The International Space Station is the brainchild of many countries, a space home close to Earth. It is constantly increasing, new modules are being added to it, and the ISS can already be seen from Earth with the naked eye. If you set out to see the ISS from Earth, remember that nothing is impossible. This station was not only seen, but also photographed by residents of different countries right from the roof of their house. Our tips will help you make your dream come true and see the International Space Station with your own eyes.
It is necessary
- - computer with internet access;
- - dark night sky without clouds.
Instructions
Step 1
To begin with, keep in mind that the station can be seen when it is lit, and the Earth (that is, you) is in the shade. Also, choose a time when the station is on your side of the equator and the sky is not obscured by clouds.
Step 2
To find out where the ISS is currently located, download the program https://www.heavensat.ru/#links, unpack and install it on your computer. However, without files with information about satellites' orbits and parameters of stars, the program will be useless, so on the same page take the archive "SKY2000 Master Catalog, Version" and add it to the program (folder "StarCatalogs").
Step 3
Then download the folder with the parameters of the orbits of artificial earth satellites from CelesTrak.com or www.space-track.org, place it in the Tle folder in the Heavensat directory.
Step 4
Run the program and find it in the ISS handbook, there it is called ISS (ZARYA). Click on the "Earth" tab, on the right, click the "Satellite bases" button. Then select the Tle file that you downloaded before (in the program on the left). You will see all the satellites for which there is information in your database.
Step 5
Turn on the real time mode ("Now" button), you will see how and in which direction different satellites are moving. Find on the right in the window "source of satellites" and click "custom", enter ISS in the upper field, as a result, the line ISS (ZARYA) will appear. In other tabs, set your coordinates to see if the station is flying past you at this moment.
Step 6
Now you know where the ISS is flying at a given time, and to find out where it will be, for example, in an hour, use the simulation mode.
Step 7
If you did everything correctly, but something didn't work out, you can try the next option. Go to the Mission Control Center website https://www.mcc.rsa.ru/trassa.htm. Check out the real-time trajectory of the International Space Station here.
Step 8
Another option is the ISS trajectory based on Google Maps https://www.lizard-tail.com/isana/tracking/, here you can see the station's height above the Earth, its speed, current coordinates. If you have time, and you are lucky, you will have time to see your house from space.
