Southern Turkey and Greek Island of Kastellórizon:
Space Station ISS visible
during total solar eclipse
Thousands of solar eclipse freaks gather in southern Turkey and on the Greek Island of Kastellórizon
to witness the darkness of a total solar eclipse.
If you are a part of the crowd, try to make an additional, unparalleled experience:
observe the manned International Space Station ISS during the total phase of the solar eclipse with
your naked eye.
On the following maps you find the view of the starry sky during mid eclipse for several locations.
Also plotted on the maps are the positions of ISS, some places are marked at full minute.
The size of the dots for ISS are relative to the apparent brightness of the space station
− the obscuration of the sun by the moon is accounted for as seen from the astronauts.
(actually the astronauts just miss the umbra cone of the shadow of the moon, they only witness a
deep partial solar eclipse).
To witness a total solar eclipse is such an unforgetable and short experience that you should
not sacrify more than 30 seconds to search for the space station!
Just make a short scan of the area of the sky where you expect it and try to find it.
Greek island of Kastellórizon
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Greek island of Kastellórizon: the flight path of the International Space Station ISS during the
time of the total solar eclipse. The star chart is drawn for mid-eclipse (13:53 EEST, local time).
Totality is from 13:52 to 13:55 EEST.
Between 13:53 and 13:55 ISS is brighter than 1½ magnitude.
At 13:54:30 ISS is at its brightest, about 1.3 magnitude in direction north west. ISS builds a
rhomb with the stars of the summer triangle (Vega, Deneb and Altair) and is as bright as Deneb.
Antalya, Southern Turkey
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Antalya, Southern Turkey:
the flight path of the International Space Station ISS during the
time of the total solar eclipse. The star chart is drawn for mid-eclipse (13:56 EEST, local time).
Totality is from 13:54:25 to 13:57:37 EEST.
ISS can be seen around second contact: between 13:53:30 and 13:54:45 ISS shines as bright as a star
of 1½ magnitude. The space station moves above the bright star Vega.
Konya, Turkey
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Konya, Turkey:
the flight path of the International Space Station ISS during the
time of the total solar eclipse. The star chart is drawn for mid-eclipse (13:59:45 EEST, local time).
Totality is from 13:57:55 to 14:01:34 EEST.
ISS can probably be seen low in the south east around seconds contact, with the help of binoculars:
Between 13:57:30 and 13:58:30 ISS shines as a star as bright as 2½ magnitude
− not very striking and not really worth to sacrifice precious eclipse time.
ISS is about as high above horizon as the brightest star, planet Venus.
Quality of the predictions: The calculations are accurate to a few seconds. The prediction of the magnitude of
the space station is more subject to uncertainties. For example, the darkening of the sun towards its rim
is not accounted for. The fact that ISS is not spherical is another source for variations.
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