When can I see the ISS over Sofia tonight?

The next ISS pass over Sofia starts at 08:17 local time on Friday 16 Oct, reaching 27° above the horizon. It is not visible to the naked eye, though. The next one you can actually see is Saturday 17 Oct at 05:52, reaching 37°.

Which direction should I look?

The ISS always moves from roughly west to east. It looks like a very bright, fast, non-blinking star crossing the whole sky in a few minutes.

ISS over Sofia — next pass times

Upcoming International Space Station passes over Sofia, Bulgaria for the next 3 days, in local Sofia time — computed from the latest orbital data and refreshed automatically.

🛰 Next ISS pass over Sofia

Saturday 17 Oct · 05:52 ★ · 37°

—:——:——Watch it live in 3D →

🛰 Next visible pass after this one over Sofia: Sun 18 Oct, 05:05

We'll email you the day before — and before every genuinely visible pass after that. Most crossings happen in daylight; we skip those.

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☁️ Clouded out at 05:52?

3D sky view · track the ISS in real time

Date	Local time	Max height	Lasts	Viewing
Friday 16 Oct	08:17	27°	~6 min	☀ daylight
Friday 16 Oct	09:55	18°	~5 min	☀ daylight
Friday 16 Oct	11:32	31°	~7 min	☀ daylight

Friday 16 Oct	13:09	47°	~7 min	☀ daylight
Saturday 17 Oct	05:52	37°	~7 min	★ good
Saturday 17 Oct	07:29	35°	~6 min	☀ daylight
Saturday 17 Oct	09:07	18°	~5 min	☀ daylight
Saturday 17 Oct	10:45	25°	~6 min	☀ daylight
Saturday 17 Oct	12:21	79°	~7 min	☀ daylight
Saturday 17 Oct	14:01	10°	~1 min	☀ daylight
Sunday 18 Oct	05:05	22°	~6 min	possible
Sunday 18 Oct	06:42	49°	~7 min	★ good
Sunday 18 Oct	08:20	19°	~5 min	☀ daylight
Sunday 18 Oct	09:57	21°	~6 min	☀ daylight
Sunday 18 Oct	11:34	62°	~7 min	☀ daylight

When will the International Space Station pass over Sofia?

ISS stands for the International Space Station — the largest and brightest human-made object in orbit around Earth. Passes over Sofia above 10° in the next 10 days: 57. Of those, visible to the naked eye: 14.

The next pass of the International Space Station over Sofia is on Friday 16 Oct at 08:17 local time, reaching 27° above the horizon. The next pass you can actually see is on Saturday 17 Oct at 05:52 (37° above the horizon).

How to spot it

Look for a bright, fast “star” that doesn't blink — the ISS outshines everything except the Moon and Venus.
It moves west to east, crossing the whole sky in 3–6 minutes.
Evening and pre-dawn passes are the visible ones — the station must be sunlit while your sky is dark. Daytime passes in the table are invisible to the eye.
Sofia sits within the ISS's orbital band, so it can pass nearly straight overhead — those 70°+ passes are spectacular.