Can I see the ISS tonight in Plymouth?
No visible ISS pass tonight.
Next chance: Tuesday 13 Oct at 7:00 am, looking south-southeast.
The next 8 nights at a glance
2 visible passesISS pass times, night by night
start · path · brightnessTonight · Wednesday 7 Oct
dark 7:15 pm – 6:55 amThursday 8 Oct – Sunday 11 Oct
no visible passesMonday 12 Oct
dark 7:04 pm – 7:02 amTuesday 13 Oct
no visible passesWednesday 14 Oct
dark 7:00 pm – 7:05 amMagnitude is an estimate (lower = brighter; the ISS is usually between −1 and −3, brighter than any star). A pass that ends high in the sky ends because the station enters Earth's shadow, not because it sets. How we compute this.
Tiangong, China's space station
4 visible passes in 8 nightsYes · 6:17 am, look southwest. Tiangong orbits about 386 km up, tilted 41.5° to the equator. It looks like a bright, steady star gliding across the sky, fainter than the ISS but easy to see without a telescope.
| Night | Appears | Highest | Mag ≈ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thursday 8 Oct | 6:17 am | 16° S | 0 |
| Friday 9 Oct | 5:21 am | 14° SSE | 0.5 |
| Friday 9 Oct | 6:54 am | 12° SSW | 0 |
| Saturday 10 Oct | 5:57 am | 15° S | 0 |
Local time. Brightness is a rough estimate (±1 magnitude; lower is brighter). How we compute this.
Seeing the ISS from Plymouth
Plymouth is at 50.4°N. The ISS orbits at about 420 km, tilted 51.6° to the equator, so it passes within sight of this latitude on many nights. Tonight the sky is dark enough from 7:15 pm until 6:55 am. You can only see the station when it is still lit by the Sun while you are in darkness, so passes come in the hours after dusk or before dawn.
Over the next 8 nights there are 2 visible passes over Plymouth (0 in the evening, 2 before dawn). The best is on Thursday 15 Oct at 7:00 am: it appears in the south-southwest, climbs to 24° in the south-southeast and fades into Earth's shadow in the east, at about magnitude -0.5.
The next pass over Plymouth is in 6 days: Tuesday 13 Oct from 7:00 am to 7:02 am, reaching 11° in the southeast.
The ISS looks like a steady, very bright star moving smoothly across the sky in a few minutes, with no blinking lights. It needs no telescope. If the times above say it fades out high in the sky, it has entered Earth's shadow: it disappears in a few seconds.
Questions
Can I see the ISS tonight in Plymouth?
No visible ISS pass tonight. Next chance: Tuesday 13 Oct at 7:00 am, looking south-southeast.
What time is the ISS visible in Plymouth?
The next visible passes start Tuesday 13 Oct at 7:00 am; Thursday 15 Oct at 7:00 am (local time). All times are listed above.
Which direction should I look for the ISS from Plymouth?
This week most passes appear in the south-southeast or south-southwest. Each pass lists where it appears, how high it climbs and where it fades.
How long is the ISS visible over Plymouth?
This week's passes last between 2 and 5 minutes, from the moment it climbs 10° above the horizon or leaves Earth's shadow until it sets or enters the shadow.
Do I need a telescope to see the ISS?
No. It is one of the brightest objects in the night sky and is easy to see with the naked eye, even from a city.