What was in the sky

The bright light that crossed the sky on Tuesday evening (November 10): the International Space Station

Published November 11, 9:01 AM · Updated November 11, 4:01 PM

The short answer

At 6:45 PM, the International Space Station crossed the sky over Israel: a dazzling, steady point of light with no blinking, moving from the west to the west within a few minutes, up to 22° high.

How we know: we computed the pass from the satellite orbits published by CelesTrak. If you saw the lights at this time and in this direction, this is almost certainly what you saw. If the time or direction differ, try the sky checker.

The path across the sky, as seen from central Israel

As seen lying on your back: the edge is the horizon and the centre is straight overhead. North is at the top and east on the left.

When and where to look, by city

Tel Aviv6:45 PM–6:46 PMlow in the west, up to 22°
Jerusalem6:45 PM–6:46 PMfrom the west to the northwest, up to 21°
Haifa6:45 PM–6:46 PMlow in the west, up to 22°
Beersheba6:45 PM–6:46 PMfrom the west to the northwest, up to 21°
Eilat6:45 PM–6:46 PMfrom the west to the northwest, up to 18°

What was reported

How to tell next time

The brightest point of light moving across the sky, brighter than any star.
It doesn't blink and has no coloured lights like an aircraft.
It crosses the sky in three to six minutes, and sometimes fades out halfway as it enters Earth's shadow.

When it passes again

The space station's next pass: tomorrow night at 5:09 PM, from the southwest to the northeast, up to 87°.