How to Spot a Decaying Satellite
Warning!
Never attempt to observe objects close to the sun without taking the proper precautions.
In particular, never point optical instruments near the sun and look through them,
or you risk permanent eye damage or blindness.
If you have been notified, it means that the satellite's orbit during the re-entry prediction
window will pass over your location. In other words, there is a good chance you will be able
to see the final stage of atmospheric burn-up.
The notifications are sent when there are some passes in the second-to-last and last
space track reports where the re-entry prediction window is expected to
decrease.
It follows that the chances of seeing the re-entry will
increase if the prediction window is narrower.
In general, with a final prediction window of
30 minutes and a predicted pass, there is a
good chance of observing the re-entry.
However, even in these cases, the chances are still relatively low: Bad weather, a full moon, or daylight will make it harder to spot the re-entry.
With that being said, don’t lose enthusiasm—unless, there’s always a chance! Keep trying, because sometimes the unexpected happens!
Step 1: The Notification
You will recieve a notification on your telegram bot like this one:
Decay Epoch: The predicted impact epoch from Space Track in your timezone.
Next Report: The next report is expected in about 2 hours; if it says 0 hours, it’s the last one.
Pass Dates: Predicted rise and set dates in your timezone for the satellite passes. These times should be the most accurate since SkyDecay always uses the latest orbital data.
Link to HA: Link to the HA all-passes table, predicted for your location. The dates could be slightly different.
Sat. name on Stellarium: Name of the satellite to search on Stellarium (Note that not all satellites are always present)
Step 2: Check The Track Map
The track map represents the satellite's orbit ground track, and the red track indicates the region where the satellite is higher on the horizon by 10°.
Step 3: Heavens Above
Opening the HA link, you should see a table with all the predicted passes above your location. First, make sure the timezone is correct. Then, you can find the notified passes by comparing the rise (start) and set (end) times. By clicking on the date, you can see more details about the pass.
Step 4: Stellarium Mobile
Search the satellite on Stellarium Mobile
Stellarium Mobile is a great tool because it allows you to directly follow the satellite by pointing it with your phone. It becomes easier to spot it, and you can practice on some visible ISS passes, for example.
Open the search tool and type the name suggested in the notification. It's always NORAD followed by the satellite ID. If the satellite is not present in the Stellarium archives, you can stop here.
Set the predicted pass time
Set the rise time given by the notification to see if the satellite effectively rises above the horizon. Then, wait until that time, go outside, and follow the satellite by pointing your phone while simultaneously checking for any slow, shooting star-like trails.
Check the visibility with Stellarium Pro
With stellarium PRO you can see directly the visibility graph