Aditya Madanapalle

There is a spate of International Space Station (ISS) sighting opportunities going on, with the ISS appearing every day in the evening for four consecutive days. This will allow skygazers in India to spot the ISS for a few minutes every evening, and opens up a window of opportunity for taking videos or photographs. Long exposure photographs taken during these timings will result in a trail of the ISS.

According to an article in Mid-Day, the 21 December sighting will see the ISS pass between Mars and Venus as seen from the Earth. The space station will pass between Mars and Venus on 22 December as well. Hitesh Gusani, a photographer who conducts workshops and lectures in educational institutes across India suggests the use of the ISS Detector Satellite Tracker app for sighting the space station, and keeping track of when it will appear next. The application can be configured to alert you when the Space Station is about to appear. The app shows the angle and direction of the appearance, as well as the timing. There is a radar component, that just points to the direction of the ISS, similar to a compass. The application can also be used to track Iridium satellites, also visible with the naked eye.

Stellarium is a software with a plugin loaded but not activated by default, that can be used to track man made objects in orbit and check if and when they will appear in the proximity of particular stars, planets or moons. The feature is particularly helpful for photographers. NASA maintains an ISS sightings page to track sightings of the ISS near your location, and can be configured to notify you when sightings are imminent.

Apart from setting up alerts for when the ISS is about to come into view, the information can also be shared on social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter. On December 22, the ISS is going to be brighter and clearer because of improved visibility conditions. The spacecraft will pass directly overhead sky-gazers in in India. The space station will be visible with the naked eye, and can be videographed with a basic camera. Recently, a sky-gazer in Shilma caught the ISS on video.

Nasa broadcasts live video from the Space Station almost around the clock. The view switches between internal and external cameras on board the ISS. You can learn more about the ISS through the 4K walkthrough of the ISS released by Nasa.