How to spot Starlink
Four things decide whether you see it: timing, direction, a dark enough sky and a recent launch. Here is what to do.
1. Go out at the right minute
Look up your city and note the start time of the pass. Get outside five minutes early: your eyes need a few minutes away from screens and lights to adjust, and predictions for new satellites can shift by a minute or two.
2. Face where it appears
Each pass lists the compass direction it appears from, how high it climbs (in degrees above the horizon) and where it fades. Use the compass on your phone. As a rule of thumb, your fist held at arm's length covers about 10°; 90° is straight overhead.
3. Know what you are looking for
- A steady point of light, no blinking (blinking red or green lights are aircraft).
- It moves steadily, about as fast as a high airliner, and crosses the sky in a few minutes.
- A train is a line of these, one after another, sometimes dozens.
- Passes often end before the horizon: the satellite flies into Earth's shadow and fades out.
4. Read the brightness
We show an approximate magnitude: lower is brighter. About 2–3 is easy even with streetlights around; 4 needs a suburban sky; 5 needs a dark place away from town. Our estimate can be off by a magnitude, because the brightness depends on how each satellite is angled to the Sun.
5. Pick a dark, open spot
Low passes need a clear view of the horizon. Turn off the phone flashlight, and avoid looking at your screen between passes. Clouds, haze and a bright Moon all make faint passes harder.
Questions
What time is best to see Starlink?
In the first one to two hours after it gets dark, or the last one to two hours before dawn. Around midnight the satellites are usually in Earth's shadow.
Do I need a telescope to see Starlink?
No. A fresh train is easily visible to the naked eye. Binoculars are too narrow to follow a fast satellite and do not help much.
How fast does Starlink move across the sky?
A low satellite crosses from horizon to horizon in about 4 to 6 minutes, steadily, without blinking.
Why did Starlink disappear in the middle of the sky?
It flew into Earth's shadow. Passes often end high in the sky, especially later in the evening.