The night sky seldom offers a first—an event never before seen, even by the most grizzled observer. This past January featured one of those rare spectacles, when the asteroid-observing spacecraft near became the first interplanetary craft visible to the naked eye. As the craft zipped in for a close approach (using Earth’s gravity to change its trajectory), the sun glinted off its large solar panels, resulting in star-bright flashes in the northwestern sky.
Fail to spot near? Don’t despair. While there won’t be any more interplanetary probes to view, May offers a slew of other man-made objects slowly crisscrossing the heavens. They weren’t visible two months ago, and they won’t be around after August. But they’re here now during satellite season, when Earth’s northern axis tilts just 5 degrees from its maximum sunward extreme, allowing satellites as low as 200 miles to stand in full sunlight even an hour after ...
