Space AtlasHow to see the International Space Station
The ISS is the brightest satellite in the sky and one of the easiest things to spot with the naked eye. It orbits about 400 kilometres up at 28,000 kilometres per hour, circling Earth roughly every 90 minutes, and on a clear evening it sails over as a brilliant, steady white light. Here is how to catch it, and how to get the exact pass times over your own location.
When and where to look
- Aim for the twilight windows: the two hours after sunset or before sunrise, when your sky is dark but the station is still catching sunlight.
- Face the western half of the sky to start. The ISS rises in the west and sets toward the east because it orbits from west to east.
- Give your eyes a minute to adjust, and pick a spot away from bright lights with a clear view low to the horizon.
- Use the pass predictions for your exact location so you are looking in the right minute: a pass lasts only a few minutes.
Get pass times over you
Open the atlas and switch to the Sky view. It uses your location to list the next visible passes of the ISS over the coming 24 hours, with local rise and set times, how high the station will climb, the compass directions to look toward, and a badge for the passes bright enough to see. You can also select the station directly and follow it around the globe in 3D.
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Frequently asked questions
- When can I see the ISS?
- The ISS is visible for a few minutes at a time, usually in the couple of hours after sunset or before sunrise, when the sky above you is dark but the station is still lit by the Sun. It orbits Earth about every 90 minutes, so on a good week there are several visible passes over your location. Live pass times in the atlas tell you the exact minutes for where you are. Track the ISS in the atlas
- What does the ISS look like from the ground?
- It looks like a single very bright, steady white light, brighter than any star or planet, moving smoothly across the sky in a straight line with no flashing. A typical pass takes two to five minutes from one horizon toward the other. If the light is blinking or you hear an engine, it is a plane, not the station.
- Which direction should I look?
- The ISS almost always rises somewhere in the western half of the sky and sets toward the east, because it orbits from west to east. The exact rise and set directions change with every pass, so use the pass predictions for your location, which give the compass bearing to look toward and how high the station will climb.
- How fast and how high is the ISS?
- The International Space Station orbits at roughly 400 kilometres up and travels about 28,000 kilometres per hour, circling the whole Earth roughly every 90 minutes. That speed is why it crosses your sky in just a few minutes and why the timing of a pass matters.
- Do I need a telescope to see the space station?
- No. The ISS is one of the easiest things in the night sky to see with the naked eye, and it is often the brightest point of light up there. A telescope or binoculars are not needed, though steady binoculars can hint at its shape. All you need is a clear sky and the right few minutes.