Question 1

How do I spot the ISS?

Accepted Answer

Go outside a few minutes early and let your eyes adjust. Face the direction shown and look for a bright, steady light moving smoothly across the sky. It doesn't flash like a plane, and it crosses the sky in a few minutes. You don't need a telescope or binoculars.

Question 2

Why can I only see the ISS at dusk and dawn?

Accepted Answer

Satellites don't shine by themselves. They reflect sunlight. You can see one when your sky is dark but the Sun is still lighting it up high above you, and that mostly happens in the hours after sunset and before sunrise. A pass can end in mid-sky when the satellite enters Earth's shadow.

Question 3

How do I read the satellite map?

Accepted Answer

You're in the middle, with north at the top. Each dot sits over the spot on Earth directly below that satellite. Its direction from you is the way to look, and the closer it is to you, the higher it is in your sky. Green dots are high enough and lit by the Sun in a dark sky, though the fainter ones need a dark spot away from street lights. Grey dots are too low, in Earth's shadow, or lost in a bright sky. The Sky button shows the same satellites as a chart of the sky above you.

Question 4

How accurate are ISS pass times?

Accepted Answer

Times are calculated from the latest published orbit data, using the same standard model other trackers use. They're usually right to within a few seconds for the next day or two. The ISS sometimes adjusts its orbit, so check again on the day for passes further ahead.

See the ISS and what's above you now

Where are you?

Where the stations are now

International Space Station

Tiangong space station

Good to know

How to spot the ISS

Why only at dusk and dawn?

How to read the map

How accurate are the times?