Why Can We See Multiple ISS Passes Right Now?

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Last night in the UK, US and Europe, we were spoiled with multiple and bright ISS passes. Not just one or two, but up to six passes were able to be viewed throughout the evening in some locations.

This is quite rare as normally we get only one or maybe two visible passes in the evening or morning.

So why are we getting as many as four to six passes per night?

The ISS did receive an orbital boost and its altitude increased by around 20 kilometers. The orbital height of the ISS has an effect on how many visible passes there are at present in the Northern hemisphere. Another reason is because of the time of year.

We are only a week or so away from the Summer Solstice, the time of year when the Northern hemisphere receives the most hours of sunlight. Naturally this means we only have a few hours of darkness and the further North you go, the shorter the nights are and in some locations this time of year, it doesn’t ever get truly dark.

So why does this affect the ISS?

Basically the ISS visible passes have increased due to the station being illuminated much more by the Sun as there are more hours of sunlight right now, but the effect will wear off when we pass through Summer solstice and the nights get longer again.

Take advantage of this rare time and go outside and enjoy the ISS as much as you can in this series of visible passes.

Need to know how and when you can see the ISS? NASA has a Skywatch page where you can find your specific city to look for satellite sighting info.

Spaceweather.com, has a Satellite Tracker Tool. Just put in your zip code (good for the US and Canada) to find out what satellites will be flying over your house.

Heaven’s Above also has a city search, but also you can input your exact latitude and longitude for exact sighting information, helpful if you live out in the country.