Will they appear again tonight at 21.59
Mike is there another show on tonight do you know?
Yes 22:34 (UK time) lower in the sky so not expecting much
2 Likes
Thursday and Friday look better as they are higher elevation passes. Still worth a look tonight if clear.
3 Likes
Wednesday 22 April - 4.04am. Not for me, there are a number of different passes in the wee small hours during the week
9.34pm, Starlink-5, 6
Thursday 23 April - 3.06am. Starlink-3
10.10pm Starlink-5, 6
This is the link to the timing & other detail Findstarlink.com
1 Like
I’ve just watched 5 of the Starlink satellites pass over (near Guildford, Surrey). They are quite noticeable as they’re flying W-E rather than the usual N-S / S-N. These are single satellites rather than the more defined ‘trains’ which are the ones of interest at the moment and getting attention in the press but there are plenty about (and its a lovely night). Satflare.com is a good online real time tracker - ground tracks, predictive passes and other useful tools.
FYI - I’ve just picked up on some notes explaining why there are visibility issues
The satellite tracker site owner is investigating three possible reasons for last night’s failure:
- Too long after sunset: The 9:58pm/April 20 timing was about 1hr 45 mins after sunset. Due to the UK being far in the north, maybe not enough sunlight was being reflected off the Starlink satellites. This could have caused the satellites to be invisible, since they can only be seen due to sunlight reflecting off them. The successful Sun, April 19 timing was just 1hr after sunset, so that would have been okay.
- Atmospheric effects: I’m not a weatherman, but if anything was preventing sufficient sunlight from reaching or reflecting off the satellites to be seen.
- Satellites facing away from us: SpaceX (the company operating these Starlink satellites) may have been moving them or rotating them yesterday. If the solar panels of the satellites were facing away from you, they wouldn’t have reflected enough sunlight to be visible.
Again, I’m sorry about this. I’m still investigating the problem, and will try to find the real reason to avoid future disappointments."
1 Like
A no-show again for me tonight, although I did see a single satellite cross from West to East earlier on, shortly after 10pm. I guess that must have been a different satellite.
The Lyrid meteor shower should be visible from midnight onwards tonight as well if you can be bothered to stay up to watch it.
1 Like
Same here. We took our walk from 22:00 till 23:00 and took a route across dark fields. But zilch. Other than Venus. Quite a bit of moisture in the lower atmosphere, but it didn’t obscure the fainter stars so shouldn’t have obscured any visible satellites.
Anyway, we enjoyed the walk !
1 Like
I know people are saying the bright object in the west is Venus. But it seems a bit late in the day to be Venus IMO. (but I am quite often wrong). 
It’s definitely Venus.
2 Likes
Having gone out to look at about 23:30 (some cloud earlier, but gone by then) I could very see it approx WNW, extremely bright white colour, almost dazzling, fairly low in the sky, distinct disk through binoculars. Definitely Venus.
1 Like
The Night Sky 2 app on my phone says its Venus too.
Best
David
1 Like
James, a bit OT, but what is the launcher in your avatar picture?
Sat in the garden with the kids until nearly 2am - saw one plane and perhaps a satellite, but no meteors at all.
Didn’t help that next door had their bright bathroom lights on.
Was in my back garden for 35 minutes looking for them. Saw Venus easily, and saw a few specks of light going either west to east or north south. No string of satellites. We’re they satellites or aircraft? I don’t know, but one of them going west to east gave off a very bright flash for maybe half a second and carried on along its trajectory. Hmm 
A few years ago when on holiday in a remote location in Spain, we all lay floating in the pool watching for the Perseid meteors. Everyone saw several …except me! Maybe I just happend to blink or look in the wrong direction just at each critical moment - or maybe they were just having me on! I actually suspect my eyesight, which is corrected for myopia by contact lenses. I can read the second to bottom line of the optician’s chart (and make out some letters in bottom line), so better than “20/20” vision, but I don’t think my night vision is very good - something normal opticians don’t measure. I suspect I wouldn’t see the satellites unaided.
The plane had flashing red lights - the other things was a bright dot moving East to West - suppose it might have been one? Or should meteors always be bright lines?
May be too late but perhaps i should try a few long exposure shots with the camera tonight.
My vision is not what it used to be, and I’ve always been myopic since college.
What has suprised me in recent years is getting out to the country away from all the light pollution in townd/cities and really experiencing very dark skies with thousands of stars visible to the naked eye whereas in the city it’s a few dozen at most.
Probably didn’t help that I chucked some logs in the BBQ as a makeshift chiminea at one stage - they were rather too smokey to put the lid on continuously, but added to a campfire like experience in the garden during lockdown! Once it cooled down grilled a few lamb chops and a piece of steak - kids had chocolate and jaffa cakes!
Interesting site:
https://darksitefinder.com/map/
Map shows that many of those place I’d consider quite dark really aren’t at all.
Looks like I’d have to cross to County Kerry or be in a boat for real darkness.