Hello all,
I'm brand new to this society and have joined just out of intellectual curiousity. My personal belief is that the earth is round, but that shouldn't stop us from exchanging ideas in a civil manner, I hope.
I have read the FAQ, and it's made me think of a question I'd like to ask. It says that satellites can't orbit the earth and that sustained space flight is not possible.
I'm a hobby astronomer, and by no means an expert, but on numerous occasions, I have seen satellites cross over the sky and disappear. It may sound strange, but you can actually see satellites with the naked eye, including the International Space Station, which appears much brighter than smaller communication satellites. If you have a telescope or binoculars, they can assist you in viewing the objects, but are not necessary.
So let's so for a moment that there are indeed satellites orbiting the earth.
If you're interested and are patient, go outside in the evening when stars are just becoming visible, and watch the sky. Once your eyes adjust enough to the darkness, you can see small, white dots moving across the sky. They couldn't be aircraft because they have no strobe lights or accompanying sound.
If you're not patient enough to watch for the smaller communication sats, you can go to
http://www.heavens-above.com/ for a visual reference of the where the ISS is, and a schedule of when you will be able to see it next from your specified location.
On the main page under configuration, enter your location and time zone. Hit submit. Then, go to the next section below 'configuration' to see the options for finding your next visible satellite, or the International Space Station. They have ten day predictions for the ISS. Clicking on that will give you the viewing opportunities for your time and place.
Go outside when the time comes (provided it's not cloudy), and watch for a bright, roundish object. If you're still unconvinced even when you see it, at the time it goes over, check the same website and observe the visual representation of the ISS over the earth to see that it did indeed go over you.
If it is possible that there are satellites above us, and that they are in precise enough orbits that it is possible to predict when they will be visible to you next (meaning it's repeatable and testable,) does that mean that we have indeed been in space and sustained space flight is possible?
I look forward to discussing this
