When to spot the International Space Station, visible over the UK up to July 31
The International Space Station (ISS) is visible once again in the night sky during July.
This week, up until the end of July, there will be many opportunities to spot the space station, especially for night owls as it will be visible late at night and in the early hours of the morning.
The space station always orbits the Earth from the west, varying between south-west and west-south-west, to the east. Clouds permitting, there will be a bright pass at 11.30pm tonight, July 13, and tomorrow night, July 14, at 10.43pm.
You might get luckier towards the end of the week, when the weather looks set to improve, with the opportunity to spot the spacecraft at 11.32pm on July 15 and 10.45pm on July 16.
Weekend watchers have two opportunities on Saturday evening, July 17, at 9.57pm and 11.34pm – both of these passes should be very bright, with another opportunity on Sunday night, July 18, at 10.47pm.
The bright passes continue in the evenings to the end of the month, mainly between 10pm and 11pm.
The ISS is the largest space station/laboratory ever built and serves as an orbital laboratory, factory, testing ground and home, with crew members conducting experiments from biology to astronomy.
If you want to wave at the astronauts as they fly over us at 17,500mph and an altitude of roughly 200 miles, you might want to settle yourself in a garden chair with a blanket and a flask of coffee while you gaze up at the sky.