International Space Station passes over the UK for end of March 2021

Spectacle that the whole family can enjoy

The International Space Station (ISS) will be visible over the UK from tonight (Saturday).

The ISS will appear around 8.04pm, lasting for around three minutes.

The station will appear throughout the rest of March and into April, tomorrow around 7.17pm, 8.06pm on Monday, and 7.18pm on Tuesday etc.

The ISS always appear from the south west and travels in a straight line to the east. It is usually visible for between three and five minutes.

The best thing to do is to wrap up warm and get outside a few minutes before its scheduled appearance, in order to acclimatise your eyes to the night sky, and then watch out for the bright light and wave at the astronauts as they fly over.

Watching the ISS fly over is a great way of getting youngsters interested in the night sky. On a clear evening you can point out the spaceship as it flies past star constellations and planets visible to the naked eye.

The station orbits Earth at 17500mph at an altitude of roughly 200 miles.

The ISS will return to UK evening skies in May 2021.