ISS Live — Watch Earth From Space Right Now
NASA broadcasts live 24/7 from cameras mounted on the International Space Station — streaming Earth from 420km up, right now. Watch continents drift past, sunrises every 45 minutes, and auroras from above. When the ISS enters Earth's shadow the feed goes dark — part of the experience.
At on 23 August 2026, ISS was over the South Pacific at 422 km (47.9°S 130.3°E). It circles Earth every 92.9 minutes, so it will have moved well on from there. This position is recomputed each time the page is served. As of 23 August 2026, 9 astronauts are aboard the International Space Station. It has been continuously crewed since November 2000, and at magnitude −4 it is the brightest object in the night sky after the Moon and Venus — bright enough to spot from a city centre.
OrbitalNodes.ai tracks the ISS in real time using live telemetry and SGP4 orbital propagation. We show its exact position on a 3D globe, predict when it will next pass over your location, and give you plain-English directions like "Look Northwest, halfway up the sky" so you know exactly where to point your eyes.
📡 WATCH NASA LIVE FEED ↓● Perfectly steady — no blink
● Faster than any aircraft
● Horizon to horizon in 4–6 min
Brighter than Venus
ISS FAQ
How do I see the ISS tonight?
Check our tracker for next pass times from your location. The ISS looks like a very bright, steady star moving quickly across the sky — it crosses from horizon to horizon in about 4 minutes. Best visibility is during twilight, and our site tells you exactly which direction to look.
How bright is the ISS?
The ISS can reach magnitude −5.9, making it the brightest object in the night sky after the Moon. It's brighter than Venus and easily visible from cities, even with significant light pollution. You don't need binoculars or a telescope.
Who is on the ISS right now?
The ISS typically hosts 6-7 crew members from NASA, ESA, JAXA, and Roscosmos on rotating missions lasting about 6 months. Our tracker shows the station's real-time position — the crew sees a sunrise every 45 minutes as they orbit Earth 16 times a day.
Can I see the ISS during the day?
Not usually — the sky is too bright. The ISS is only visible during twilight when the sky is dark enough to see it but the station is still in direct sunlight. This creates a viewing window of roughly 30-60 minutes after sunset and before sunrise.
How long has the ISS been continuously crewed?
Since November 2, 2000 — over 25 years of continuous human presence in space. More than 270 people from 21 countries have visited. The station has hosted hundreds of scientific experiments and serves as a testbed for long-duration spaceflight technology needed for future missions to the Moon and Mars.
Can you see the ISS with a telescope?
You can, but it's harder than most people expect. The ISS moves so fast that manual tracking through a telescope is nearly impossible — by the time you've centred it in the eyepiece, it's moved. Binoculars are actually better for casual viewing and can reveal a faint cross or plus shape when held steady. For detailed images of the solar panels and modules, astrophotographers use motorised mounts that can track the station automatically. With the naked eye the ISS simply looks like a very bright, fast-moving star.
Why does the ISS sometimes disappear mid-pass?
The ISS enters Earth's shadow — it's no longer in direct sunlight so has nothing to reflect. This often happens toward the end of a pass as the station dips into the shadow cone. It can be quite dramatic watching a bright object simply fade out and vanish in seconds. OrbitalNodes shows you exactly when this will happen during each pass.
How fast does the ISS move across the sky?
Very fast — it crosses from horizon to horizon in about 4-6 minutes for a high-elevation pass. At 27,600 km/h it covers roughly 8km every second. You can see it move against the stars in real time, which is one of the things that makes it so satisfying to spot. It moves noticeably faster than any aircraft.