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Flat Earth Discussion Boards => Flat Earth Debate => Topic started by: FlatAllTheWay on August 27, 2014, 06:58:03 AM

Title: Please explain satellite tracking
Post by: FlatAllTheWay on August 27, 2014, 06:58:03 AM
A quick Google search for "satellite tracking" turns up websites that let you determine when and where you can see satellites.  For example, spaceweather.com asks me for my zip code and then tells me that tomorrow at 4:49:53am I can look  in a WSW direction at an elevation of 60 degrees and see the Lacrosse 5 satellite.  Anyone who doubts this information can enter their own zip code on that site, get up in the early morning, look up, and verify that a starlike-light is travelling quickly across the sky just at the predicted time and place.  And if you have a cheap telescope, you can easily see that it's not a planet or a star.

If you are a member of the "satellites don't exist crowd", how do you explain this?
Title: Re: Please explain satellite tracking
Post by: Son of Orospu on August 27, 2014, 09:05:28 AM
You see a little light in the sky and assume it is a satellite because that is what they tell you it is.  Truth is, you have no idea what is making that light shine. 
Title: Re: Please explain satellite tracking
Post by: FlatAllTheWay on August 27, 2014, 09:27:15 AM
I do have an idea what it is: it's a satellite, and there is lots of evidence to back this up.  For example, there is lots of footage of satellite launches, photos from satellites, and the fact that numerous companies that are independent of each other and from many different countries have all put satellites into space.

So please state your theory as to what could account for these highly predictable, fast-moving lights in the sky?
Title: Re: Please explain satellite tracking
Post by: Goggleman on August 27, 2014, 09:34:06 AM
You see a little light in the sky and assume it is a satellite because that is what they tell you it is.  Truth is, you have no idea what is making that light shine.

And space agencies can make them appear in a time frame corresponding to their launch schedule?
Title: Re: Please explain satellite tracking
Post by: Son of Orospu on August 27, 2014, 09:36:01 AM
So please state your theory as to what could account for these highly predictable, fast-moving lights in the sky?

It could be anything.  You just soak it up when they tell you they are satellites. 

You see a little light in the sky and assume it is a satellite because that is what they tell you it is.  Truth is, you have no idea what is making that light shine.

And space agencies can make them appear in a time frame corresponding to their launch schedule?

lol, you think those are satellites being launched? 
Title: Re: Please explain satellite tracking
Post by: FlatAllTheWay on August 27, 2014, 09:49:29 AM

It could be anything.  You just soak it up when they tell you they are satellites. 


Ok, name one thing that it could be.
Title: Re: Please explain satellite tracking
Post by: Son of Orospu on August 27, 2014, 09:51:01 AM
Pseudolites.
Title: Re: Please explain satellite tracking
Post by: FlatAllTheWay on August 27, 2014, 10:01:38 AM
Apparently pseudolites are ground-based:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pseudolite. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pseudolite.)  Are you saying they are in the sky?  If they are in the sky and they orbit earth, then they are just like satellites in terms of location and movement.  So please elaborate on how pseudolites can appear as predictable, fast moving lights in the sky.
Title: Re: Please explain satellite tracking
Post by: Blacksmith on August 27, 2014, 10:14:37 AM
So please state your theory as to what could account for these highly predictable, fast-moving lights in the sky?

It could be anything.  You just soak it up when they tell you they are satellites. 

You see a little light in the sky and assume it is a satellite because that is what they tell you it is.  Truth is, you have no idea what is making that light shine.

And space agencies can make them appear in a time frame corresponding to their launch schedule?

lol, you think those are satellites being launched?
You see a rocket get loaded with a satellite, then launched into orbit, send pictures down, and immediately, right on schedule, a light appears in the sky which orbits periodically and predictably overhead, broadcasting a clear signal down from space and you think it's a satellite? Hah, such weak minded fools. *Rolls eyes* Look man, if they're not satellites, then what are they? Don't give me the pseudolites or stratolites crap, because it's crap. Outhouses and blimps don't orbit the earth, and of they did they would be satellites. Get the picture?
Title: Re: Please explain satellite tracking
Post by: Shmeggley on August 27, 2014, 10:16:25 AM
Pseudolites.

Pseudolites fly (actually I'm pretty sure they just hover) much lower than satellites allegedly do. It's simple trig to find out how high they are (assuming a flat surface for simplicity ;)). As you can see, there's no chance that a pseudolite could be mistaken for a satellite given two observers checking at the same time. A satellite will always appear at a higher angle to observer B than a pseudolite would.

(http://i.imgur.com/dlFiXDh.png)
Title: Re: Please explain satellite tracking
Post by: inquisitive on August 27, 2014, 12:53:20 PM
So please state your theory as to what could account for these highly predictable, fast-moving lights in the sky?

It could be anything.  You just soak it up when they tell you they are satellites. 

You see a little light in the sky and assume it is a satellite because that is what they tell you it is.  Truth is, you have no idea what is making that light shine.

And space agencies can make them appear in a time frame corresponding to their launch schedule?

lol, you think those are satellites being launched?
Still waiting for you to provide a full and detailed description of how satellite TV operates.
Title: Re: Please explain satellite tracking
Post by: markjo on August 27, 2014, 03:16:40 PM
Still waiting for you to provide a full and detailed description of how satellite TV operates.
If he won't answer you in the appropriate thread, then what makes you think that pestering him in the wrong thread will help?  ???
Title: Re: Please explain satellite tracking
Post by: FlatAllTheWay on August 27, 2014, 07:11:34 PM
Pseudolites.

Let's get back on track here.  So far, jroa has provided a grand total of one word in response to the question about what else those fast moving, highly predictable lights are: "pseudolites".  When asked to elaborate, we get....silence.  The ball is in your court, jroa.  Please explain how pseudolites differ from satellites and how they account for what we see in the sky.
Title: Re: Please explain satellite tracking
Post by: FlatAllTheWay on August 29, 2014, 09:25:16 AM
Still looking for an explanation of how pseudolites work, jroa (or someone else).  Also, you said that the things that I know are satellites could actually be "anything", yet you gave only one example (pseudolites) without any explanation at all.  After elaborating on the pseudolite thing, please tell us what else you think could look so much like satellites.
Title: Re: Please explain satellite tracking
Post by: Son of Orospu on August 29, 2014, 09:29:06 AM
I messed up when I said pseudolites.  I was posting in several different threads at the same time.

