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
1,701–1,750 of 256,283 · All objects seen in the 7 nights
ObjectClassLast magPeakFirst seenLast seenNightsDetectionsRel.RA, DecPartner
ZTF ZTF18adbgzyr Seyfert1faded r17.982018-11-172026-09-26711281.00123.9272, 6.5897
ZTF ZTF19aaadshb AGN18.59 r18.202018-11-082026-09-26771421.00128.6353, 7.1371
ZTF ZTF19aabwukq Unknown17.88 r17.352019-01-082026-09-2619231.00125.4624, 6.7110
ZTF ZTF19aafexga Unknownfaded r17.362018-02-252026-09-2610121.00123.9113, 9.1458
ZTF ZTF19aafwscf Unknown18.54 r17.852018-11-082026-09-2668901.00124.6223, 9.5347
ZTF ZTF19aakimxa Star17.53 r17.532018-11-082026-09-2648501.00122.5652, 9.3841
ZTF ZTF19aamgecz Unknownfaded r17.972018-12-292026-09-2649711.00127.6871, 8.0230
ZTF ZTF19aarqqsy Starfaded r—2019-04-252026-09-2623341.00123.0872, 7.5990
ZTF ZTF19aaswykm Unknown17.44 r16.752018-11-082026-09-2632411.00129.4732, 5.5277
ZTF ZTF19acjnzrk RRLyrae15.90 r15.762018-11-072026-09-26241.00123.7828, 9.8111
ZTF ZTF19acjnzrl RRLyraefaded r16.942018-11-072026-09-26491.00123.2806, 9.8053
ZTF ZTF19acpyipp Unknown16.30 r16.302019-11-072026-09-26110.06124.1804, 7.8342
ZTF ZTF19acvdllk Unknown14.94 r14.712018-01-132026-09-2655731.00126.1179, 5.5735
ZTF ZTF19acxogck Unknown15.53 r15.532018-12-282026-09-26450.22124.4631, 5.1227
ZTF ZTF19acxopwh EclBin17.46 r16.322018-11-072026-09-26461.00129.0379, 6.4124
ZTF ZTF19acxoqca EclBin17.70 r17.702018-11-082026-09-26110.97123.4712, 9.9209
ZTF ZTF20aaavqcp Unknownfaded r—2020-01-012026-09-26220.98127.6321, 6.8610
ZTF ZTF20aabjpmx QSO18.84 r18.572018-11-082026-09-26651141.00125.3226, 5.7602
ZTF ZTF20aaegovq Unknownfaded r—2019-04-112026-09-26111.00126.9488, 5.0196
ZTF ZTF20aaejljj EclBin19.05 r18.962018-11-072026-09-26341.00123.1858, 9.1987
ZTF ZTF20aahzgxq Unknown16.83 r16.832018-11-082026-09-26241.00123.3031, 9.8354
ZTF ZTF20aahzhcr RRLyrae16.91 r16.572018-11-072026-09-265121.00122.9189, 4.4938
ZTF ZTF20aahzsbp Starfaded r18.102020-01-252026-09-26671.00127.2038, 6.3659
ZTF ZTF20aaluboy RRLyrae18.76 r17.842018-11-072026-09-265101.00125.3633, 4.6303
ZTF ZTF20aamrmft RRLyraefaded r15.642018-11-082026-09-26371.00125.2157, 6.4734
ZTF ZTF20aamrnaf Seyfert117.77 r17.772018-11-082026-09-265211.00126.8914, 4.6049
ZTF ZTF20aamrnnp EclBinfaded r—2018-11-072026-09-26111.00124.2878, 6.4754
ZTF ZTF20aaotljc Unknownfaded r18.622018-11-082026-09-2655911.00125.2667, 5.6507
ZTF ZTF20acaayou Unknown15.74 r14.992018-11-082026-09-26780.99125.5511, 7.4192
ZTF ZTF20aclmubh QSOfaded r19.302020-10-202026-09-26581.00123.5953, 11.8358
ZTF ZTF20acpijwa QSO19.32 r19.112018-11-172026-09-26361.00125.7376, 7.0180
ZTF ZTF20adayknp EclBinfaded r—2018-11-172026-09-26110.99129.3734, 6.3549
ZTF ZTF21aahlqxl Unknownfaded r16.592021-02-062026-09-26220.91129.2533, 5.1927
ZTF ZTF21ackkbac Unknownfaded r—2019-03-192026-09-26110.96124.8411, 7.0778
ZTF ZTF22aaiyecp Unknown18.28 r18.122018-12-162026-09-2635371.00128.0928, 6.7407
ZTF ZTF22acazhxb RSCVnV*17.94 r17.942018-11-072026-09-26221.00122.9572, 7.6175
ZTF ZTF23aaauzte Unknown16.64 r16.082018-04-092026-09-2647630.99122.9826, 10.9123
ZTF ZTF23aabgmxz Unknownfaded r—2020-01-062026-09-26671.00124.9206, 7.5819
ZTF ZTF24abqqphs Unknownfaded r—2017-12-142026-09-2619281.00124.8036, 5.6513
ZTF ZTF26abxsvec Solar System MPC18.77 r18.772026-09-262026-09-26111.00123.3847, 9.0604
ZTF ZTF26abxsvhc Solar System MPC19.17 r19.172026-09-262026-09-26111.00126.0689, 7.0983
ZTF ZTF26abxsvjb Solar System MPC18.14 r18.142026-09-262026-09-26111.00127.8921, 7.9792
ZTF ZTF26abxsvku Solar System MPC18.56 r18.562026-09-262026-09-26111.00124.4560, 4.4294
ZTF ZTF26abxsvmg Solar System MPC19.30 r19.302026-09-262026-09-26111.00129.1441, 7.6010
ZTF ZTF26abxsvna Unknown18.90 r18.902026-09-262026-09-26111.00128.4588, 5.8603
ZTF ZTF26abxsvnf Solar System MPC17.89 r17.892026-09-262026-09-26111.00122.4578, 11.3121
ZTF ZTF26abxsvng Unknownfaded r—2026-09-262026-09-26111.00122.9412, 11.6943
ZTF ZTF26abxsvoc Solar System MPC19.06 r19.062026-09-262026-09-26111.00127.5101, 6.8538
ZTF ZTF26abxsvox Solar System MPC18.91 r18.912026-09-262026-09-26111.00122.6286, 9.8376
ZTF ZTF26abxsvoy Solar System MPC19.09 r19.092026-09-262026-09-26111.00122.3283, 9.7889