QUESTION #214
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I heard that when international space station completed it could be seen by naked eye on the earth. Is this correct?

Asked by: Ustun

Answer

Yes, this is correct. Most artificial satellites in orbit have highly reflective materials on their outside to prevent their instruments from overheating due to excessive exposure to sunlight.

This reflected sunlight is easily seen from Earth at night. Typically, it looks like a flashing star slowly moving across the sky. These are usually called flashing satellites.

http://www.heavens-above.com has predictions of when you can see these satellites.
Answered by: David Lent, Computer Engineering Student, UIC, Chicago