Transient Explorer

What am I looking at?

Every night the Rubin (LSST) and ZTF telescopes image the sky and flag anything that changed since last time: a supernova going off, a star flaring, an asteroid passing through. Each flag is an alert. The Fink broker classifies them, and this site shows what they are and where. Transients the two surveys miss, reported by others to the Transient Name Server, are here too.

Sources

  • ZTF and Rubin: objects the surveys alerted on. Each detection is an alert, with the broker's classification, a reliability score and three image cutouts.
  • TNS: transients reported to the Transient Name Server that neither survey alerted on, among them nearly every bright one south of −30°, which ZTF cannot see. Each detection is a report: the magnitudes reported to TNS (the discovery, and any later ones), each in its reporter's filter, then ATLAS's measurements (c and o bands) for two months while it is brighter than 19. Reported by names the surveys (ATLAS, GOTO, Pan-STARRS, …). When ZTF or Rubin later alerts on one, it becomes their object.
  • CBAT: reports on the Central Bureau's Transient Object Confirmation Page that neither the surveys nor TNS have, mostly bright Galactic novae (PNV J…) and dwarf novae in outburst (TCP J…). An object that matches a TOCP entry shows its designation.
  • A TNS type (SN Ia, Nova, AGN, …) decides an object's class whoever saw it; without one, the broker's label does.
  • An object is active while it has detections in the window. A TNS or CBAT object ATLAS does not measure (fainter than 19, older than two months, or not yet measured) is active only while the window holds its last report, so it leaves the short windows a week later.

Pages

  • Dashboard: how many alerts and objects arrived in a window, what kinds, where on the sky, and the brightest new supernova candidates.
  • Sky: the map. Most of what follows is about it.
  • Objects: the same objects as a table you can sort, filter by the broker's label or TNS type, and page through; click one for its light curve and images.
  • Tonight: a planner for your telescope. Pick your site and telescope, and it lists the supernovae, novae and new objects seen this week that are above your horizon while it is dark and bright enough to see, sorted by when each is best placed, with finder charts, a CSV export and a printable list.

Search

  • An object id (ZTF26abvkmbu, a Rubin id, or the first few characters), a TNS name (SN 2026abc), coordinates (35.71 -4.75 or 02:22:50 -04:45:00, add r=10' for a radius), a deep-drilling field (COSMOS), a class (SN Ia, EclBin) or any name astronomers use (M31).

On the map: zoom to go deeper

  • Whole sky (wider than 20°): a heatmap of how many objects were seen in each patch of sky.
  • Region (1°–20°): a finer heatmap plus numbered badges. The number is the count of objects, the color is their most common class, and a white ring means something new in the last night.
  • Objects (under 1°): one dot per object. A white ring means it was seen last night, and a white center means it has been detected only once so far. Click a dot for its light curve, classification and images.

Drag to pan, scroll or pinch to zoom, or click a badge to zoom into it.

Filters

  • Window: how far back to look, from last night to a year.
  • Active / new: objects detected in the window, or only those first seen in it.
  • Class: most alerts are solar-system objects (asteroids). Pick Non-Solar System to hide them and see what else is out there.
  • Brightness (≤ 20, ≤ 18, ≤ 16): only objects at least that bright. Smaller magnitudes are brighter. An object marked faded was last seen fainter than in the survey's reference image, so it has no brightness of its own and counts only under any mag.
  • History (2+ nights, …): only objects seen on several nights, which filters out one-off artifacts.

Observing from your site

  • Your site: an observatory from the list, or your latitude and longitude (typed, or Use my location). A position is rounded to half a degree, and the site is remembered in this browser only.
  • Object panel: when the object is up tonight, its altitude through the night with the moon, the next 60 nights, and a Finder chart with a link to AAVSO's comparison stars.
  • Objects: Visible from… keeps what is above your limit in tonight's dark window, with when and how high.
  • Sky: Observer… shades what is below your horizon at a time you pick; the counts do not change.
  • Tonight: Subscribe gives an RSS feed of your setup, one item a night with the picks, once the data through the night before are in (or three hours before dark). A condition (novae, rare types, something brighter than a magnitude) leaves nights without a match out, so a feed-to-email service mails only those. The plan is also JSON, for scripts and robotic telescopes. A feed's address holds your rounded site and setup: a reader or email service you give it to keeps it.

