It will also be moving considerably faster than a typical airplane (airplanes generally fly at about 600 miles (965 km) per hour the space station flies at 17,500 miles (28,000 km) per hour). ISS Tracker - Watch the International Space Station Live with our unique tracker where you can track and watch live an on-board video with UK pass times. The space station looks like an airplane or a very bright star moving across the sky, except it doesn’t have flashing lights or change direction. The letters represent compass directions - N is north, WNW is west by northwest, and so on.ĭisappears represents where in the night sky the International Space Station will leave your field of view. This value, like maximum height, also is measured in degrees from the horizon. If you hold your fist at arm’s length and place your fist resting on the horizon, the top will be about 10 degrees.Īppears is the location in the sky where the station will be visible first. The horizon is at zero degrees, and directly overhead is ninety degrees. It represents the height of the space station from the horizon in the night sky.

More sighting times for these and other American cities are below. Skywatchers along the station’s orbital track from New Orleans, La., to Portland, Maine, can see the orbital lab Friday and Saturday night. Max Height is measured in degrees (also known as elevation). The International Space Station will cross over the United States this weekend from the Gulf Coast to the North Atlantic. Visible is the maximum time period the space station is visible before crossing back below the horizon. This is the optimum viewing period as the sun reflects off the space station and contrasts against the darker sky. All sightings will occur within a few hours before or after sunrise or sunset. Time is when the sighting opportunity will begin in your local time zone. Visible to the naked eye, it looks like a fast-moving plane only much higher and traveling thousands of miles an hour faster!

It is the third brightest object in the sky and easy to spot if you know when to look up. Watch the International Space Station pass overhead.

International space station viewing