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Re:So, you want to build a CubeSat? by modeless on Tuesday July 30, 2019 @01:28PM (#20567056)
You don't need a laser pointer. All you need to do is reflect sunlight. There was a recent attempt to deploy a cubesat that would become the brightest object in the night sky (besides the Moon), simply by deploying some white fabric. Unfortunately, or fortunately depending on your opinion (I lean toward the latter), it failed to fully deploy. http://spaceflight101.com/soyuz-kanopus-v-ik/mayak-lighthous...

Many satellites are visible to the naked eye; some even brighter than the stars. If you want to see them, heavens-above.org is a great place to find out when to look. https://heavens-above.com/PassSummary.aspx?satid=42830

Re:So, you want to build a CubeSat? by vkou on Tuesday July 30, 2019 @01:54PM (#20567366)
> Many satellites are visible to the naked eye; some even brighter than the stars.

And if you want to see an absolute cornucopia of satellites, grab a pair of binoculars, and look straight up, an hour or two after sunset.

You'll see faint little lights, crossing your field of vision, to and fro, on a very regular basis.

Re:So, you want to build a CubeSat? by massimo-nazaria on Wednesday July 31, 2019 @01:10PM (#20576190)
> Many satellites are visible to the naked eye; some even brighter than the stars. If you want to see them, heavens-above.org is a great place to find out when to look. https://heavens-above.com/PassSummary.aspx?satid=42830

Interesting link. Another interesting one is https://spotthestation.nasa.gov about the ISS, which is probably the most visible to the naked eye.