<\/p>\n On a favorable pass, Tiangong can reach up to about magnitude \u20132, roughly as bright as Jupiter<\/a>. That’s not as bright as the ISS, but this week it’s easily bright enough to see \u2014 if skies are clear.<\/p>\n How, when and where to see Tiangong<\/p>\n The best time to look for Tiangong is typically an hour or two after sunset or before sunrise. That’s when you’re standing in darkness, but the station, a few hundred miles overhead, can still catch sunlight. There are lots of opportunities to see it from the US East Coast just after dark over the next week or so.<\/p>\n Here are the brightest and highest passes of Tiangong, as seen from New York City, according to Heavens Above<\/a>. New York sits just inside the northern limit of Tiangong’s 41.5-degree-inclined orbit, which is why New Yorkers get those spectacular 84-degree and 88-degree passes.<\/p>\n You may like<\/p>\n (Celestial altitude above the horizon is listed here in degrees; remember that the width of your fist at arm’s length equals about 10 degrees.)<\/p>\n Wednesday, Sept. 2: 8:07\u20138:13 p.m. EDT \u2014 magnitude \u20131.8, reaching 51 degreesThursday, Sept. 3: 8:46\u20138:50 p.m. EDT \u2014 magnitude \u20132.2, reaching 84 degreesFriday, Sept. 4: 7:48\u20137:54 p.m. EDT \u2014 magnitude \u20132.1, reaching 77 degreesSaturday, Sept. 5: 8:26\u20138:31 p.m. EDT \u2014 magnitude \u20132.0, reaching 75 degreesSunday, Sept. 6: 9:05\u20139:08 p.m. EDT \u2014 magnitude \u20132.0, reaching 74 degreesMonday, Sept. 7: 8:06\u20138:12 p.m. EDT \u2014 magnitude \u20132.1, reaching 77 degreesTuesday, Sept. 8: 8:45\u20138:49 p.m. EDT \u2014 magnitude \u20132.1, reaching 67 degreesWednesday, Sept. 9: 7:47\u20137:53 p.m. EDT \u2014 magnitude \u20132.1, reaching 88 degreesWhat Tiangong will look like<\/p>\n Like the ISS, look for a bright, steady point of light moving smoothly across the sky. Unlike an aircraft, Tiangong doesn’t have flashing navigation lights. A good pass typically lasts between two and six minutes, with high passes generally the brightest.<\/p>\n Get the Space.com Newsletter<\/p>\n Tiangong can also suddenly disappear during a pass if it enters Earth’s shadow and can no longer reflect sunlight toward you.<\/p>\n Efrain Morales captured a breathtaking view of the Tiangong space station crossing the moon from Puerto Rico in June 2026. (Image credit: Efrain Morales)What is Tiangong?<\/p>\n Tiangong \u2014 meaning “Heavenly Palace” \u2014 is China’s first permanently inhabited orbital outpost and the second-brightest space station in orbit. Tiangong has three main modules \u2014 Tianhe, Wentian and Mengtian<\/a> \u2014 with the first one launching in April 2021 and the last in October 2022. However, at about 100 tons, Tiangong is only around a quarter of the ISS’s mass.<\/p>\n Like the ISS, it orbits roughly every 90 minutes, but a little closer to Earth<\/a> (about 242 miles to the ISS’s 254 miles, though exact heights vary as both stations periodically have to reboost into higher orbit<\/a>).<\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/MCrb6QrMZjQSUBdJwG62MB.gif\")
<\/p>\n