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The International Space Station is one of the thousands of human-made satellites orbiting Earth every day. As it travels around our planet, it passes over regions across the globe and can be seen by people on the ground.
Depending on an observer's location and time, and on the station's position in its orbit, people across many parts of Earth can see the ISS shortly after sunset or before sunrise. At an altitude of roughly 380 kilometres, it appears as a white point of light, much like a star.
Because the station is not equally distant from every location from which it can be seen, it appears brighter to observers who are closer to its ground track, where it also reaches a greater altitude above their horizon.
On January 29, the station's pass reached a maximum angular altitude of 55° above the horizon for observers in Shiraz and a maximum apparent magnitude of -0.7, a noteworthy brightness.
What made this particular pass special for observers in Shiraz was its path across the sky: at its high altitude, the station passed through the constellations Ursa Major and Ursa Minor, creating a distinctive sight. A similar opportunity would not occur again for at least another year.
After February 15, the ISS would no longer be visible in the evening sky until February 18, when another pass over Shiraz was expected at magnitude -0.8. That pass would not cross any constellation in the same way; its notable feature would instead be the station passing close to Jupiter.
The following year was expected to bring several especially attractive passes, including:
- March 31 — through Orion and Draco;
- April 20 — through Orion and Draco;
- April 23 — through Orion and Gemini and near Mars;
- May 12 — near Mars and Saturn;
- July 6 — through Ursa Minor;
- July 8 — across Polaris;
- and more.