Thank you--and that's also a consideration to take into account (that many polar orbit satellites are small and/or pretty high up, so that they look smaller and often dimmer). For me, it's challenging to picture the optical geometry that polar and Sun-synchronous satellites (the Sun-synchronous ones are about six degrees retrograde from a polar orbit) present, plus they can appear from any direction. But:

I've been playing with the features on the "Heavens Above" satellite tracking website, and they give good indications of where to look (azimuth and elevation) to catch specific satellites. I found out that Bigelow Aerospace's Genesis I expandable space station test vehicle had several well-placed, high-elevation (and visible, with it being sunlit) passes over Fairbanks, Alaska throughout the night, but the &#%^!~% sky was overcast! I'll catch it and/or Genesis II one of these nights (as well as the ISS, which is a harder target to see from here).

__________________
Black Shire--Draft horse in human form, model rocketeer, occasional mystic, and writer, see:
http://www.lulu.com/content/paperba...an-form/8075185
http://www.lulu.com/product/cd/what...of-2%29/6122050
http://www.lulu.com/product/cd/what...of-2%29/6126511
All of my book proceeds go to the Northcote Heavy Horse Centre www.northcotehorses.com.
NAR #54895 SR

I use this for ISS

http://www.isstracker.com/

and this

http://iss.astroviewer.net/

__________________
If it flies, I can crash it!

Thank you! I had forgotten about www.isstracker.com , and I didn't know about the astroviewer site.

__________________
Black Shire--Draft horse in human form, model rocketeer, occasional mystic, and writer, see:
http://www.lulu.com/content/paperba...an-form/8075185
http://www.lulu.com/product/cd/what...of-2%29/6122050
http://www.lulu.com/product/cd/what...of-2%29/6126511
All of my book proceeds go to the Northcote Heavy Horse Centre www.northcotehorses.com.
NAR #54895 SR

Your welcome!

isstracker sends me e-mails usually too late or at some unholy hour that it's mostly useless.

__________________
If it flies, I can crash it!

That's one advantage of being here, as we have darkness during the day in winter. Also, I found online recordings of early satellites (see: http://www.amsat.org/amsat/features...s/firstsat.html ), including Sputnik 1, Explorer 1, and Vanguard 1, among others (today is the 57th anniversary of Sputnik 1's launch).

__________________
Black Shire--Draft horse in human form, model rocketeer, occasional mystic, and writer, see:
http://www.lulu.com/content/paperba...an-form/8075185
http://www.lulu.com/product/cd/what...of-2%29/6122050
http://www.lulu.com/product/cd/what...of-2%29/6126511
All of my book proceeds go to the Northcote Heavy Horse Centre www.northcotehorses.com.
NAR #54895 SR

I just came across this quite comprehensive satellite observation site, the "Visual Satellite Observer's Home Page" (see: http://www.satobs.org/satintro.html ). It even has a video (transferred from motion picture film, of course) of a fly-over by Sputnik, plus coverage of memorable satellite re-entries.

__________________
Black Shire--Draft horse in human form, model rocketeer, occasional mystic, and writer, see:
http://www.lulu.com/content/paperba...an-form/8075185
http://www.lulu.com/product/cd/what...of-2%29/6122050
http://www.lulu.com/product/cd/what...of-2%29/6126511
All of my book proceeds go to the Northcote Heavy Horse Centre www.northcotehorses.com.
NAR #54895 SR