What is the International Space Station? And now - at least until April 24th, 2020 - a cluster of satellites known as Starlink will also be making its way over. See the plotted paths of past, present and future orbits all from a single page. The table underneath the month’s Moon phase data then shows current nighttime passes of the International Space Station over your chosen location during the next five days, if any.
Sightings of the International Space Station last week gave people shut indoors during lockdown a bit of a lift. Live video from the International Space Station includes internal views when the crew is on-duty and Earth views at other times. Wild camping: Would trashing of wilderness areas happen less in an independent Scotland?10 of the best places to get fish and chips in ScotlandOf course, it's impossible to see during the day, but at night - and with the space station's orbit passing over Britain just so - it takes on the appearance of a bright star moving across the sky.It can actually be startling when you first spot it - a glowing orb without the telltale flashes of an aircraft's wing drifting silently through the dark - but the station passes overhead fairly frequently.It goes through periods when we won't be able to see it for months, as its diagonal orbit crosses other parts of the planet, but every now and then, there comes a space of a few weeks when it flies overhead - and at night.You should have no trouble spotting the International Space Station when it drifts overhead - we say 'drift', but it's actually travelling at over 17,000 mph.The station takes on the appearance of a bright star, and is usually much brighter than anything else in the sky.Sometimes the station will rise over the horizon; other times it might 'fade' into view in the middle of the night sky as it enters into the sun's light.It will always appear in the west, and will travel eastwards.And just as it appears, it may disappear in the same way, growing fainter and fainter until its completely enshrouded by the Earth's shadow.You'll easily be able to spot it with the naked eye (cloud cover permitting of course), though even modestly priced binoculars may be able to pick out some of the station's details, like its large solar panels.So take a look up, there's a good chance you'll spot the International Space Station, and it can be amazing to think there are actually people living up there and conducting experiments within the space environment.The experiments that they carry out would be almost impossible to replicate on earth.It’s still up there though – it will just be flying overhead during daylight hoursIf you still want to get a picture of where it is, you can use This website and its associated newspaper are members of Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO) This is the optimum viewing period as the sun reflects off the space station and contrasts against the darker sky.Weather permitting, it should be easily visible as a bright dot, like a fast-moving plane or shooting star.The International Space Station is NASA's orbiting research facility. It's the largest man-made object in the sky, travelling around our planet 15 times a day.At 357ft end to end, it's almost as long as a football field. UFOs have been spotted near the International Space Station (ISS) during a NASA live stream, with one cosmonaut reportedly heard acknowledging the fleet, an alien life conspiracy theorist has claimed.