Stargazing: Spot Space Junk in Low Earth Orbit

0:00From the Daily News Now Network, this is Adelaide News Today. Look up on a clear night in places like South Eastern Australia, and you might spot streaks of light marching across the sky. Those are fresh, star-linked satellites, launching into low-earth orbit, just one part of the growing crowd up there. Experts track over 33,000 objects circling the planet from whole satellites to bits of debris, though tiny pieces often go unseen. These junk builds up when satellites collide and shatter into smaller fragments. Low-earth orbit, under 1,000 kilometers up, is now the busiest zone, beating out the old worry spot at the geostationary ring 35,786 kilometers high. Objects there zip along at 27,500 kilometers per hour, or faster, making any close calls risky since most lack engines to, dodge. Starting with all that clutter, hits are rare because space is so vast. From the ground, many satellites shine bright enough for the naked eye, especially right

1:01after sunset, or before sunrise, when they catch the suns, glow. Internet providers like Starlink make up some, but the catalog includes everything from micro-satellites to big stations. Tracking keeps tabs on them, using telescopes for shapes and radar for details. The International Space Station stands out at 109 meters long, orbiting every 93 minutes with a crew of up to 7 aboard. Websites predict its path as Earth rotates beneath it. Next time you're stargazing at twilight, check a tracker app, you could spot these orbital neighbors lighting up the dark.