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© U.S. Air ForceThe x37-b space plane is one of Legault's favorite targets
As long as there have been governments, there have been secret projects. With the influx of humans into space, the room for government black projects has grown significantly and, until recently, governments from all over the world have been able to consider space a safe zone from where they were free to hide things from the prying eyes of the populace.

Ever since humans have been flying and/or launching things into space, there have been opportunities to see space vehicles in flight thanks to the sunlight reflected off of their metallic exteriors. From dark skies far away from the city, it is possible to see some satellites as small as a refrigerator should the conditions allow. Needless to say, with space becoming ever more crowded, satellite watching has become a favorite past time for some astronomers such as the observation of natural objects was in decades past.

Come 2011, thanks to advances in technology, secret government satellites are frequently becoming objects of examination, too.

Thierry Legault is a man with a mission: photograph any artificial objects orbiting the Earth, whether governments like it or not. To help in this endeavor, Legault has, with imaging partner Emmanuel Rietsch, developed his own computer software programs and has even modified an off the shelf Takahashi mount for the purpose of tracking fast-moving satellites as they orbit the Earth. To make sure everything is where it is supposed to be, the pair uses a video camera as an autoguider to keep targets centered for the camera.

Result: a whole website of pictures and videos.

Now, while not everyone (obviously) has the time or means to do such imaging, the still cool fact is that there is a lot of stuff up in space that people can see with the naked eye when the right lighting occurs. Spaceweather, Heavens Above, and the Calsky Database (where Legault finds his orbital data) all can help serve a beginning satellite watcher very well.

So, next time you head out under the night sky, why not try and bag some satellites to go with your stars and planets?