Tiangong
Where is Tiangong?
Next visible pass: it appears in the south at 05:41, is highest at 14° in the south, and disappears in the southeast at 05:43. It looks like a bright, steady star moving quickly across the sky, with no blinking lights.
- Appears
- 05:41
- Highest
- 05:42
- Disappears
- 05:43
- Peak
- 14°
Can I see Tiangong tonight?
Not tonight from London. The next visible pass is Wed, Oct 7 at 05:41, lasting about 2 minutes and reaching 14° above the horizon.
Passes are only visible around dusk and dawn, when the station is in sunlight and you’re in darkness. Clouds aren’t included in these times.
How do I spot it?
Check the pass times for your place in SkyMate. Face the direction it will appear from a few minutes early and look for a steady light moving smoothly, faster than any star.
Upcoming passes
| Starts | Direction | Length | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wed, Oct 7 05:41 | S → SE | 2 min | 14° |
| Thu, Oct 8 06:18 | SW → S | 3 min | 13° |
| Fri, Oct 9 05:21 | S → SE | 1 min | 13° |
| Sat, Oct 10 05:57 | SW → S | 2 min | 11° |
Times for London (Europe/London). Only passes more than 10° up, in sunlight, while your sky is dark. Clouds aren’t included.
What does Tiangong look like?
Eyes
A steady, moving point of light, often as bright as the brightest stars.
Binoculars
Still a point, and hard to follow.
Telescope
Very hard to track by hand. Experienced imagers with tracking mounts can capture its shape.
About Tiangong
Tiangong is China’s space station. Its first module, Tianhe, launched in 2021, and two laboratory modules completed its T-shaped layout in 2022. It is smaller than the International Space Station and is usually staffed by crews of three taikonauts.
It orbits at roughly 380–400 km altitude, circling Earth about every 90 minutes at roughly 28,000 km/h.
Like the ISS, Tiangong shines by reflected sunlight. It is not as bright as the ISS, but on a good pass it still outshines most stars. It looks like a steady point moving smoothly across the sky, with no blinking lights.
Its orbit is tilted about 41° to the equator, so it passes over places between roughly 41° north and 41° south. From farther north or south it is seen lower in the sky or not at all.
Passes are visible in the hours around dusk and dawn, when you are in darkness and the station is in sunlight.
Like the ISS, Tiangong moves too fast to be confused with a star and too smoothly to be an aircraft. A typical visible pass lasts a few minutes, and it can fade out partway across the sky as it enters Earth’s shadow.
Questions
Can I see Tiangong with the naked eye?
Why can’t I see Tiangong from where I live?
Sources: SkyMate. Orbital data: CelesTrak (celestrak.org); passes computed with satellite.js. Data & Licences