Curious Pilot

Curious Pilot v1.31

Settings & Info S Keyboard Shortcuts

Observer Mode

Ground Aircraft

Flight Track

Start (UTC) End (UTC)

Include ground time

Import a KML or KMZ file containing a track or route.

Both .kml (plain XML) and .kmz (zipped) files are supported
Files with timestamps load into Aircraft Mode for playback
Files without timestamps load into Ground Mode as a static path

Drop a .kml or .kmz file here or click to browse

FlightAware searches by flight number, not ICAO hex code.

Use the Call Sign / Flight Number tab instead.

Flight data credentials are required to load flight data.

Set up credentials →

ICAO24 Hex Date (UTC)

Start (UTC) End (UTC)

Flight data credentials are required to load flight data.

Set up credentials →

Call Sign or Flight Number

Departure Date

Departure Time Local UTC

Departure Airport (optional, ICAO code) Arrival Airport (optional, ICAO code)

No saved flights.

Flights are saved automatically when loaded. Use the ICAO Hex or Flight Number tab to load a flight.

No flights match your search.

OpenSky Network FlightAware AeroAPI Compare providers

Flight track data is provided by the OpenSky Network, a free community service.

Steps:

Visit opensky-network.org and create a free account
Go to your Account page and generate API credentials
Copy your Client ID and Client Secret into the fields below

Your credentials are stored only in this browser's local storage and are never sent to any server other than OpenSky.

✓ Connected

Your credentials are stored only in this browser's local storage and are never sent to any server other than OpenSky.

Client ID Client Secret Paid / institutional plan (full historical archive via Trino)

Flight track data is provided by FlightAware AeroAPI, a flight tracking service with data back to 2011.

Steps:

Visit the AeroAPI Personal signup page and create a free account
Generate an API key and paste it into the field below

Your API key is stored only in this browser's local storage and is never sent to any server other than FlightAware.

✓ Connected to FlightAware

Your API key is stored only in this browser's local storage and is never sent to any server other than FlightAware.

API Key Paid Standard plan (historical access back to 2011)

Provider Comparison

Free Tier Comparison

	OpenSky Network	FlightAware AeroAPI
Cost	Free credits granted daily	Users given $5/month of free credits
Historic data	30 day window	10 day window
Cost per lookup	Free (daily credit quota)	~$0.017 per flight, after free credits are consumed
Overage charges	No (hard daily limit, resets at midnight UTC)	Yes (~$0.017 per flight, after monthly credit is consumed)
Search by call sign / flight number	Yes	Yes
Search by ICAO24 hex code	Yes	No
Search by tail / registration number	No	Yes
Military / unregistered aircraft	Yes (if broadcasting ADS-B)	No
ADS-B feeder bonus	No	A free Enterprise Account ($99.95/mo value) with access to 8 months of historic data
Credentials needed	Client ID + Client Secret (OAuth)	Single API key

Paid / Institutional Access

	OpenSky Network	FlightAware AeroAPI
Historic data	Full archive (~2013 to present)	Jan 2011 to present (15+ years)
How to access	Trino database (SQL queries)	Same REST API (Standard plan)
Eligibility	University, government, aviation authorities only	Anyone (paid subscription)
Cost	Free (must apply with institutional affiliation)	Standard plan (monthly subscription)
Academic / research	Apply at opensky-network.org with institutional email	May qualify for free access — contact FlightAware

Observer Location

Lat Lon Alt (ft)

Start Time

Now Local UTC

Playback Speed

1× 5× 10× 60×

Show Satellites +6.5 magnitude

All

BrightestFaintest

Azimuth (True) 000° N

SWNES

← LeftForwardRight →

Elevation (°) 35°

HorizonZenith

No Satellite Groups Enabled

All satellite groups are currently disabled, so no satellites will appear in the simulation.

Go to Settings → Satellite Groups to enable one or more groups.

Flight Data Required

No flight track has been loaded.

Use the Load Flight button in the Aircraft panel to load a flight track before using the playback controls.

Simulation Stopped

Simulation stopped at 3, due to the Ground Mode Duration setting.

Change this setting in Settings & Info → Settings → Ground Mode, if needed.

Date Out of Range

Please enter a date between October 4, 1957 and December 31, 2200.

Earlier dates are not supported because orbital data sources do not contain records before the start of the space age. Later dates are rejected because satellite propagation diverges far past a TLE's epoch.