Dark means the sun more than 12° below the horizon (18° if you choose). Positions ignore refraction and precession, a few tenths of a degree: enough to plan, not to point.

Classes

  • SN candidate
  • AGN / nuclear
  • Variable star
  • Solar system
  • Cataloged
  • Unknown
  • Low reliability
  • Other

Data credits

Fink: ZTF and Rubin alerts: classifications, light curves and cutouts
Möller et al. 2021, MNRAS 501, 3272; ZTF (Bellm et al. 2019) and the Vera C. Rubin Observatory LSST.
Transient Name Server (TNS): names, types and discovery reports of transients from every survey
The IAU Transient Name Server, operated by the Weizmann Institute of Science; reports by the surveys named on each object.
CBAT: the Transient Object Confirmation Page: bright novae and other transients reported to the Central Bureau
Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams, Transient Object Confirmation Page (TOCP).
ATLAS: forced photometry of TNS objects, from the ATLAS forced-photometry server
Tonry et al. 2018, PASP 130, 064505; Smith et al. 2020, PASP 132, 085002; Shingles et al. 2021, TNS AstroNote 2021-7.
CDS, Strasbourg: sky imagery (HiPS), finder charts (hips2fits) and name resolution (Sesame)
This research has made use of the CDS services, Strasbourg Astronomical Observatory, France.

The data is refreshed nightly. Every view is a link: on the map the URL records the position, zoom, filters and selected object, so Copy link shares exactly what you see.

