

NASA will text you whenever the International Space Station passes overhead - Reltair
http://arstechnica.com/science/2012/11/nasa-will-text-you-whenever-the-international-space-station-passes-overhead/

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ColinWright
I'd love to see some discussion on this, but with several previous
submissions, none has been forthcoming:

<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4734657>

<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4747851>

<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4747856>

Or use TwISSt: <https://twitter.com/twisst>

~~~
undershirt
I used to call my friends to look up to see it fly by. One friend got everyone
working at his restaurant on the roof to see it. It looks like a star crawling
across the sky for about a minute. It's not visually spectacular if you don't
know what you're looking at.

I would definitely suggest signing up to get text notifications on this. Call
your friends to step outside for a minute to see it too. "HEADS UP!"

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potench
Check out the ISS Detector. It notifies you when the International Space
Station is visible to you with the naked eye based on your location, IIS
location, and weather conditions.
[https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.runar.issd...](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.runar.issdetector&hl=en)

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ColinWright
I use this one:

[http://esa.heavens-
above.com/PassSummary.aspx?satid=25544...](http://esa.heavens-
above.com/PassSummary.aspx?satid=25544&lat=XXXX&lng=YYYY&alt=0&tz=GMT)

with the latitude and longitude inserted in the obvious places.

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davidcuddeback
There's an iOS app called GoSatWatch which will notify you when the ISS (or
any satellite) passes by your location. Your location can be configured
manually or by GPS, so you get the benefit of receiving relevant notifications
when away from home. Apps like GoSatWatch will also tell you where in the sky
the ISS will be, so you know _where_ to look.

SpaceWeather has been doing text notifications for a long time
(<http://spaceweathertext.com/>), albeit at a monthly cost. They've been doing
it for a few years, I think. I'm not positive, because I haven't used their
text service.

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m_for_monkey
This website can show you the schedule of the ISS and many other satellites
ten days in advance: <http://www.heavens-above.com>

~~~
yock
Which seems to be throwing errors when you try to adjust your location.

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mturmon
It's generally fun to observe. When I've seen ISS, it has been around sunset.
It is a readily discernible point of light, in my memory brighter than Venus
and certainly brighter than any star, that moves from horizon to horizon in
only about 4 minutes ("faster than a speeding plane"), even less time
considering trees, buildings, and hills.

Because of the speed, it is helpful to know what place on the horizon the
overpass will start at, in addition to the precise time.

~~~
Reltair
It sounds like I should still be able to see it even in an urban area (e.g.
San Francisco), is that correct?

I didn't know it passed by that quickly though. I guess I'll see how well
NASA's texting service works out then.

~~~
lizzard
Yes, I can see it from San Francisco with no problem!

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robmiller
I use <http://lookup.liekens.net/> to use its GCalendar subscription for local
flyovers. I've only had it up a couple weeks but its not exactly been clear
skies in Seattle.

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mongol
Very good app for this is Android SatTrack. It also shows the Iridium Flares.

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lizzard
I get these notifications from TWISST and they're very useful, giving
information about location, path, and brightness: <http://twisst.nl/>

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Achshar
This is very cool and something I am very much looking forward to. What's even
great is that it is available in my country. Good things never are.

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aoe
Unfortunately, my city is not available as an option. They should have a
location select using Google Maps or something.

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ambiguator
Signing up just to say that NASA regularly texts me.

