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Where is the ISS, and can you see it tonight?
The International Space Station circles Earth every 90 minutes. Here’s where it is right now, and when it flies over your town where you can see it with your own eyes.
ISS and the next 90 minutes of its pathWhere it can be seen fromYour townNight side
Over your town
Working out when it passes over…
Only passes you can actually see are listed: the ISS lit by the Sun, your sky dark, and at least 10° up.
Overhead alerts you before a good pass, shows you where to look through your phone’s camera, and follows Starlink trains and other satellites too.
The ISS over your city
United Kingdom and Ireland
London · Manchester · Birmingham · Leeds · Liverpool · Bristol · Glasgow · Edinburgh · Cardiff · Belfast · Dublin
Germany, Austria and Switzerland
Berlin · Hamburg · Munich · Cologne · Frankfurt · Stuttgart · Düsseldorf · Leipzig · Dresden · Hanover · Nuremberg · Bremen · Vienna · Zurich
France and Belgium
Paris · Lyon · Marseille · Toulouse · Bordeaux · Lille · Nantes · Strasbourg · Brussels
Spain and Latin America
Madrid · Barcelona · Valencia · Seville · Málaga · Bilbao · Mexico City · Buenos Aires
Spotting the ISS
When can I see the ISS?
In the hour or two after sunset or before sunrise, when your sky is dark but the station, about 420 km up, is still lit by the Sun. That only lines up on some nights, in runs of a few days, which is why some weeks it shows up every evening and some weeks not at all.
What does the ISS look like?
A bright, steady white light, brighter than any star, moving smoothly across the sky in a few minutes. It doesn’t blink and makes no sound. Planes have flashing lights; the ISS doesn’t.
Do I need a telescope?
No. The ISS is easy to see with your eyes alone, even from a bright city. Just look in the direction given and wait for it to rise.
Why does it suddenly disappear?
It flies into Earth’s shadow. The sunlight on it goes out in a few seconds and it fades away mid-sky.
More in the guide: How to see the ISS. Positions are worked out in your browser from the latest orbit published by CelesTrak. Your approximate city comes from Cloudflare and isn’t stored.
News & updates
Look up. We'll tell you when.
An email when the apps arrive on Google Play, and the occasional night worth going outside for: meteor showers, aurora alerts, eclipses. No more than once a month.
Questions or ideas?
Found a bug, want a feature, or spotted something odd in the sky data? Send a message here, or email us.
hello@nearspace.app