hustler
  Naked-eye astronomy and satellite viewing. Based on the PBS series.
• Starshine Student Satellite
  These student built satellites consist of a small globes covered with mirrors (like a disco ball). The mirrors are polished by students around the world. Students track the satellites during the period they are in orbit and record their observations online. Eventually the orbit decays due to friction with the atmosphere. The student data give information on the atmosphere and the solar heating. This site provides nformation on how to track the satellite:
• Ephemerides - Astrosurf Magazine (in French)
• Amateur Observers' Program - UMD
  • Originally designed to support the NASA Discovery mission Deep Impact, this site provides info on how to track "asteroids Vesta and Ceres in support of the NASA Discovery mission Dawn and comet Hartley 2 in support of EPOXI"
• Willie Koorts - Lots of Satellite Observation resources
• The numbers game - Space Review - Aug.13.09 - Brian Weeden gives an extensive review of how orbital objects are monitored, counted and tracked.
• Mobile devices:
  • Satellite tracking apps for iPhone, iPad, etc.
  • Satellite AR by AGI works on Android devices. Shows satellites passing within the solid angle of the screen as you hold it up to the sky:
    • Ever Wonder What Satellites Are Flying Above Your Head? - The Launch Pad - Dec.9.10
    • Satellite Augmented Reality now in Android Market - AGI Blogs - Nov.11.10
• Articles
  • How to Spot and Track Satellites - Universe Today - July.11.13
  • How to Spot Satellites - SPACE.com - June.19.09
  • How Amateur Sleuths Spot Satellites - SPACE.com - Feb.4.09
  • GoogleSatTrack - ATV/Jules Verne & International Space Station - Mar.08
  • Amateur watchers invited to 'Rosetta Up Close' photo contest - ESA - Feb.28.05
  • Surfin': Tracking Spacecraft Online By Stan Horzepa, WA1LOU - ARRLWeb - Sept.17.04
  • Satellite Spotting: How to Find Iridium, Shuttle or the ISS - Space.com - May.24.02

Bigelow Aerospace launched its first inflatable space habitat prototype module - called Genesis-1 - on July 12, 2006. Several more modules will follow it to orbit in the coming years. Here are some resources on tracking and observing these modules.

Genesis-1 has been labeled object 29252 by the U.S. Space Command. It has the nternational Designation Code of 2006-029-A. The module follows a 345 x 349 mile (555 x 561 kilometer) orbit and is at a 64.5 degree inclination.

• Tracking Genesis I + Tracking Genesis II
• Real Time Satellite Tracking - www.n2yo.com
• Bigelow Module: Orbital Updates - LiveScience Blog - July.13.06 - Leonard David

NASA: ISS Passes