What I was implying is that a light shooting across the sky could be anything at all.  You only assume it is a satellite because that is what they tell you it is.
Title: Re: Please explain satellite tracking
Post by: Blacksmith on August 29, 2014, 10:30:46 AM
...you are so foolish. That is just the tip of the freakin' iceberg as to how we know. Ex: only appears in the orbit of a planned satellite after said satellite has launched, the I.S.S., the largest satellite, can literally be seen in full view from the ground with a pair of binoculars. I've done it. Its quite beautiful.
Title: Re: Please explain satellite tracking
Post by: Shmeggley on August 29, 2014, 12:27:48 PM
I messed up when I said pseudolites.  I was posting in several different threads at the same time.

What I was implying is that a light shooting across the sky could be anything at all.  You only assume it is a satellite because that is what they tell you it is.

Clearly it can't be just anything since we know it's not a pseudolite, or a stratellite for that matter. It is possible to figure things out in this world, if people try and think.
Title: Re: Please explain satellite tracking
Post by: Shmeggley on August 29, 2014, 12:33:25 PM
...you are so foolish. That is just the tip of the freakin' iceberg as to how we know. Ex: only appears in the orbit of a planned satellite after said satellite has launched, the I.S.S., the largest satellite, can literally be seen in full view from the ground with a pair of binoculars. I've done it. Its quite beautiful.

Apparently you can also contact the astronauts on the ISS using HAM radio, if you get the timing right. That's another way to gather evidence for what you're actually looking at.
Title: Re: Please explain satellite tracking
Post by: FlatAllTheWay on August 29, 2014, 02:24:31 PM
I messed up when I said pseudolites.  I was posting in several different threads at the same time.

What I was implying is that a light shooting across the sky could be anything at all.  You only assume it is a satellite because that is what they tell you it is.

Ok, so it's not a pseudolite.  So give us one -- just one! -- example of what it could be?
Title: Re: Please explain satellite tracking
Post by: General Patton on August 29, 2014, 03:05:43 PM
I messed up when I said pseudolites.  I was posting in several different threads at the same time.

What I was implying is that a light shooting across the sky could be anything at all.  You only assume it is a satellite because that is what they tell you it is.

Ok, so it's not a pseudolite.  So give us one -- just one! -- example of what it could be?
He obviously won't man. They could possibly be planes, but satellites seem to move slower. It moves way faster than a plane, but it just looks like it moves slower.
Title: Re: Please explain satellite tracking
Post by: Son of Orospu on August 29, 2014, 08:12:16 PM
I messed up when I said pseudolites.  I was posting in several different threads at the same time.

What I was implying is that a light shooting across the sky could be anything at all.  You only assume it is a satellite because that is what they tell you it is.

Ok, so it's not a pseudolite.  So give us one -- just one! -- example of what it could be?

An airplane. 
Title: Re: Please explain satellite tracking
Post by: General Patton on August 29, 2014, 09:31:42 PM
I messed up when I said pseudolites.  I was posting in several different threads at the same time.

What I was implying is that a light shooting across the sky could be anything at all.  You only assume it is a satellite because that is what they tell you it is.

Ok, so it's not a pseudolite.  So give us one -- just one! -- example of what it could be?


An airplane.
A satellite doesn't have any other lights on it though.
Title: Re: Please explain satellite tracking
Post by: Shmeggley on August 30, 2014, 12:01:27 AM
I messed up when I said pseudolites.  I was posting in several different threads at the same time.

What I was implying is that a light shooting across the sky could be anything at all.  You only assume it is a satellite because that is what they tell you it is.

Ok, so it's not a pseudolite.  So give us one -- just one! -- example of what it could be?


An airplane.
A satellite doesn't have any other lights on it though.

Airplanes aren't visible to entire continents at once either. Satellites can be.
Title: Re: Please explain satellite tracking
Post by: FlatAllTheWay on August 30, 2014, 07:00:21 AM
And the exact time and location where one can see an airplane cannot be predicted days in advance.  Take a look at any of the satellite tracking sites, and you will see that the time and location are specified with great precision.

JROA, I guess we are ready for your next suggestion for what these things could be if not satellites.
Title: Re: Please explain satellite tracking
Post by: Son of Orospu on August 30, 2014, 07:02:18 AM
You can not calculate where and when an airplane will be days in advance?  Are you being serious? 
Title: Re: Please explain satellite tracking
Post by: General Patton on August 30, 2014, 08:13:16 AM
You can not calculate where and when an airplane will be days in advance?  Are you being serious?
Turbulance, storms, etc can effect it. Satellites track it more precisely.
Title: Re: Please explain satellite tracking
Post by: JimmyTheCrab on August 30, 2014, 08:25:30 AM
You can not calculate where and when an airplane will be days in advance?
Of course you can't.  Weather, air traffic control instructions, re-fueling and changes to airspace safety due to wars etc will all make it impossible to predict to hours, let alone minutes. 

Anyway, we are not predicting "days in advance" but years in advance - you seem to be suggesting that 100s of aircraft all fly continuously round the world for decades on end like clockwork?  Presumably there is a massive support network involved for in-flight refueling etc. It must cost hundreds of billions each year to run, yet this is all done so that people are fooled into thinking satellite predictions work properly?

Are you being serious?  ???
Title: Re: Please explain satellite tracking
Post by: markjo on August 30, 2014, 09:24:47 AM
You can not calculate where and when an airplane will be days in advance?  Are you being serious?
Have you seen the on time statistics for airlines?
Title: Re: Please explain satellite tracking
Post by: Shmeggley on August 30, 2014, 10:37:00 AM
You can not calculate where and when an airplane will be days in advance?  Are you being serious?

Not to the precision that you can predict satellites.
Title: Re: Please explain satellite tracking
Post by: General Patton on August 30, 2014, 08:41:54 PM
You can not calculate where and when an airplane will be days in advance?  Are you being serious?

Not to the precision that you can predict satellites.
I love how he is ignoring us now.
Title: Re: Please explain satellite tracking
Post by: FlatAllTheWay on August 31, 2014, 08:34:59 AM
Unless JROA or someone else wants to continue debating the airplane theory, then we are back to zero in terms of alternate explanations for what orbiting satellites might be.  We are ready for your next proposal.
Title: Re: Please explain satellite tracking
Post by: Son of Orospu on August 31, 2014, 02:24:50 PM
You can not calculate where and when an airplane will be days in advance?  Are you being serious?
Have you seen the on time statistics for airlines?
We are not discussing commercial airliners, markjo.