Made by jgriz

Objects

Objects
Source
Bucket
Clear
3,201–3,250 of 214,524 · All objects seen in the 7 nights
ObjectClassLast magRisePeakFirst seenLast seenNightsDetectionsRel.RA, DecPartner
ZTF ZTF26abyaopb Solar System MPC18.81 r—18.812026-09-292026-09-29111.00124.2767, 17.3921
ZTF ZTF26abyaopf Solar System MPC19.18 r—19.182026-09-292026-09-29111.00124.0394, 17.3484
ZTF ZTF26abyaotu Solar System MPC19.00 r—19.002026-09-292026-09-29111.00120.6919, 22.4802
TNS AT 2026adgg Unknown19.70 L—19.702026-09-292026-09-2911—339.6154, -28.8517
TNS AT 2026adgh Unknown19.38 L—19.382026-09-292026-09-2911—8.6755, -18.2025
TNS AT 2026adfx Unknown19.05 L—19.052026-09-292026-09-2911—327.7041, -31.9407
ZTF ZTF17aaaazek delSctV*19.30 r+0.119.142017-12-102026-09-29771.0091.0236, 8.4973
ZTF ZTF17aaabcdb EclBin18.62 r+0.117.112017-12-052026-09-2960861.0092.7951, 11.2464
ZTF ZTF17aaabcjt EmLine*faded r−0.316.942017-12-052026-09-2965991.0092.7684, 10.4523
ZTF ZTF17aaabfey EclBin19.03 r+0.218.622017-12-072026-09-2960791.0093.1078, 8.8293
ZTF ZTF17aaabpyj Unknownfaded r−0.1—2017-12-072026-09-2920251.0091.9006, 8.5533
ZTF ZTF17aaabqvk RRLyraefaded r−0.217.512017-12-072026-09-2943641.0090.8523, 8.8224
ZTF ZTF17aaabtmc EclBinfaded r−0.2—2017-12-132026-09-298111.0091.8854, 8.3447
ZTF ZTF17aaabxnq EclBinfaded r−0.317.922017-12-132026-09-2932391.0091.6827, 8.5786
ZTF ZTF17aaadhqw EclBin18.46 r+0.117.392017-12-132026-09-2941481.0093.4300, 9.9711
ZTF ZTF17aaagtgy EclBin16.85 r+0.116.442017-12-052026-09-29631001.0093.8394, 10.8977
ZTF ZTF17aaagtgz EclBinfaded r−0.318.042017-12-142026-09-2955701.0093.9719, 11.4424
ZTF ZTF17aaagtmn Unknownfaded r−0.116.432017-12-082026-09-2917281.0092.2555, 14.7637
ZTF ZTF17aaagtoh EclBin17.86 r+0.117.322017-12-052026-09-2934421.0091.8850, 11.3918
ZTF ZTF17aaagtoj EclBinfaded r−0.418.952017-12-142026-09-2923251.0092.4251, 10.9470
ZTF ZTF17aaagube EclBinfaded r−0.116.552017-12-052026-09-2931441.0089.3641, 10.0634
ZTF ZTF17aaagudp RRLyrae16.28 r+0.415.882017-12-082026-09-29721651.0088.8279, 15.1545
ZTF ZTF17aaagujm EclBinfaded r−0.418.182017-12-082026-09-2962791.0093.8229, 9.4954
ZTF ZTF17aaaguko EclBinfaded r−0.115.732017-12-052026-09-2942731.0091.5123, 8.3703
ZTF ZTF17aaagvdr EclBin_Candidate16.86 r+0.115.472017-12-052026-09-2947671.0093.3574, 9.1052
ZTF ZTF17aaagvjg Unknownfaded r−0.114.542017-12-052026-09-2933461.0091.8773, 8.5457
ZTF ZTF17aaagvjh LongPeriodV*15.39 r+0.114.722017-12-142026-09-2920291.0092.4204, 8.5333
ZTF ZTF17aaagvnt EclBin18.64 r+0.118.492017-12-142026-09-2933451.0090.7846, 10.2498
ZTF ZTF17aaagwuz EclBin16.88 r+0.216.752017-12-142026-09-2957791.0089.9035, 12.2831
ZTF ZTF17aaagwvc EclBinfaded r−0.516.612017-12-082026-09-2920211.0090.5116, 12.3695
ZTF ZTF17aaagwvd RSCVnV*18.63 r+0.218.352017-12-142026-09-2938401.0090.5206, 12.4350
ZTF ZTF17aaagxaa Mirafaded r−1.214.282017-12-142026-09-29641081.0095.9159, 11.4728
ZTF ZTF17aaagxfh EclBinfaded r−0.417.522017-12-082026-09-2930401.0089.8744, 10.0121
ZTF ZTF17aaagxhq EclBinfaded r−0.118.372017-12-142026-09-2944681.0089.1000, 12.8208
ZTF ZTF17aaagxhx EclBinfaded r−0.218.412017-12-082026-09-2918241.0089.8925, 11.2064
ZTF ZTF17aaagxhz EclBinfaded r−0.318.322017-12-082026-09-2938521.0090.4083, 11.4394
ZTF ZTF17aaahtog RRLyraefaded r−0.318.102017-12-142026-09-2939521.0091.8476, 13.9861
ZTF ZTF17aaahtoz EclBinfaded r−0.318.062017-12-142026-09-2944491.0090.8472, 13.2810
ZTF ZTF17aaahtvd EclBinfaded r−0.217.072017-12-142026-09-2932361.0091.8580, 10.8748
ZTF ZTF17aaahtwa EclBinfaded r−0.217.882017-12-092026-09-2947721.0088.9870, 15.2154
ZTF ZTF17aaahtyz EclBin17.81 r—17.212017-12-052026-09-2930360.9990.9794, 8.4689
ZTF ZTF17aaahvhl EclBinfaded r−0.317.762017-12-052026-09-296101.0091.5435, 10.5845
ZTF ZTF17aaahvhr EclBinfaded r−0.418.302017-12-142026-09-2935491.0090.8730, 10.2126
ZTF ZTF17aaahvnx EclBinfaded r−0.518.432017-12-082026-09-2949601.0091.3142, 12.0752
ZTF ZTF17aaahzpf EclBin17.25 r+0.317.172017-12-082026-09-2937541.0091.1580, 11.3473
ZTF ZTF17aaaifhh EclBin16.71 r+0.416.612017-12-052026-09-2940481.0093.8217, 8.9133
ZTF ZTF17aaaigrw EclBinfaded r−0.116.872017-12-092026-09-2951721.0090.9430, 12.4693
ZTF ZTF17aaaihar EclBin17.97 r+0.117.592017-12-142026-09-2957791.0095.8007, 9.6938
ZTF ZTF17aaaihir Mirafaded r−1.113.962017-12-142026-09-2962901.0095.3553, 11.3955
ZTF ZTF17aaaiksh EclBinfaded r−0.117.342017-12-082026-09-2932491.0090.2887, 11.1479