If you look up tonight, you might see a new light in the sky. The new Russian satellite Mayak—meaning "lighthouse"—was launched into orbit on Friday. Mayak wears a reflective surface that makes it the second brightest object in the night sky, after the moon.
Mayak is a small cubesat, only measuring a few inches across. It contains a large reflective membrane that was stretched out in the shape of a pyramid almost 10 feet on each side. This pyramid catches the sunlight and sends it toward Earth, making the Mayak one of the brightest objects in orbit.
Part of Mayak's mission is to test new ways of measuring the brightness of satellites. The other part is to test a new method of slowing down a satellite for reentry. If the braking system is successful, it could enable future satellites to reenter the Earth's atmosphere more easily and burn up there, potentially reducing the clutter in orbit.
This second half of Mayak's mission means the satellite won't be in the sky for very long—only about a month before Russia tests the braking system and brings down the sat. So if you want to spot the brightest satellite in the sky you have to move fast. The Mayak team has released an Android app—with an iPhone app coming soon—that will track the position of the satellite for you, but if you can't speak Russian it might be tricky to use. Instead, you could use a different satellite tracking program to spot it.
Source: New Atlas
