Video preview of Tim Peake’s spacewalk

Scientists are using photographs taken by astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) to reliably measure the amount of light pollution worldwide and to produce a global colour map of the Earth at night. The total cost of the energy consumption for streetlights is estimated by the study to be 6300 million euros/year in the European Union.

If you have never seen the International Space Station (ISS), make the most of clear skies over the next few nights. It’s capable of exceeding Venus at its brightest and visible for up to 7 minutes as it crawls across the sky in an arc from west to east. Find out when and where to see some favourable passes of this 420-tonne, 109-metre-wide spacecraft over the British Isles and Western Europe.

Next to the Moon and Venus, the International Space Station (ISS) can be the third brightest object in the nighttime sky. During the first ten days of August, the ISS is well placed for viewing before midnight for observers in the British Isles. We show you how, when and where to see it.