Satellites

Sky Guide includes detailed historical information, illustrations and future flyover times for 250 of the brightest satellites, including the International Space Station, the Hubble Space Telescope and all Iridium satellites.

On average, only a handful of satellites may be visible from dark locations and you may have to be patient to see a bright one fly overhead. Open the search panel and select the satellites category to see when the next visible pass for a satellite is expected. Remember, the best time to spot satellites is in the hours after dusk or before dawn.

Sky Guide’s catalog currently only includes satellites that are potentially visible to the unaided eye. Many satellites, including GPS satellites and most communication satellites, are in high orbits that are too far from the surface of the Earth to be visible without a telescope or binoculars.

You may wish to be reminded before a particular satellite pass. First navigate to a list of satellites in search. Tap the passes sorting tab to view a list of passes, swipe left on the pass of interest and then tap the clock button. A reminder will be scheduled.

Alternatively, if you just want to be reminded automatically about the best satellite passes like the International Space Station and the brightest Iridium flares, be sure to turn on Notifications. These can be accessed through the Main Menu > Notifications > Satellite Passes. For the highest accuracy (which is especially important for Iridium flares), we recommend allowing Sky Guide to always access your location. This can be selected the iOS Settings app under Privacy > Location Services > Sky Guide > Always. For those mindful of their battery usage, setting Sky Guide to 'always' will not significantly impact battery performance as we do not wake your GPS antenna.