Unless JROA or someone else wants to continue debating the airplane theory, then we are back to zero in terms of alternate explanations for what orbiting satellites might be.  We are ready for your next proposal.

Meteors and flares also streak across the sky.  Truth is, you have no idea what exactly it is when you see some light go across the sky.  You only know what they tell you. 
Title: Re: Please explain satellite tracking
Post by: inquisitive on August 31, 2014, 03:17:12 PM
You can not calculate where and when an airplane will be days in advance?  Are you being serious?
Have you seen the on time statistics for airlines?
We are not discussing commercial airliners, markjo.

Unless JROA or someone else wants to continue debating the airplane theory, then we are back to zero in terms of alternate explanations for what orbiting satellites might be.  We are ready for your next proposal.

Meteors and flares also streak across the sky.  Truth is, you have no idea what exactly it is when you see some light go across the sky.  You only know what they tell you.
Still no explanation with details of satellite broadcasting...  Hint, dish angles point to object at defined position.
Title: Re: Please explain satellite tracking
Post by: General Patton on August 31, 2014, 07:39:10 PM
You can not calculate where and when an airplane will be days in advance?  Are you being serious?
Have you seen the on time statistics for airlines?
We are not discussing commercial airliners, markjo.

Unless JROA or someone else wants to continue debating the airplane theory, then we are back to zero in terms of alternate explanations for what orbiting satellites might be.  We are ready for your next proposal.

Meteors and flares also streak across the sky.  Truth is, you have no idea what exactly it is when you see some light go across the sky.  You only know what they tell you.
There is a HUGE difference between satellites and meteors. Meteors move way faster, satellites move slower.

And what do you mean by "they"? NASA is what I am thinking. You should always trust NASA.
Title: Re: Please explain satellite tracking
Post by: JimmyTheCrab on September 01, 2014, 01:43:01 AM
We are not discussing commercial airliners, markjo.
Fantasy airliners?

Quote
Meteors and flares also streak across the sky.
Not according to a pre-defined timetable they don't.

Quote
  Truth is, you have no idea what exactly it is when you see some light go across the sky.  You only know what they tell you.
Who is they?  Anyway, it's quite easy to see them, especially the ISS, with your own eyes.
Title: Re: Please explain satellite tracking
Post by: tappet on September 01, 2014, 02:33:10 AM

There is a HUGE difference between satellites and meteors. Meteors move way faster, satellites move slower.
Why do meteors move way faster than satellites?
Is the excessive speed caused by gravity?
Title: Re: Please explain satellite tracking
Post by: General Patton on September 01, 2014, 06:25:16 AM

There is a HUGE difference between satellites and meteors. Meteors move way faster, satellites move slower.
Why do meteors move way faster than satellites?
Is the excessive speed caused by gravity?
There is no difference between gravity and orbiting.
Title: Re: Please explain satellite tracking
Post by: Goth on September 01, 2014, 06:37:05 AM

There is a HUGE difference between satellites and meteors. Meteors move way faster, satellites move slower.
Why do meteors move way faster than satellites?
Is the excessive speed caused by gravity?
There is a difference between gravity and orbiting.

Could you please explain this in detail to us,
Title: Re: Please explain satellite tracking
Post by: General Patton on September 01, 2014, 06:41:30 AM

There is a HUGE difference between satellites and meteors. Meteors move way faster, satellites move slower.
Why do meteors move way faster than satellites?
Is the excessive speed caused by gravity?
There is a difference between gravity and orbiting.

Could you please explain this in detail to us,
Meteors fly through space from impacts with other planets, moons, etc. SOMETIMES if they get too close, they will catch orbit on Earth. Satellites simply orbit the Earth, while meteors come in very fast, that is why they are called "shooting stars". Also fixed that mistake.
Title: Re: Please explain satellite tracking
Post by: ausGeoff on September 02, 2014, 02:59:24 AM
You can not calculate where and when an airplane will be days in advance?  Are you being serious?

If you could magically "calculate" where any airplane will be in a few days hence, you'd be in line for a Nobel Prize in physics jroa.  Why?

—For having invented a time-travel machine.
Title: Re: Please explain satellite tracking
Post by: 11cookeaw1 on September 05, 2014, 12:04:40 AM
You see a little light in the sky and assume it is a satellite because that is what they tell you it is.  Truth is, you have no idea what is making that light shine.
But we can PREDICT when we'll see it, if they were just random lights we wouldn't know when we'd see them.
Title: Re: Please explain satellite tracking
Post by: 11cookeaw1 on September 05, 2014, 12:15:07 AM
I messed up when I said pseudolites.  I was posting in several different threads at the same time.

What I was implying is that a light shooting across the sky could be anything at all.  You only assume it is a satellite because that is what they tell you it is.

Ok, so it's not a pseudolite.  So give us one -- just one! -- example of what it could be?

An airplane.

If the object in the sky can be seen from two different places in the sky at to different times you can use the distance and time difference to calculate the speed, and then the height.
Therefore, a plane can only be in the right place a tiny fraction of the time.

And anyway through binoculars it can easily be seen to not be a plane.
Title: Re: Please explain satellite tracking
Post by: ausGeoff on September 05, 2014, 05:06:17 AM
You can not calculate where and when an airplane will be days in advance?  Are you being serious?

I note that jroa never returned to explain to us exactly how he can determine the location of an airplane "days in advance".  It's apparently a skill that only flat earthers currently possess, so I'd be interested in him sharing it with us round earthers.

—That's if he can.
Title: Re: Please explain satellite tracking
Post by: Son of Orospu on September 05, 2014, 09:15:52 AM
You see a little light in the sky and assume it is a satellite because that is what they tell you it is.  Truth is, you have no idea what is making that light shine.
But we can PREDICT when we'll see it, if they were just random lights we wouldn't know when we'd see them.

I did not say they were random lights.  I said that there are lights moving in the sky, and you have no idea what they are other than what you are told.  Do you think the conspiracy does not have the means to cause a light to streak across the sky at a time of their choosing? 
Title: Re: Please explain satellite tracking
Post by: JimmyTheCrab on September 05, 2014, 09:21:56 AM
Do you think the conspiracy does not have the means to cause a light to streak across the sky at a time of their choosing?
No, I don't believe the made-up-conspiracy has that capability.  Then again, when you are making things up you can just give them magical powers.

