A little spectacle takes place regularly above the Canary Islands. However, you can only see it in the dark: when the International Space Station (ISS) flies over the Canary Islands, a bright speck of light streaks across the night sky for a moment. We’ll tell you exactly when here.
The International Space Station (ISS) orbits the Earth 15 times every day. It can also be seen from time to time over the Canary Islands. But, of course, only when it is dark and the sky is not overcast.
The ISS in the Canary Islands‘ night sky at an altitude of 400 kilometres
When the ISS races across the Canary Islands‘ night sky at an altitude of around 400 kilometres, it can be observed for a few minutes. This is possible because the International Space Station’s huge solar panels reflect sunlight. In total, the ISS is almost as big as a football pitch.
It often appears somewhere in the sky, races from one side to the other, and then suddenly disappears again after a few minutes. It has then entered the Earth’s shadow.
By the way: the ISS normally has a crew of six. However, due to delays in commercial spaceflight programmes by Boeing and Elon Musk’s company SpaceX, the regular crew has currently been reduced to half that number.
When will the ISS next be visible over the Canary Islands?
So when exactly will the ISS be visible over the Canary Islands? The widget below will tell you. We’ve chosen Santa Cruz as our starting point, as the capital of Tenerife lies roughly in the centre of the Canary Islands. If you’d like to observe the ISS from another part of the archipelago, you should look up at the sky and keep an eye out for about two minutes around the time shown below.
And now we wish you lots of fun watching the ISS over the Canary Islands!
No comments on this article yet.