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.

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
1,501–1,550 of 256,283 · All objects seen in the 7 nights
ObjectClassLast magPeakFirst seenLast seenNightsDetectionsRel.RA, DecPartner
ZTF ZTF18acxyiik EclBinfaded r15.882018-11-172026-09-2646571.00126.1505, -7.3648
ZTF ZTF18acxyilo Unknown17.54 r17.392017-12-082026-09-2641451.00126.6106, -6.9908
ZTF ZTF18acxyioi EclBinfaded r18.642018-11-172026-09-2621231.00126.7922, -7.8105
ZTF ZTF18acxyjrv Unknown17.90 r17.902018-11-272026-09-2620231.00128.5730, -7.0169
ZTF ZTF18acxyjsn RRLyrae17.23 r17.232017-12-082026-09-2644631.00128.3836, -7.7111
ZTF ZTF18acxylvh EclBin18.34 r18.342017-12-082026-09-2627301.00125.8479, -7.4434
ZTF ZTF18acxyors EclBin14.25 r14.252018-11-072026-09-2624291.00125.9784, -6.6901
ZTF ZTF18acxyozm RRLyrae16.96 r16.432017-12-082026-09-2652731.00125.8709, -6.7203
ZTF ZTF18acxypxi Unknown16.23 r16.232018-11-172026-09-26110.00123.4594, -6.5377
ZTF ZTF18aczdlow Unknown18.53 r18.532017-12-082026-09-2625281.00125.3428, -7.1786
ZTF ZTF18aczdloy EclBin17.97 r17.852018-11-072026-09-2626261.00125.6360, -7.3071
ZTF ZTF18aczdlpb EclBinfaded r16.882017-12-152026-09-2641491.00124.6714, -7.7877
ZTF ZTF18aczdlxb EclBinfaded r15.032018-11-072026-09-2640511.00127.8176, -8.9922
ZTF ZTF18aczdmax LongPeriodV*faded r14.212018-11-072026-09-2617181.00125.0110, -8.4775
ZTF ZTF18aczdmbl RRLyraefaded r18.062017-12-082026-09-2645611.00124.2019, -8.5495
ZTF ZTF18aczdmej EclBin16.64 r16.642017-12-082026-09-2642461.00123.3430, -2.9036
ZTF ZTF18aczdmgv LongPeriodV*faded r14.592018-11-202026-09-2639501.00125.4299, -9.3731
ZTF ZTF18aczecla EclBin18.85 r18.692017-12-082026-09-2637421.00127.4077, -8.5821
ZTF ZTF18aczecnq EclBinfaded r18.022017-12-152026-09-2655731.00124.6123, -7.1454
ZTF ZTF18aczecpm Variable*faded r—2018-11-172026-09-2637401.00125.9426, -9.6973
ZTF ZTF18aczecql EclBin15.96 r15.352018-11-172026-09-2659821.00123.4466, -8.6469
ZTF ZTF18aczecru EclBinfaded r—2018-11-072026-09-2645531.00122.7011, -8.9077
ZTF ZTF18aczectl EclBinfaded r—2017-12-082026-09-268101.00125.6068, -6.8535
ZTF ZTF18aczecxh Variable*15.49 r15.492018-11-072026-09-2646480.98124.1365, -5.0507
ZTF ZTF18adayfxz Unknownfaded r18.082018-11-172026-09-26221.00126.8308, -7.5984
ZTF ZTF18adaygbl Unknown16.43 r16.282018-11-172026-09-2619211.00124.8731, -6.6407
ZTF ZTF18adaygnv EclBin17.66 r17.562018-11-272026-09-2655871.00126.6515, -8.8376
ZTF ZTF18adaygsa Unknown18.34 r18.342018-11-072026-09-2638471.00123.7740, -9.4929
ZTF ZTF18adaygsx CataclyV*18.40 r18.402018-11-172026-09-2618211.00126.8594, -6.4275
ZTF ZTF18adaygxt EclBinfaded r19.642017-12-082026-09-26771.00125.1727, -8.3571
ZTF ZTF18adayhaq Variable*17.34 r17.342018-11-172026-09-2647681.00126.7547, -9.9633
ZTF ZTF18adbhqmh Unknownfaded r—2018-12-292026-09-26891.00125.0526, -4.0452
ZTF ZTF18adpeytp EclBinfaded r—2018-11-102026-09-26671.00123.7269, -5.0806
ZTF ZTF19aaaoior Unknown18.30 r18.302018-11-172026-09-2622271.00124.5522, -6.5866
ZTF ZTF19aaaoivn Unknown17.76 r17.652018-12-232026-09-2652761.00123.0622, -8.9281
ZTF ZTF19aaaojem Unknownfaded r—2018-11-262026-09-26221.00123.1114, -3.4827
ZTF ZTF19aaaojyh Unknown18.21 r18.212018-11-072026-09-2616201.00124.6322, -9.0816
ZTF ZTF19aaaorav Unknownfaded r—2019-01-042026-09-2644581.00129.6725, -9.0714
ZTF ZTF19aaaoriv AGN19.08 r19.082019-01-042026-09-26551.00126.6456, -7.4088
ZTF ZTF19aaaoriy EclBinfaded r—2017-12-152026-09-26111.00123.5860, -7.2288
ZTF ZTF19aabwhxn LongPeriodV*15.22 r14.232018-11-172026-09-2637531.00122.9884, -9.2646
ZTF ZTF19aabxfmc Unknownfaded r—2018-11-192026-09-2629331.00122.9986, -5.6221
ZTF ZTF19aabxhpi Unknownfaded r—2019-01-082026-09-26641031.00126.8052, -7.5347
ZTF ZTF19aadlhkx Unknownfaded r—2018-11-172026-09-26561.00125.1622, -7.1138
ZTF ZTF19aadlpyk HorBranch*_Candidatefaded r—2018-12-292026-09-26691081.00122.7276, -7.7985
ZTF ZTF19aadmacb Seyfert1faded r—2018-11-202026-09-26711571.00124.9834, -3.0971
ZTF ZTF19aaeqcqh AGN_CandidateAT 2019aen18.75 r18.752018-11-272026-09-2632511.00122.7281, -5.0914
ZTF ZTF19aaeqcrj EclBinfaded r17.102018-11-102026-09-2632341.00123.8979, -3.1738
ZTF ZTF19aaeqdtz UnknownAT 2018jepfaded r—2017-12-182026-09-26110.99125.8533, -3.2737
ZTF ZTF19aaeqeff EclBinfaded r18.732018-11-072026-09-26331.00125.3470, -5.4978