It also wouldn't' be at the time of their choosing - it would have to be exactly as the models for satellite orbits predict.  Easily verifiable via a online satellite tracker.
Title: Re: Please explain satellite tracking
Post by: Son of Orospu on September 05, 2014, 09:28:23 AM
The conspiracy would only need to streak lights across the sky for a short time after sunset and a short time before sunrise.  They don't have to do it all the time. 
Title: Re: Please explain satellite tracking
Post by: Rama Set on September 05, 2014, 10:47:32 AM
The conspiracy would only need to streak lights across the sky for a short time after sunset and a short time before sunrise.  They don't have to do it all the time.

Why only after sunset and before sunrise.  Satellites are visible all night if they are passing overhead.  And it is always night somewhere.
Title: Re: Please explain satellite tracking
Post by: JimmyTheCrab on September 05, 2014, 11:04:50 AM
The conspiracy would only need to streak lights across the sky for a short time after sunset and a short time before sunrise.
Well, that's bullshit, as Rama pointed out.

At the right time of the year, you can actually stay out and watch the ISS pass over every 90 minutes all night.
Title: Re: Please explain satellite tracking
Post by: Shmeggley on September 05, 2014, 11:37:25 AM
The conspiracy would only need to streak lights across the sky for a short time after sunset and a short time before sunrise.  They don't have to do it all the time.

Are you suggesting that it's not always sunset AND sunrise, somewhere on Earth?
Title: Re: Please explain satellite tracking
Post by: FlatAllTheWay on September 05, 2014, 03:14:06 PM
And how exactly would "the conspiracy" create these lights?  Flashlights? Lasers? Fireflies?  (Be advised that a one word response to this question won't cut it.  If your answer is lasers, for example, please elaborate on how that might work.)
Title: Re: Please explain satellite tracking
Post by: Son of Orospu on September 06, 2014, 07:03:56 AM
The conspiracy would only need to streak lights across the sky for a short time after sunset and a short time before sunrise.  They don't have to do it all the time.

Why only after sunset and before sunrise.  Satellites are visible all night if they are passing overhead.  And it is always night somewhere.

Well, that's bullshit, as Rama pointed out.

At the right time of the year, you can actually stay out and watch the ISS pass over every 90 minutes all night.

This is incorrect.  They are only visible shortly after sunset and shortly before sunrise.  You should learn about your own satellite theory. 

Quote from: http://www.satobs.org
If you have ever star-gazed shortly after sunset or before sunrise, you have probably noticed one or two "stars" sailing gracefully across the sky.
Title: Re: Please explain satellite tracking
Post by: Rama Set on September 06, 2014, 08:37:18 AM
The conspiracy would only need to streak lights across the sky for a short time after sunset and a short time before sunrise.  They don't have to do it all the time.

Why only after sunset and before sunrise.  Satellites are visible all night if they are passing overhead.  And it is always night somewhere.

Well, that's bullshit, as Rama pointed out.

At the right time of the year, you can actually stay out and watch the ISS pass over every 90 minutes all night.

This is incorrect.  They are only visible shortly after sunset and shortly before sunrise.  You should learn about your own satellite theory. 

Quote from: http://www.satobs.org
If you have ever star-gazed shortly after sunset or before sunrise, you have probably noticed one or two "stars" sailing gracefully across the sky.

This is not strictly true. Only a general rule. Maybe you should learn our theory.

http://m.space.com/6870-spot-satellites.html (http://m.space.com/6870-spot-satellites.html)

Quote
Nights are now the shortest and the time that a satellite in a low-Earth-orbit (like the ISS) can remain illuminated by the Sun can extend throughout the night, a situation that can never be attained during other times of the year. 

Even if what you were saying were strictly true, it is still always sunrise or sunset somewhere on Earth meaning this division of The ConspiracyTM would have to operate 24/7
Title: Re: Please explain satellite tracking
Post by: 11cookeaw1 on September 06, 2014, 11:37:33 PM
Note that Low earth satellites move at over 7KM/s.
A satellite and a plane are going to be in vastly different places are just a few minutes.
Title: Re: Please explain satellite tracking
Post by: ausGeoff on September 07, 2014, 02:18:22 AM
I did not say they were random lights.  I said that there are lights moving in the sky, and you have no idea what they are other than what you are told.  Do you think the conspiracy does not have the means to cause a light to streak across the sky at a time of their choosing?


Can you tell us exactly how the "conspiracy" produces these lights?  What mechanism would generate them, and how would they be positioned so precisely and regularly?    Remember too that earlier on you claimed that man-made satellites don't exist.  So these lights would have to be generated by some earth-bound source and projected somehow would they not?  If that's the case, then by what means are they reflected back towards earth?  And from what geographic locations on earth would they be situated?
Title: Re: Please explain satellite tracking
Post by: JimmyTheCrab on September 07, 2014, 03:38:52 AM

This is incorrect. 
No, it isn't.  I have seen the ISS in the middle of the night myself.
Title: Re: Please explain satellite tracking
Post by: Son of Orospu on September 07, 2014, 05:49:50 AM

This is incorrect. 
No, it isn't.  I have seen the ISS in the middle of the night myself.

How could you see the ISS in the middle of the night when anything within your field of view would be in the Earth's shadow?  Perhaps they turned on the headlights?  Or, maybe this is just more proof that the Earth is really flat? 
Title: Re: Please explain satellite tracking
Post by: Rama Set on September 07, 2014, 06:29:47 AM

This is incorrect. 
No, it isn't.  I have seen the ISS in the middle of the night myself.

How could you see the ISS in the middle of the night when anything within your field of view would be in the Earth's shadow?  Perhaps they turned on the headlights?  Or, maybe this is just more proof that the Earth is really flat?

Do not mistake your inability to comprehend geometry with proof of anything.
Title: Re: Please explain satellite tracking
Post by: JimmyTheCrab on September 07, 2014, 06:58:25 AM
How could you see the ISS in the middle of the night when anything within your field of view would be in the Earth's shadow?  Perhaps they turned on the headlights?  Or, maybe this is just more proof that the Earth is really flat?
No, it's proof that you haven't got a clue what you are talking about.  Although I think that particular debate was settled some time ago.

Quote
Every early June in the northern hemisphere (December in the southern), the International Space Station (ISS) can be observed on multiple passes from dusk till dawn. Taking only 90 minute to circle Earth, the station is normally visible once or twice a night during twilight, when it catches the sun’s rays 250 miles up and glimmers brightly against a darkening sky.

