Notes

How to see the ISS

The station is the brightest human-made object in the sky after the Moon. It does not blink. It does not make a sound. It takes two to six minutes to cross, and then it is gone.

You need three things

A dark enough sky that Venus would be obvious. A pass that reaches at least 30° above the horizon — lower ones hide behind trees and apartments. And sunlight on the station while you are in shadow, which is why the useful passes cluster after sunset and before sunrise.

Open the ISS tracker, set your place, and wait for a pass labelled high. Go outside two minutes early. Face the direction it appears. Do not hunt with a phone torch.

What you will see

A point of light, as bright as Jupiter or brighter, sliding without a trail. If it fades in the middle of the sky, it has entered Earth's shadow. That is not cloud. That is geometry.

Binoculars turn it into a tiny, unsatisfying dash. A telescope, unless you are practised at tracking, will show you a blur and a sore neck. Naked eye is the correct instrument.

People still in the sky

Crews rotate. The count changes. What does not change is the orbit: 51.6° inclination, about 400 km up, 90-odd minutes per lap. If you live between roughly 55° N and 55° S, it will eventually go over your house.

Next: first binoculars