Can the Space Station be seen by the naked Eye at night from both the usa AND SOUTHERN UK AT SAME TIME?

Question

hI GUYS,
Does anyone know if it is possible to see the ISS by the naked eye from both the USA and Southern UK at the same time. My reason for asking is , tonight around 5:30 pm i looked up at the sky which was starting to get dark and noticed this single bright light. I thought it could be the ISS so I fired up my laptop and it took me 30 mins to find a site to show where the ISS is at the time, NASA said on their website that they no longer show the ISS position live. On finding a site I found out that The ISS was going around southern America, at the same time this single bright light was still very visable from my back garden, there were no nother stars visable at the time.

pS iT AINT THE NORTH STAR AS MY BACK GARDEN IS FACING SOUTH AND i WAS SITTING ON MY RECLINER CHAIR LOOKING OUT MY BACK WINDOW.

To the guys who reconed it was Venus, well you guys were correct.

Thankyou

Answer 1

Not a chance if it was over south america, it would have to be orbiting around 2000 miles high, 300 is a usual orbit. How in hell can the NORTH star be over SOUTH america?

Answer 2

Try a site called Heavens Above.

This will tell you exactly when you will see the ISS (and other satellites). Before you sign in to the site, you need to work out your Latitude and Longitude. The site needs this to work out the timings.

I doubt whether you can see the ISS from the USA and the UK at the same time. The bright light was probably Venus, very bright in the Western sky, particularly after sunset.

Answer 3

If you go to heavens-above.com and register (free) you can input your location (either your town or lat/long) and it will predict the ISS and other bright satellites.

To answer your question: probably not. If it was visible for more than 30 minutes it probably was Venus.

The reason you probably cannot ever see it as you mentioned in your question is that the sun angle has to be just right and the ISS would have to be in just the right position. Moreover, it never gets brighter than about the brightness of Sirius, the brightest star (other than the sun). So, if it was dusk you probably didn't see the ISS at all. What you might have seen, too, is one of the constellations of Iridium satellites (they are communication satellites) that orbit at relatively low altitudes and have very large solar arrays. They can be as bright as 100 times the planet Venus. A good "Iridium Flare" as they call it, moves faster than the ISS and is much brighter. It appears fairly quickly, gets bright fast, and then disappears quickly. These satellites are in polar orbits and there are many of them. The website I told you about predicts them as well.

Answer 4

As stated it most probably was Venus which is closer to the sun than us and is the 3rd brightest object in the sky after the Sun and Moon. It sets right now just after the sun sets in the west.

The orbit of the ISS does take it below the equator over South America but right now it is over southern Asia so you can't see it at this time. Later it will be heading for the southern UK and will cross the southern Atlantic Ocean between South America and Africa. It is only between 321 km and 351 km above the earth so it is not likely to be viewed by both the Sates and UK at the same time. See link below for ISS orbit and details.

Answer 5

No it wouldn't. The distance from the USA to the UK is about 4,000 miles. The Space Shuttle would have to be at a very high altitude to be beyond the curvature of the earth and would be at least 2000 miles away (assuming it was centrally located) and at this distance it wouldn't be visible. Besides, the Space Shuttle is fast and wouldn't remain in the visible sky for long and the altitude it would have to be at is way above it's operating height.

I'm guessing that what you saw was a either a planet (probably Venus) or a satellite - they look like bright starts but if you watch closely you can see them move across the sky. There are several satellites in the visible sky at any one time and it's quite possible for a person in the US to look at one and a person in the UK to look at another - a satellite wouldn't be visible from both countries simultaneously for the same reasons the Shuttle isn't.

Answer 6

NO!

If you want to know when the I.S.S will be over your city look here

http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/realdata/sightings/cities/region.cgi?country=United_Kingdom®ion=England

Click on the nearest city or town to your location and you will receive an email when the ISS will be over your location.

Answer 7

you probably saw venus
it is very bright and near the sun so you see it around sunrise/sunset

the space station is not that high to see from both places.

even a tv sattelite that is much higher (geosyncronous)
can only send signals to one continent at a time.

Answer 8

certain that is seen from the floor, although you'll pick to understand the position to seem. visit NASA's internet web site and keep on with their practise on the thanks to outline the station. there are 1000's of satellites interior the evening sky, sturdy luck looking for it!

Answer 9

yes it can in certain times of the year u can see the space station with the naked eye people actually think im mad til i point it out to them

Answer 10

what you were seeing was a comet(mcnaught) I've been looking at it for a couple of weeks now, have a look at bbc's website it tells you all about it on there