The alert tells you when the spacecraft will appear, how long it will be overhead, the direction from which it will appear and where it will disappear.Īnother website,, allows you to check whether ISS will be visible in the next 10 days over your location. Several hours in advance, you will get a text message or email notifying you of what is expected to be a "good viewing." Good viewings are when the space station is high enough in the sky and it's dark enough to see the lights. Spot the Station is popular with more than 200,000 sign-ups at any given time. Enter your city and a cellphone number or email address for the precise minute when the space station will appear and disappear. Clouds can obscure views of the station.įind out in advance when the space station will be overhead by signing up for text messages or email alerts from NASA using Spot the Station. It is sunlight reflecting off the station's eight solar panels that makes the satellite visible from Earth. The spacecraft has to be overhead within an hour or so after dusk. Two factors determine whether you can see the space station: But in a given year, you will have several good sighting opportunities shortly after dusk. You won't be able to see the space station from Earth during the day. If you think your days go by quickly, consider this: The International Space Station orbits the Earth every 90 minutes, with astronauts seeing a sunrise or sunset every 45 minutes. It's visible for a few minutes as it sweeps across the sky and then disappears into the horizon. The International Space Station is unmistakable once you spot it. Planes have blinking lights the space station does not. If planes are in the sky, it may take a moment to tell the difference. It will be brighter than a star and almost as bright as Venus, the brightest planet.
Neither binoculars nor a telescope is needed. The space station is clearly visible with the naked eye. How do I view the International Space Station? So 36 degrees is the equivalent of four fists stacked on top of each other. One fist is the equivalent of 10 degrees. To figure out the degrees, stretch your arm out straight, make a fist and stack your fists on top of each other.
For example, "36 degrees NW" means the station will appear 36 degrees above the horizon in the northwest part of the sky. The NASA Spot the Station email or text alert gives directions on where the station will appear. Once outside, orient yourself: which way is north, south, east and west? The space station typically moves from south to north or north to south. Set a reminder alarm on your cell phone five minutes before and another alarm at the exact minute the space station is expected to appear in the sky.
#See international space station how to
Where to look: Appears in the northwest and will be visible for about 6 minutes before disappearing in the south-southeast.Īt the request of, Vishnu Reddy, an associate professor in the University of Arizona's Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, and Stephanie Schierholz, a spokeswoman for NASA's Human Space Flight, shared tips about how to spot the ISS.
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