Sky Guide

[NYCFC_Dan]

I was replying to Seth’s post in the playoff thread but it would of taken it well off topic so I figured making a new post here would be better.

Sorry folks but there’s an hour to go but it’s totally overcast, alas. There’s an app called Sputnik! that tells you when visible ISS passes will happen. Theres also an app called SkySafari that’s basically an entire planetarium in your pocket. And lastly you can sign up for emails from NASA that will let you know maybe 12 hours in advance, which is how I knew it’d happen today.

City win!!!!
We had a flyover in Florida a few days ago. One horizon to the other in all of 4 minutes. Flew directly overhead.
I also use Sky Guide. It’s a pay once App and one of the best purchases you’ll make. If you’re fascinated by space it’s a must have. For the last couple of weeks Saturn Jupiter and Venus have been in alignment. Most people think they’re just stars but I like to point my phone up at the sky from time to time and it gives you an augmented reality view of the sky when you turn your compass on and you can move your phone around and click on each star to see what it is and information about it.
This is the ISS next to Venus. Screenshot and picture are slightly apart which is why ISS is slightly higher.

 

[Kenny]

Love this! I live in the City so it’s hard to see much but you can see the planets on a clear night.

 

[Seth]

This is a good week for seeing the space station: tonight (11/22/2021) at 5:57pm, tomorrow 11/23 at 5:09pm and again at 6:48pm (although not near as bright), the 24th at 6:00pm, the 25th at 5:13pm, the 26th at 6:04pm, and several in the days after. The ISS is alway flying overhead, orbiting every 90 minutes or so, but it's not alway in the right position or passing over at the right time. You can only see if it the angles are just right so that it can reflect sunlight to make it visible. That's why most visible passes are around dawn or sunset.

To expand on my post in the match thread, I use a few things for ISS passes. The main one is NASA emails. You can subscribe at https://spotthestation.nasa.gov. They'll send you an email in advance letting you know when a pass will be visible from your location.

Sputnik!
I also use several apps. One is called Sputnik! (and yes, the exclamation is part of the app name). Once NASA alerts me the app lets me see the schedule for the next few days, and which passes will be the bright ones. It also tells you how long the ISS will be visible and where to look. There's even a Show Device Orientation button that will point your phone right at where the ISS should be. Another thing the app has is locations. The NASA emails are only one location, but Sputnik! lets you put in any number of locations as well as being able to find where you are.

SkySafari Pro
SkySafari is the real deal. It's a pro astronomy app that lets you do all sorts of crazy things. Want to fly around the solar system? No prob. Want to aim your computerized telescope at something specific and track it across the sky? Can do. I mostly use for its compass function though. You can search for the ISS (or anything, really) and tell it to center the object. Then if you hold up your phone it will show an arrow on the screen pointing to what you're looking for. So basically I can say "find the ISS" and then I can hold my phone up and I'll be able to "see" where the space station is. It's just cross hairs usually but then there's a green dot that glows and gets larger when the station will be visible. So I was sitting at home before I left for the match and with the app set to 5pm was able to follow the path of the space station across the sky to see where it would be over the stadium. Basically you can hold your phone up to the sky and find the space station. Or Mars. Or Jupiter. Or anything you want to identify. They just released version 7 for iOS a week ago and it's half price for the moment. The pro version is $25 (normally $50). They also have Android and Mac versions, and far less expensive Plus and Standard versions as opposed to the Pro version. Don't think they have the others in version 7 yet though.

There's plenty of other apps as well but those are the main ones I use. OrbitTrack is SkySafari but only for orbiting satellites. I have SkyView too, which is also good.

NASA Spot The Station - https://spotthestation.nasa.gov - free
Sputnik! - https://sputnikapp.info - iOS and Android—free, with optional $1 purchase to remove ads
SkySafari - https://skysafariastronomy.com - various versions and prices