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: for now the discovery, with the reporter's magnitude in its own filter. Reported by names the surveys (ATLAS, GOTO, Pan-STARRS, …). When ZTF or Rubin later alerts on one, it becomes their object.
  • 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 report with no later photometry is active only while the window holds its discovery night, so TNS objects leave the short windows after a week.

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.

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.
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
1,451–1,500 of 256,032 · All objects seen in the 7 nights
ObjectClassLast magPeakFirst seenLast seenNightsDetectionsRel.RA, DecPartner
ZTF ZTF17aaailnm EclBin17.01 r16.492017-12-082026-09-2652751.00123.0775, -6.8285
ZTF ZTF17aaajgcp EclBin16.98 r16.832017-12-142026-09-2644591.00126.2310, -3.5605
ZTF ZTF17aaajgdo EclBin18.09 r16.822017-12-142026-09-2645591.00125.5082, -3.4800
ZTF ZTF17aaajgdt EclBinfaded r17.132017-12-142026-09-2662881.00124.7743, -5.6035
ZTF ZTF17aaaphvj EclBin16.62 r16.512017-12-152026-09-2639481.00123.3026, -7.2433
ZTF ZTF17aabwjrt EclBinfaded r15.942017-12-082026-09-2649581.00122.8632, -2.8950
ZTF ZTF17aabwjvv Unknown18.08 r17.172017-12-082026-09-2657841.00128.1232, -9.2323
ZTF ZTF17aabwkdr EclBin16.54 r15.362017-12-082026-09-2657841.00122.8384, -8.7321
ZTF ZTF17aabwkel EclBinfaded r14.042017-12-082026-09-2619211.00124.7640, -8.9345
ZTF ZTF17aabwkmf EclBinfaded r17.042017-12-082026-09-2639431.00127.0665, -6.8802
ZTF ZTF17aabwkmg EclBin17.61 r17.402017-12-082026-09-2647601.00127.7372, -6.3923
ZTF ZTF17aabwoep EclBinfaded r17.882017-12-082026-09-2647551.00129.9953, -7.1018
ZTF ZTF18achdjqv EclBin17.74 r17.602017-12-082026-09-2661821.00122.8869, -3.5221
ZTF ZTF18achdjrd RRLyraefaded r18.842017-12-082026-09-2641481.00122.7717, -3.1945
ZTF ZTF18achyqcf EclBinfaded r17.822017-12-182026-09-2647581.00125.6976, -2.9754
ZTF ZTF18acibgvs EclBin18.60 r18.602018-11-122026-09-2635441.00129.3217, -8.4920
ZTF ZTF18acnmvgy EclBinfaded r15.962017-12-182026-09-2646531.00125.3123, -6.0290
ZTF ZTF18acnmvhb delSctV*faded r17.312018-11-072026-09-2641581.00125.2515, -5.8340
ZTF ZTF18acnnqxy Star16.40 r15.752017-12-082026-09-26631131.00128.5031, -8.7496
ZTF ZTF18acnnqxz RRLyraefaded r16.492017-12-082026-09-26751391.00128.7193, -8.3613
ZTF ZTF18acnnrap EclBinfaded r18.342018-11-072026-09-2662931.00128.7131, -9.2883
ZTF ZTF18acnnraq Unknown17.69 r17.202018-11-072026-09-2640601.00129.0325, -8.9669
ZTF ZTF18acnntaf EclBin18.63 r18.632018-11-072026-09-2650601.00123.6280, -3.8565
ZTF ZTF18acpdbzb EclBin16.88 r16.882018-11-072026-09-2621271.00125.4460, -2.8191
ZTF ZTF18acpdljd RRLyraefaded r17.372018-11-172026-09-2664911.00122.8654, -4.7865
ZTF ZTF18acpdmos EclBinfaded r—2018-11-172026-09-26111.00123.2823, -5.6328
ZTF ZTF18acpdplc Unknownfaded r—2018-11-252026-09-26761271.00123.1441, -6.1036
ZTF ZTF18acpupll EclBin18.68 r18.682018-11-102026-09-26991.00124.7154, -3.6074
ZTF ZTF18acqxjtm Unknownfaded r—2018-11-172026-09-2648791.00129.8460, -6.4229
ZTF ZTF18acrdhyy EclBin17.80 r17.802017-12-082026-09-2620211.00123.0567, -4.4478
ZTF ZTF18acrdiai EclBin16.73 r16.462018-11-102026-09-2667951.00124.3864, -4.9113
ZTF ZTF18acrdiam EclBinfaded r19.382018-11-252026-09-2611111.00124.3524, -5.0833
ZTF ZTF18acrdodi EclBinfaded r14.532018-11-102026-09-2656701.00124.6891, -5.9063
ZTF ZTF18acrhdnw EclBinfaded r—2018-11-262026-09-2615171.00128.8826, -9.6866
ZTF ZTF18acrhind EclBinfaded r15.642018-11-072026-09-2629311.00129.2308, -7.6459
ZTF ZTF18acrxsbc Unknownfaded r—2018-11-282026-09-26671.00129.3216, -6.4032
ZTF ZTF18acsolhv Variable*16.83 r16.832018-11-172026-09-2633421.00125.4396, -4.1660
ZTF ZTF18acuqtdt EclBinfaded r19.062018-11-072026-09-2624301.00125.9356, -3.6182
ZTF ZTF18acvwhsu Variable*18.32 r18.322018-11-172026-09-26331.00124.2351, -5.1703
ZTF ZTF18acwqnju EclBinfaded r16.812017-12-152026-09-2616191.00122.8133, -7.3216
ZTF ZTF18acwwkvq EclBin17.16 r16.882018-11-122026-09-2653751.00128.6443, -8.9123
ZTF ZTF18acwxgkw Unknownfaded r19.222018-12-162026-09-26661.00129.6516, -8.6188
ZTF ZTF18acxwswe EclBinfaded r17.772017-12-082026-09-2650581.00124.6692, -6.7046
ZTF ZTF18acxwsxc EclBinfaded r19.742017-12-082026-09-2629351.00127.1876, -6.8399
ZTF ZTF18acxwtkz EclBinfaded r17.642018-11-072026-09-2648691.00127.2519, -7.0004
ZTF ZTF18acxwubs LongPeriodV*_Candidatefaded r—2018-12-172026-09-2629461.00127.4775, -8.7644
ZTF ZTF18acxwubv Unknownfaded r—2018-12-172026-09-26331.00127.5959, -8.3952
ZTF ZTF18acxxlhu Unknownfaded r—2018-12-172026-09-26221.00125.9870, -6.3584
ZTF ZTF18acxyhke EclBinfaded r—2018-12-172026-09-26691.00122.9534, -6.9399
ZTF ZTF18acxyhmc EclBinfaded r14.472018-11-172026-09-2612131.00127.8544, -8.2771