Can You See the ISS Tonight? When and How to Spot the International Space Station

The International Space Station (ISS) has been continuously inhabited for more than 25 years and remains one of the most visible human-made objects in Earth’s sky. From the ground it often appears as a bright, steady point of light moving smoothly across the heavens — and with a little planning you can watch it pass overhead.

What the ISS Is

The ISS is a multinational orbital laboratory run by NASA, Roscosmos, ESA, JAXA and the Canadian Space Agency. It orbits the planet roughly every 90 minutes (about 16 times per day) at an altitude near 260 miles (≈420 km) and travels at roughly 17,500 mph (≈28,000 km/h). Over 290 people from 26 countries have visited the station during its decades-long mission.

When To Look

The best times to spot the ISS are within a few hours after sunset or before sunrise. During those windows the station is illuminated by sunlight while the ground below is in twilight or darkness, making the ISS visible as it reflects sunlight the way the Moon does. It is not usually visible in full daylight.

How To Spot It

• Use NASA's Spot the Station service or the European Space Agency's online tracker to get precise pass times, direction and elevation for your location.
• Choose a location with a clear, unobstructed view of the sky and a wide horizon.
• Look for a steady, bright point of light that moves steadily (no blinking like aircraft). From most places it will appear to travel west to east.
• No special equipment is required; the naked eye is enough. Binoculars or a small telescope can reveal more detail (solar arrays, overall shape) under good conditions.

What It Looks Like

Under favorable lighting the ISS can be among the brightest objects in the night sky — sometimes brighter than Venus — because of sunlight reflecting off its large solar panels. It will appear as a steady, non-blinking light crossing the sky in a minute or two, depending on the pass.

Current Crew And Recent Events

At present the station is operating with a skeleton crew of three: NASA astronaut Chris Williams and Russian cosmonauts Sergey Mikaev and Sergey Kud-Sverchkov, who launched aboard Soyuz MS-28. Earlier in January, four Crew-11 members returned early for medical reasons, which temporarily reduced the station’s complement; the next rotation (Crew-12) is scheduled to arrive in February.

Where To Get Alerts

Download NASA's Spot the Station alerts (free on the Apple App Store and Google Play) or bookmark the ESA tracker to follow the ISS in real time and receive notifications for visible passes over your location.

Tip: If you see a steady bright object crossing the sky shortly after sunset or before sunrise, chances are you’ve just spotted the ISS.

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