Here’s a nicely done overview of how to observe satellites passing overhead from your backyard and without a telescope: How to Spot and Track Satellites – Universe Today – July.11.13
Find more about tracking spacecraft in the HobbySpace Satellite Observing section.
You can also use the the Satellite Tracking Tool from BINARY SPACE hosted here at HobbySpace. to determine when particular satellites will pass over your location.
Astrophotographer Thierry Legault has posted a couple of great pictures he made of the Chinese space station “Tiangong-1, with the Shenzhou-10 module docked”, as it crosses in front of the sun:
Click on these thumbnails for the large versions:
![Thierry-Legault-transit_tiangong1_shenzhou10_ha_50_1371794600_fpthumb[1]](https://i0.wp.com/hobbyspace.com/Blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Thierry-Legault-transit_tiangong1_shenzhou10_ha_50_1371794600_fpthumb1.jpg?resize=183%2C183)
Astrophotographer Ralf Vandebergh writes about imaging the Russian Bion-M1 satellite during its recent flight: Ground-based Images of Bion-M1 Spacecraft – Space Safety Magazine – June.5.13.
He captured an image of the spacecraft with “surprising resolution [at] a range of 581 kilometers and an altitude of 575 kilometers”.
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:
Find more about modern tracking of spacecraft in the HobbySpace Satellite Observing section.
The SpaceX Dragon launched yesterday will be visible in the southern hemisphere tonight as it moves towards the ISS: SpaceX’s Dragon Space Capsule Visible in Southern Night Sky – Space.com.
Find more about tracking spacecraft in the HobbySpace Satellite Observing section.