- Appears
- 20:18 · 0° up in the WNW
- Highest
- 25° in the SW
- Disappears
- 20:27 · 6° up in the SSE
- Visible for
- 8m 56s
- Brightness
- magnitude -0.3
- Closest
- 906 km
Visible passes
The ISS over Cape Town
Next visible pass 10 October 2026 at 20:18, 25° up in the SW.
The station is bright enough to be unmistakable — brighter than any star, moving steadily, never blinking. It crosses Cape Town 7.2 times a day on average, but you can only see it when three things line up at once: it is above your horizon, it is still in sunlight up at 420 km, and the sky down here has already gone dark. That is why sightings cluster in the couple of hours after dusk and before dawn.
4 visible passes in the next five days, out of 36 that go over at all.
10 October 2026
11 October 2026
- Appears
- 19:31 · 0° up in the WNW
- Highest
- 41° in the SW
- Disappears
- 19:42 · -2° up in the SE
- Visible for
- 11m 15s
- Brightness
- magnitude -1.3
- Closest
- 629 km
12 October 2026
- Appears
- 20:22 · 0° up in the W
- Highest
- 11° in the SSW
- Disappears
- 20:31 · 0° up in the SSE
- Visible for
- 9m 05s
- Brightness
- magnitude 0.9
- Closest
- 1448 km
13 October 2026
- Appears
- 19:34 · 0° up in the W
- Highest
- 16° in the SSW
- Disappears
- 19:44 · -1° up in the SE
- Visible for
- 10m 16s
- Brightness
- magnitude 0.5
- Closest
- 1196 km
How to watch
No equipment. Be outside a couple of minutes early, look towards the direction given above, and wait for a steady white point to climb out of the horizon. It moves about as fast as a high aircraft but shows no flashing lights and makes no sound. A pass takes a few minutes from edge to edge.
Passes below 10° are left out: at that height the station is behind whatever buildings and trees you actually have, and there is enough air in the way to dim it well below the brightness quoted here.
Computed with SGP4 from orbital elements issued 11 hours ago by CelesTrak, refreshed every hour. Element sets decay, and the station manoeuvres — times more than a few days out will shift. Also see what else is visible tonight from Cape Town.