Passes continue through the night – yep, it’s up there – but we can’t see the football field-sized satellite because it’s in Earth’s shadow. The sun has set for the astronauts; they look out the window and admire the sparkling lights of cities below and stars above.


That all changes for a week or two around the summer solstice thanks to our planet’s tilted axis and the highly inclined orbit of the ISS. The space station’s orbit is tipped up at an angle of 51.6 degrees to the Earth’s equator. That means it visible anywhere on the ground between 52 degrees north and south of the equator – a vast region that includes 90% of humanity.

During northern hemisphere summer, Earth’s north pole is tilted 23.5 degrees toward the sun. When combined with the space station’s steep orbital tilt, the ISS manages to avoid Earth’s shadow, remaining in constant sunlight during its entire orbit. For a daydreaming astronaut staring out the cupola windows, the sun never sets. He watches it drop to edge of the globe and then rise right back up again. Watch the video above and you’ll see what I mean.

- See more at: http://astrobob.areavoices.com/2013/06/02/space-station-marathon-week-an-excuse-to-stay-up-all-night/#sthash.WVAWiS5C.dpuf (http://astrobob.areavoices.com/2013/06/02/space-station-marathon-week-an-excuse-to-stay-up-all-night/#sthash.WVAWiS5C.dpuf)

(http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--qj5EBWda--/c_fit,fl_progressive,q_80,w_636/wxtn7ioczbe0ebbxfuvu.jpg)


It's almost as if the world is round.... ::)
Title: Re: Please explain satellite tracking
Post by: Alpha2Omega on September 07, 2014, 07:51:39 AM
Bright satellites can be seen during the day if you use a telescope that can track them based on orbit predictions. The ISS is the brightest out there and easy to recognize.
Title: Re: Please explain satellite tracking
Post by: Son of Orospu on September 08, 2014, 06:21:14 AM
Bright satellites can be seen during the day if you use a telescope that can track them based on orbit predictions. The ISS is the brightest out there and easy to recognize.

Great.  When did you do this?  Please, post some of your pics.  Thanks. 
Title: Re: Please explain satellite tracking
Post by: Alpha2Omega on September 08, 2014, 07:17:18 AM
2010.  The pictures belong to the company I used to work for.

You can do it yourself, though. Meade computerized telescopes can track satellites.
Title: Re: Please explain satellite tracking
Post by: ausGeoff on September 08, 2014, 08:00:28 AM
Great.  When did you do this?  Please, post some of your pics.  Thanks.


I really think you have to get over this tired old defence of your typical flat earther when backed into a corner jroa.  One doesn't necessarily have to "see" something with their own eyes and capture their own photo of it themselves to accept its veracity.

Presumably you believe in the existence of air—as described by scientists?  And carbon monoxide.  Etc.  Have you ever seen air, or carbon monoxide, or taken a photo of them?  Nope, of course not.  You simply accept the word of scientists as the truth.

End of story.

Title: Re: Please explain satellite tracking
Post by: NEOtracker on September 10, 2014, 08:43:06 PM
The proof of satellites in orbit is so obvious. The ISS is easily visible with a decent pair of binoculars, and smaller ones with a modest rich-field telescope. You FE idiots should just go out and look for yourselves, and you will see that it is the truth. I am an astronomer working for CSS tracking and cataloging near earth objects, esp potentially hazardous asteroids. I previously worked with the NEOWISE program and was directly involved in sending up the WISE infrared telescope satellite. I was involved in setting up some of it's system components, watched it's launch, and had access to it's operating systems once it was in orbit. I would no more doubt its existence and orbit than I would my custom ShredX Ducati 900 cafe racer sitting in our parking lot and the route I take to work each week. In the past i have also had access to earth observation satellites, and their imaging cameras. I can assure you that this planet is a sphere.
Title: Re: Please explain satellite tracking
Post by: ausGeoff on September 10, 2014, 10:13:09 PM
Thanks for your first-hand input NEO...

I'm afraid though that the flat earthers' answer—IF they respond that is—will be to say simply that you're either mentally deluded, misinterpreting what you think you're seeing, or acting as a "shill" for the NASA/Illuminati/Bilderberg/US government conspiracy.

We'll see.
Title: Re: Please explain satellite tracking
Post by: guv on September 11, 2014, 01:14:13 AM
NEO you got a 900 duke, and to think I was jellous of their flat cookies.
Title: Re: Please explain satellite tracking
Post by: General Patton on September 13, 2014, 08:51:58 AM
I find it funny that jroa believes that there are no satellited and there is no ISS for no reason.


Wait I remember. NASA is a group of satanists because their symbols look alike  ::)
Title: Re: Please explain satellite tracking
Post by: General Patton on September 13, 2014, 11:21:46 AM
The proof of satellites in orbit is so obvious. The ISS is easily visible with a decent pair of binoculars, and smaller ones with a modest rich-field telescope. You FE idiots should just go out and look for yourselves, and you will see that it is the truth. I am an astronomer working for CSS tracking and cataloging near earth objects, esp potentially hazardous asteroids. I previously worked with the NEOWISE program and was directly involved in sending up the WISE infrared telescope satellite. I was involved in setting up some of it's system components, watched it's launch, and had access to it's operating systems once it was in orbit. I would no more doubt its existence and orbit than I would my custom ShredX Ducati 900 cafe racer sitting in our parking lot and the route I take to work each week. In the past i have also had access to earth observation satellites, and their imaging cameras. I can assure you that this planet is a sphere.
Agreed.
Title: Re: Please explain satellite tracking
Post by: ausGeoff on September 14, 2014, 07:53:39 AM
Again, one can't fail to notice the lack of responses over the past week from the flat earthers when confronted with undeniable evidence that contradicts their hypotheses.  Their silence is deafening LOL.

A week ago I asked jroa to address this question of moving "lights" in the night skies being part of his conspiracy theory:

Quote
Can you tell us exactly how the "conspiracy" produces these lights?  What mechanism would generate them, and how would they be positioned so precisely and regularly?    Remember too that earlier on you claimed that man-made satellites don't exist.  So these lights would have to be generated by some earth-bound source and projected somehow would they not?  If that's the case, then by what means are they reflected back towards earth?  And from what geographic locations on earth would they be situated?

And, as per usual, he never returned to offer any answers to these questions.  Why?  Because his silly notions are all bullshit, and he has no answers.  Pretty obvious really.


