Bozzlife: Stargazing at StarLink
I come into work pretty early on most days. I like to be in my office by about 6:30 AM in case a system is down I can get it back up and running before my end users show up.
Since I live about half an hour from where I work this typically means it is pretty dark when I leave the house. I let @mrsbozz keep her car in the garage so that means my truck has to sit in the driveway. On clear mornings I love walking out to my truck and looking up at the sky to see the stars and constellations.
I have always been fascinated by the stars and for as long as I can remember I have always wanted a telescope. Every year for Christmas, that was the one gift that was always at the top of my list. For some reason, I never got one though. I don't know if my parents deemed it not practical or if they didn't think I would be able to take care of it.
My parents have always encouraged me to learn and grow and explore so I honestly can't think of a good reason they never even got a cheap telescope for me. Perhaps they didn't want to get me something that was less than spectacular and the cost of good telescopes can be prohibitive.
Many years later I finally got my hands on a relatively decent unit. Sadly I only got to use it a handful of times before the stand ended up getting broken in one of my house moves.
I still have the parts, but I don't know if it actually still works.
I was pretty excited this morning when I walked out into our driveway and I got my first view of the Starlink satellites floating across the sky! I am admittedly on the fence about this awesome feat. I understand the ire many stargazers are feeling about the satellites gumming up the sky.
I also see it as an amazing feet of engineering. There was something about watching the "train" float across the sky that literally took my breath away this morning. The vision for the project is pretty impressive and it could potentially change a lot of lives if the full project comes to fruition.
Love him or hate him Elon Musk definitely takes the phrase "Go big or go home" to a new level.
What do you guys think? Do you like the idea of the StarLink project? Have you gotten the chance to see the satellites yourself?
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So cool you got to see them, so many are in such a rush they never stop to look up and see light like these, the concept of Low Orbit Satellites has really taken off with Starlink 03B and others
Yeah, it really threw me at first. I was like "I can't remember a constellation being so bright and straight!". Then I realized what it was. Plus they were moving and more and more just keep coming!
I havent had a clear sky to see them but would love to one day I will :)
Ever plan on setting up your telescope again its something I always wanted as well
I'd love to. Like I said, I am not sure it will even work. The stand is what broke so I would need to rig a new way to mount it.
Depending on where we move that may be something i consider getting
wait, you could actually see the satellites from your house? I am confused.
You are right about Musk doing the "go big or go home" stuff. That guy is a game-changer for sure.
You can't see them outright unless you use some kind of magnification, but with the naked eye it is a uniform line of little lights floating across the sky (assuming the sun is in the right position). I couldn't think of anything else it could be but the StarLink satellites.
https://hackaday.com/2019/05/31/see-starlinks-space-train-before-it-leaves-the-station/
This article is from the first batch. He recently released another batch.