Sat-watch goes online
Just get boring about bird-watch? All right, you could have a test drive of this: a real-time satellite tracking website (http://www.n2yo.com/). Phil Plait, who runs the Bad Astronomy website, described this fun stuff on his blog.
Although n2yo.com is not the first real-time sat-tracking website (I remember in Windows 98 era, there’s a desktop application which enables you to track Mir), it seems to be the first one who incorporated Google Maps. A couple of sats can be tracked, including ISS, Hubble, GPS sats, etc. The default tracking map of n2yo.com is ISS.
Phil says you can actually see some of these satellites with your unaided eye. Some people would be surprised to hear this. But this is true. And for those Chinese who witnessed China’s first satellite, Dongfanghong I (East is red mk I), many of them had seen the satellite without any telescope (Chinese engineers used special design to enhance the satellite’s albedo). Chinese newspaper even published timetable, telling people the best time to watch Dongfanghong I.