Title: Re: Please explain satellite tracking
Post by: Son of Orospu on September 18, 2014, 07:29:23 AM
A week ago I asked jroa to address this question of moving "lights" in the night skies being part of his conspiracy theory:

I am sorry, but my phone and internet have been down.  I was not avoiding you. 

Can you explain every light that you see in the sky? 
Title: Re: Please explain satellite tracking
Post by: macrohard on September 18, 2014, 07:44:00 AM
An amateur not being able to explain a few lights does not disprove the explanation for the thousands he can account for.
Title: Re: Please explain satellite tracking
Post by: ausGeoff on September 19, 2014, 06:00:19 AM
I am sorry, but my phone and internet have been down.  I was not avoiding you. 

Can you explain every light that you see in the sky?


I saw your post about losing the internet for a week.  Ouch!   :(

Yes; I can "explain" every light I see in the sky—using accredited scientific references from multiple sources published by numerous space agencies across the planet.  I have no reason to disbelieve astronomical data drawn from independent sources, with no vested commercial interests and no collusion.

Can you please address my original questions about the non-satellite source of the lights (which I'll quote again in case you missed it):

Quote
Can you tell us exactly how the "conspiracy" produces these lights?  What mechanism would generate them, and how would they be positioned so precisely and regularly?    Remember too that earlier on you claimed that man-made satellites don't exist.  So these lights would have to be generated by some earth-bound source and projected somehow would they not?  If that's the case, then by what means are they reflected back towards earth?  And from what geographic locations on earth would they be situated?

Title: Re: Please explain satellite tracking
Post by: 11cookeaw1 on September 19, 2014, 07:56:02 PM
Pseudolites.

Pseudolites fly (actually I'm pretty sure they just hover) much lower than satellites allegedly do. It's simple trig to find out how high they are (assuming a flat surface for simplicity ;)). As you can see, there's no chance that a pseudolite could be mistaken for a satellite given two observers checking at the same time. A satellite will always appear at a higher angle to observer B than a pseudolite would.

(http://i.imgur.com/dlFiXDh.png)
So if the satellite tracking website states what angle the observers in A and B will see the satellite at. Ad least one will be wrong.
The same problem happens with what time two observer hundreds of kilometres apart will see the satellite.
Title: Re: Please explain satellite tracking
Post by: Tethalamin on September 30, 2014, 06:38:14 PM
JROA: I'd like you to perform a simple exercise for me, you'll need a powerful laser pointer and a friend who lives a couple hundred kilometers away. Lasers fire a beam in a straight line minus some very slight curvature due to Earth's gravity, I want you to place the laser pointer 2 meters off the ground, level with the Earth, and turn it on, pointed in a direction free of obstructions in the line of sight of the laser pointer.

Have your friend a couple towns over look up, make sure he is in line with the laser's beam, and have him measure its height above the ground. Also make sure you're both at the same height above sea level.

Now, I'm going to give you a moment to get yourself seated before I give you some fair warning, what you will see is going to completely blow your mind. The measurement your friend will return is going to be significantly higher than 2 meters! But you're both at the same height above sea level! How can this be, if the Earth is flat?!?

Simple answer is that it's simply not. If you send a camera up into space (Which you can do with a few thousand dollars nowadays), you can even take a picture of the Earth as it appears; a sphere.

Now, here's a slightly less practical experiment that you can try if you want to corroborate the ludicrous findings in the previous one. I want you to board an airplane heading East, make sure you're going to the same latitude as you're leaving from. Now, when you land there, take another plane heading East, again, making sure that you're landing at the same latitude. Do this until you find that your next plane ticket is for the place you took off from. But wait, how is this so? The Earth is flat, you can't circumnavigate it without coming to a sharp corner, and if you watched carefully, it was just smooth as far as the eye can see! Now, you may be thinking to yourself "Well IO just traveled around the rim of the disc!". Just to make sure, do it again, but with planes only going North, or as close as you can get to North. You'll notice the same effect! But that's impossible, no edges?!?

Now, I bet you'll assume that government spy satellites have been beaming false memories into your brain to make you think you didn't see any edges, but let's be honest here, the government doesn't have mind-altering satellites yet, come on, that's silly! Those go up in 2016.
Title: Re: Please explain satellite tracking
Post by: Son of Orospu on September 30, 2014, 09:29:06 PM
JROA: I'd like you to perform a simple exercise for me, you'll need a powerful laser pointer and a friend who lives a couple hundred kilometers away. Lasers fire a beam in a straight line minus some very slight curvature due to Earth's gravity, I want you to place the laser pointer 2 meters off the ground, level with the Earth, and turn it on, pointed in a direction free of obstructions in the line of sight of the laser pointer.

Have your friend a couple towns over look up, make sure he is in line with the laser's beam, and have him measure its height above the ground. Also make sure you're both at the same height above sea level.

Now, I'm going to give you a moment to get yourself seated before I give you some fair warning, what you will see is going to completely blow your mind. The measurement your friend will return is going to be significantly higher than 2 meters! But you're both at the same height above sea level! How can this be, if the Earth is flat?!?

Simple answer is that it's simply not. If you send a camera up into space (Which you can do with a few thousand dollars nowadays), you can even take a picture of the Earth as it appears; a sphere.

Now, here's a slightly less practical experiment that you can try if you want to corroborate the ludicrous findings in the previous one. I want you to board an airplane heading East, make sure you're going to the same latitude as you're leaving from. Now, when you land there, take another plane heading East, again, making sure that you're landing at the same latitude. Do this until you find that your next plane ticket is for the place you took off from. But wait, how is this so? The Earth is flat, you can't circumnavigate it without coming to a sharp corner, and if you watched carefully, it was just smooth as far as the eye can see! Now, you may be thinking to yourself "Well IO just traveled around the rim of the disc!". Just to make sure, do it again, but with planes only going North, or as close as you can get to North. You'll notice the same effect! But that's impossible, no edges?!?

Now, I bet you'll assume that government spy satellites have been beaming false memories into your brain to make you think you didn't see any edges, but let's be honest here, the government doesn't have mind-altering satellites yet, come on, that's silly! Those go up in 2016.

When did you perform this experiment in order to give us the results?  Or, is this just a thought experiment that you are assuming the answer to? 
Title: Re: Please explain satellite tracking
Post by: ausGeoff on October 01, 2014, 02:03:28 AM
When did you perform this experiment in order to give us the results?  Or, is this just a thought experiment that you are assuming the answer to?
 

