ISS Spotter Thread

[Gonçalo]

Hello everyone! I'm pretty new here at Kerbal Space Program Forum (actually, this is my first post), so I hope I'll have fun here!

I decided to create this thread because yesterday I saw an app in the AppStore called "ISS Spotter" and I got intrigued with the fact that I was possible to see the International Space Station without any tools. You just need to know when it is visible in your zone and where to look... and this app tells you exactly when the ISS is visible to you, the peak of visibility and when it starts to disappear. It will also tell you where to look in the sky and give you reminders when it's about to happens. Just google it "ISS Spotter" there's an Android and iOS version.

So I decided to give it a try today and as soon as I saw a little white-orange rapidly passing through the sky I called my family and we all had 2 magic minutes (my sister was so scared). Unfortunately I forgot to film or take a picture, but I will definetely do it the next time (tomorrow ).

By the way, if you have a hard time finding it in the night sky it's the most bright "object" in the sky after the Sun and the Moon... but use the app

Don't waste any time with a telescope, it moves WAAAAAY too fast to catch it with it! Instead use binoculars, you'll be able to notice the "H" shape of the station without any problem!

Share your experiences!

[sal_vager]

Hi and welcome to the community Gonçalo

You might like this site, as it lets you see where satellites are on your PC.

I find that the ISS can be quite hard to spot in a city, it's better if you can find somewhere away from the city lights.

[Gonçalo]

Hi and welcome to the community Gonçalo

You might like this site, as it lets you see where satellites are on your PC.

I find that the ISS can be quite hard to spot in a city, it's better if you can find somewhere away from the city lights.

Thank you! I'll take a look on that website

I live 30KM away from the biggest city, Porto (I'm Portuguese) so as far as there are no clouds in the sky I can clearly see most of the planets, ISS, etc...

[The Destroyer]

I wish I had a phone that has an app capability.

[ZodiaK]

I watched the ISS fly over for 6 days in a row from my back garden last week.

cool.

[R0cketC0der]

I wish I had a phone that has an app capability.

You can still use this one your pc: http://spotthestation.nasa.gov/sightings/#.U1TezH8aySM

[Tex_NL]

Or you use http://www.isstracker.com/

It shows among other things orbital paths for the next few orbits, current position in real time AND an horizon from where the ISS is visible.

[KvickFlygarn87]

Why was your sister scared?

[Gonçalo]

Why was your sister scared?

Well, she's only 6 years old and I told showed her a picture of the ISS, I told her some curious facts about it ("it's more or less the size of a stadium", etc) so she thought that she would be able to see the real size of the ISS just above her head and she was afraid that the it would fell and kill us all hehehehehe.. kids