LifestyleOutdoorsThe International Space Station flies above our heads regularly, orbiting the planet every 90 minutes at a height of over 250 miles

Wednesday, 3rd June 2020, 9:27 am

Of course, it's impossible to see during the day, but at night - and with the space station's orbit passing over Britain just so - it takes on the appearance of a bright star moving across the sky.

It can actually be startling when you first spot it - a glowing orb without the telltale flashes of an aircraft's wing drifting silently through the dark - but the station passes overhead fairly frequently.

It goes through periods when we won't be able to see it for months, as its diagonal orbit crosses other parts of the planet, but every now and then, there comes a space of a few weeks when it flies overhead - and at night.

Heres everything you need to know:

You should have no trouble spotting the International Space Station when it drifts overhead - we say 'drift', but it's actually travelling at over 17,000 mph.

The station takes on the appearance of a bright star, and is usually much brighter than anything else in the sky.

Sometimes the station will rise over the horizon; other times it might 'fade' into view in the middle of the night sky as it enters into the sun's light.

It will always appear in the west, and will travel eastwards.

And just as it appears, it may disappear in the same way, growing fainter and fainter until its completely enshrouded by the Earth's shadow.

You'll easily be able to spot it with the naked eye (cloud cover permitting of course), though even modestly priced binoculars may be able to pick out some of the station's details, like its large solar panels.

So take a look up, there's a good chance you'll spot the International Space Station, and it can be amazing to think there are actually people living up there and conducting experiments within the space environment.

The experiments that they carry out would be almost impossible to replicate on earth.

Can you see the ISS fly over Scotland in June?

Unfortunately, as we head into June, NASA's Spot the Station website lists no visible sightings of the station, and its unclear as to when well be able to witness it passing through UK skies again.

Its still up there though it will just be flying overhead during daylight hours

If you still want to get a picture of where it is, you can use isstracker.com, which gives real-time updates on the orbital location of the station.

The rest is here:

International Space Station tracker: will you be able to see the ISS flying over Scotland in June? - The Scotsman