I have to agree with you on this one jroa.  Both of these "experiments" can't be more than of the "thought" kind, as both are far too complicated and costly to perform in the real world.  It's impossible—and illegal—for any civilian to use or possess a laser capable of projecting a distance of 200km for starters.  (I have a ruby one that has a range of 8km, and that's about it legally).  And the thousands of dollars in airfares makes the second experiment completely unrealistic—unless you happen to be a billionaire with money to burn LOL.

Any/all experiments proposed by round earthers must—at the very least—be capable of being performed with readily available equipment, and at virtually no cost beyond a bit of pocket money.

I do concur though with the thrust of Tethalamin's proposals, and agree that were they to be carried out, the results would in fact prove that the earth is spherical.
Title: Re: Please explain satellite tracking
Post by: Tethalamin on October 02, 2014, 06:00:48 PM
Alright, that last post was an outright troll on my part, I knew they were unfeasible. Here's a real one: Get on the phone with a friend at least several hundred kilometers East or West of you and measure the sun's height above the horizon, I believe a Sextant will do this for you, and I'm pretty sure there's a phone app that can do it. You could also use a piece of welder's glass (To shield your eyes from the sunlight), a yardstick, and something with a relatively fine point and adjustable height (Like a microphone stand with a pencil taped to the end). Make sure both of you are the same height above sea level.

Both of you will take measurements at roughly the same time, within a few seconds of each other optimally. You'll find that if your friend is East of you, the sun will appear lower on the horizon than it does to you, and vice versa if he is to the West.

Now, to corroborate this test with something that can easily be observed, take your microphone stand and stick a tennis ball or other round object to it, shine a flashlight on it from several feet away, and take two photographs with a camera or smartphone, one from the top of the ball, so the flashlight looks like it's just touching the surface of the ball, and one with the phone brought 5 degrees or so back, still perpendicular to the ball's surface, this picture will look like a sunset.

This test is easy to do, requires minimal resources and pretty conclusively proves that the Earth is a sphere, you'll find that the pictures and your observations will match up very closely. This is how the Greeks initially took a rough measurement of the circumference of the Earth over a thousand years ago, they were pretty close, so the method is reasonably accurate. With some trigonometry and a bit of quadratics, you could even replicate their test and measure the circumference of the Earth yourself.

Is that better?
Title: Re: Please explain satellite tracking
Post by: Son of Orospu on October 03, 2014, 05:40:59 AM
If the sun circles the flat Earth, then it would be at different angles at different times of day in different locations.  Your experiment is very flawed. 
Title: Re: Please explain satellite tracking
Post by: ausGeoff on October 04, 2014, 06:10:42 AM
I messed up when I said pseudolites.  I was posting in several different threads at the same time.

What I was implying is that a light shooting across the sky could be anything at all.  You only assume it is a satellite because that is what they tell you it is.

Ok, so it's not a pseudolite.  So give us one -- just one! -- example of what it could be?
He obviously won't man. They could possibly be planes, but satellites seem to move slower. It moves way faster than a plane, but it just looks like it moves slower.

This sort of non-response is typical of jroa's behaviour whenever he's backed into a corner without an answer.  He simply walks away from the debate.  (As do a lot of his peers.)

He claims it's an incorrect "assumption" on our part that the moving lights are satellites solely because that's what "they" have told us.

But he can't define exactly why our assumption is wrong with any facts or figures—it's just his personal guess.  So in effect, he's claiming his "guess" is more likely to be correct than our science-based assumptions.  Which is obviously ludicrous.

He also fails to define who precisely "they" are.  Too many flat earthers claim "they" are responsible for any and/or everything the flat earthers can't explain—"they" are just like some indomitable force that distorts every science known to man, or are just a massive misinformation-generating machine.

So please don't hold your breath waiting for any sort of answer from jroa.  You'll be somewhat more than blue in the face before that happens LOL.
Title: Re: Please explain satellite tracking
Post by: FlatAllTheWay on October 04, 2014, 09:26:34 AM
If the sun circles the flat Earth, then it would be at different angles at different times of day in different locations.  Your experiment is very flawed.

Since you claim that gravity does not exist, what mechanism makes the sun move as you claim it does?
Title: Re: Please explain satellite tracking
Post by: JimmyTheCrab on October 04, 2014, 10:25:01 AM
If the sun circles the flat Earth, then it would be at different angles at different times of day in different locations.
It's apparent size would also change quite significantly, so....
Title: Re: Please explain satellite tracking
Post by: inquisitive on October 04, 2014, 10:34:54 AM
If the sun circles the flat Earth, then it would be at different angles at different times of day in different locations.  Your experiment is very flawed.
'If'. Is there some doubt?
Title: Re: Please explain satellite tracking
Post by: Tethalamin on October 04, 2014, 01:36:39 PM
JROA: No it wouldn't. On a flat plane, the height of an orbiting body above the horizon (Note how I specified horizon in both this post and my last) will be the same regardless of your location. If you simply look at it, parallax will make it appear subjectively different, but with a measurement taken with non-stereoscopic equipment (to eliminate the error of parallax) it will be shown to be identical. This is not the case in reality.

I would also ask you to explain how a flat planet could possibly form given what we know about 3-dimensional spaaace and the nature of gravity. A flat planet is simply not possible, a combination of tidal forces and gravitational pressure would collapse it into a sphere rather easily. There's also the issue of high energy gamma detection, as well as rare instances of neutrinos being detected on both sides of the Earth, with a time delay between detections telling us hoe wide the oblate spheroid that is the Earth is at that point. We have fired things into the ground, and they came out on the other side of the Earth, we have done this in multiple locations perpendicular to each other and found that it's the same distance, so the Earth cannot be flat, nor can it be a cylinder because neither of those are shapes of constant or roughly constant width.

Explain these findings.

Edit: I forgot to mention that this is due to the distance the sun is from the Earth. Because of this distance, the amount the sun appears to "move" as a function of your location on Earth is minimal at any point in the evening because of the shallow angle between the horizon and the sun. There is also the fact that if the Earth were flat, you would see this movement in any direction of travel, and its procession across the sky according to your position would be linear, however, we do not find this, We find that its procession is logarithmic, because we are moving around a sphere, not across a plane. It's the reason that at higher latitudes it is possible to "keep up" with the sunset for a while. If the Earth were flat, then a sunset would last a fixed time regardless of your velocity.

