Cosmic clutter. (observing artificial satellites in the night sky)

From: Discover | Date: May 1, 1998| Author: Berman, Bob | Copyright information

We're put thousands of objects into orbit. Many are visible--but only now.

The night sky seldom offers a "first"--an event never before seen, even by the most grizzled observer. This past January featured one of those rare spectacles, when the asteroid-observing spacecraft NEAR became the first interplanetary craft visible to the naked eye. As the craft zipped in for a close approach (using Earth's gravity to change its trajectory), the sun glinted off its large solar pa...

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