I also have one more question: Why is it that nobody has ever seen the edge of the Earth if it's flat? We know exactly how big it is, people have flown all the way around it, why has there never been a single picture or report of the edge of the Earth? No government is able to suppress that kind of information so completely that not a single person has ever seen any of it, it's just not doable, especially considering the ideological differences between many nations, they just wouldn't cooperate.

And are you asking me to believe that this conspiracy has been going on since the ancient Greeks? Are you asking me to believe that the entire planet, save for Europe, was in on this conspiracy in a time when many nations weren't even aware that there were other places inhabited by humans? That's absolutely ludicrous! The concept of the Flying Spaghetti Monster is more credible than that!
Title: Re: Please explain satellite tracking
Post by: ausGeoff on October 05, 2014, 08:19:53 PM
And are you asking me to believe that this conspiracy has been going on since the ancient Greeks?
 

Unfortunately, this silly "conspiracy" theory of the flat earthers—such as jroais precisely what they'll claim as the source of we round earther's purported ignorance of the true geometry of the earth.  They'll in all seriousness claim that Pythagoras, Aristotle, and Eratosthenes were all early participants in this millennia-old conspiracy.  Although what motives would've prompted those guys to formulate a conspiracy is never explained by contemporary flat earthers.

When people with Loony Tunes notions lack any viable, empirical evidence for their pseudosciences, they invariably and inevitably ascribe this lack to a deliberately contrived "conspiracy" by some unbeknown and unnamed "powers that be".  The US government and NASA are the two most likely "suspects" but again, the flat earthers can't explain what exactly—in real, material terms—either of those two bodies would be gaining by persisting with the conspiracy if it existed.

Title: Re: Please explain satellite tracking
Post by: Son of Orospu on October 06, 2014, 12:28:04 PM
If the sun circles the flat Earth, then it would be at different angles at different times of day in different locations.
It's apparent size would also change quite significantly, so....

Atmospheric lensing could cause the sun to change apparent size as the amount of atmoplane changes between you and the sun. 
Title: Re: Please explain satellite tracking
Post by: Rama Set on October 06, 2014, 01:38:11 PM
If the sun circles the flat Earth, then it would be at different angles at different times of day in different locations.
It's apparent size would also change quite significantly, so....

Atmospheric lensing could cause the sun to change apparent size as the amount of atmoplane changes between you and the sun.

But then so would everything else.  This does not happen. 
Title: Re: Please explain satellite tracking
Post by: Son of Orospu on October 06, 2014, 01:39:58 PM
If the sun circles the flat Earth, then it would be at different angles at different times of day in different locations.
It's apparent size would also change quite significantly, so....

Atmospheric lensing could cause the sun to change apparent size as the amount of atmoplane changes between you and the sun.

But then so would everything else.  This does not happen. 

Have you never heard of a mirage? 
Title: Re: Please explain satellite tracking
Post by: inquisitive on October 06, 2014, 02:05:13 PM
If the sun circles the flat Earth, then it would be at different angles at different times of day in different locations.
It's apparent size would also change quite significantly, so....

Atmospheric lensing could cause the sun to change apparent size as the amount of atmoplane changes between you and the sun.

But then so would everything else.  This does not happen. 

Have you never heard of a mirage?
Off topic, please explain satellites with evidence.
Title: Re: Please explain satellite tracking
Post by: sokarul on October 06, 2014, 07:02:18 PM
If the sun circles the flat Earth, then it would be at different angles at different times of day in different locations.
It's apparent size would also change quite significantly, so....

Atmospheric lensing could cause the sun to change apparent size as the amount of atmoplane changes between you and the sun.

But then so would everything else.  This does not happen. 

Have you never heard of a mirage?
What known objects appear to get bigger as they move further away?
Title: Re: Please explain satellite tracking
Post by: ausGeoff on October 07, 2014, 01:54:13 AM
Atmospheric lensing could cause the sun to change apparent size as the amount of "atmoplane" changes between you and the sun.


I agree that atmospheric lensing can significantly deform our view of distant earth-objects.  This is a simple terrestrial example to illustrate the effect:

(http://vela.astro.ulg.ac.be/themes/extragal/gravlens/bibdat/engl/DE/DE102/Fig1.gif)

The left-hand is a schematic representation of the light ray paths from a car 15km distant from the observer—who "sees" the car's (multiple) headlight images as per the photo on the right.  (Captured in New Mexico, on the US60 highway near Magdalena.)

The point is though that all astronomical observations make allowances for this sort of effect by utilising established algorithms that correct the observational data, plus VLBI (Very-long-baseline interferometry).  When we talk about atmospheric lensing purely in layman's terms, we're normally talking about the effects as per the above image, rather than that of distant earth-objects.
Title: Re: Please explain satellite tracking
Post by: JimmyTheCrab on October 07, 2014, 04:58:35 AM
If the sun circles the flat Earth, then it would be at different angles at different times of day in different locations.
It's apparent size would also change quite significantly, so....

Atmospheric lensing could cause the sun to change apparent size as the amount of atmoplane changes between you and the sun.

But then so would everything else.  This does not happen. 

Have you never heard of a mirage?
No, I haven't.  Could you take me through it and explain the relevance?
Title: Re: Please explain satellite tracking
Post by: Goth on October 08, 2014, 09:42:09 AM
If the sun circles the flat Earth, then it would be at different angles at different times of day in different locations.
It's apparent size would also change quite significantly, so....

Atmospheric lensing could cause the sun to change apparent size as the amount of atmoplane changes between you and the sun.

But then so would everything else.  This does not happen. 

Have you never heard of a mirage?
No, I haven't.  Could you take me through it and explain the relevance?

What a surprise,,,
Title: Re: Please explain satellite tracking
Post by: inquisitive on October 08, 2014, 10:07:05 AM
This is off topic.  Please return to explaining how the applications that use satellites actually work.
Title: Re: Please explain satellite tracking
Post by: ausGeoff on October 08, 2014, 12:13:37 PM
What a surprise,,,


Is it just wishful thinking on my part, or is there just the slightest of chances that one day you'll actually post a relevant, adult comment that, as well as not being off-topic, actually adds something meaningful to the debate?

Your puerile one-liners are nothing more than a waste of my download bandwidth.  Which, not surprisingly, costs me money—whereas I'm guessing your mommy pays for yours.

So... for once in your young life... could you please address the OP's question as to how it is that we can predict the path of—and track—man-made satellites so precisely using round earth astrophysics?  Or do you deny the existence of these satellites altogether?