Storage Upgrade Pending

Curious Pilot is upgrading its local storage, but another open tab of this app is preventing the upgrade from completing.

Please close any other tabs running Curious Pilot, then reload this page.

Select a Cached Flight

Curious Pilot is a free web application primarily designed to aid in investigations of pilot UAP reports. For the curious pilot, it may help answer the question, 'What were those lights I saw?' Or it may help rule out the ordinary, leaving a stronger case for further UAP investigations.

Driven by a rich set of real-world aeronautical, orbital, and astronomical data — all time-synchronized — this application replicates past aircraft flights and simulates the animated situational view from the cockpit. It provides a dynamic, 3D visualization of satellites, celestial objects, and the earth below, as the pilot might have seen them during the flight.

In addition to the Aircraft Mode, Curious Pilot also provides a Ground Mode that can simulate past and current views of the nighttime sky from a fixed location.

Curious Pilot runs in your browser. No installation is required.

The application integrates 12 independent data sources to accurately recreate and replay the night-sky conditions:

Flight Tracks

The OpenSky Network provides historical ADS-B flight track data. Given an aircraft’s ICAO24 hex code and a date, the app retrieves the recorded flight path including position, altitude, and heading. A free OpenSky account is required.

FlightAware AeroAPI is available as a second flight track data source, with data back to 2011. It supports search by call sign, flight number, or tail number. A free Personal account provides access to flights within the past 10 days; older historical data requires a paid plan.

Aircraft flight track data can also be imported from .kml and .kmz files. These standard geospatial files are available from sources such as adsbexchange.com, which provides several years of historical data.

Satellite Orbital Parameters

Space-Track.org, operated by the 18th Space Defense Squadron (US Space Force), is the primary source for satellite orbital parameters. It provides current data for approximately 12,000 low-Earth-orbit satellites, as well as a complete historical archive going back to 1957. These parameters are used with the SGP4 propagation algorithm to compute each satellite's position in real time. Only LEO satellites are included because higher-altitude objects are too faint to see with the naked eye. A free Space-Track account is required and can be set up under Settings.

The historical archive is essential for accurately recreating past events—without historical data, satellite positions can only be estimated from current orbital parameters, which degrade in accuracy the further you go back in time. With Space-Track, the app can retrieve the exact orbital parameters that were valid on a specific historical date, ensuring satellites appear where they actually were at the time of a past sighting.

Fallback: CelesTrak

CelesTrak serves as a fallback source when Space-Track is unavailable. It provides current orbital parameters for the same set of LEO satellites. No account is required.

Satellite Brightness

The Stellarium community satellite database supplies standard visual magnitude values. Combined with solar illumination geometry and observer distance, these are used to predict how bright each satellite appears—the McCants/Stellarium magnitude model.

Star Positions & Constellations

Star coordinates are from the Hipparcos catalog (ESA, 1997) accessed via CDS/VizieR. Constellation stick-figure topology by Dominic Ford (GPL v3).

Planetary Positions

The Astronomy Engine library computes precise positions of the Sun, Moon, and planets using VSOP87 and ELP/MPP02 analytical models.

Earth at Night

NASA’s Black Marble imagery (VIIRS Day/Night Band) from the Global Imagery Browse Services (GIBS) provides the nighttime ground texture showing city lights as seen from above.

Daytime Imagery

ESRI World Imagery satellite photography is used for the daytime ground plane, switching automatically based on solar illumination at the observer’s location.

Magnetic Declination

The British Geological Survey World Magnetic Model 2025 web service provides magnetic declination values, enabling display of magnetic headings alongside true headings.

Map Tiles

CartoDB and OpenTopoMap provide the map tiles used in the location picker.

Credits

Philip Giacalone is an aerospace engineer and software developer whose technical career has spanned spacecraft propulsion systems, autonomous drones, and Silicon Valley software startups. He developed Curious Pilot as a free tool for identifying what was in the sky during reported pilot and ATC sightings — combining real ADS-B flight data with published orbital and astronomical data.

Send a message →

Libraries

Three.js by Ricardo Cabello (Mr.doob) — 3D rendering engine for the sky scene
satellite.js by Shashwat Kandadai — SGP4 orbital propagation for satellite positions
Leaflet by Volodymyr Agafonkin — Interactive map for the location picker
SunCalc by Volodymyr Agafonkin — Sun and Moon position and illumination calculations
Astronomy Engine by Don Cross — Precise planetary position calculations
tz-lookup by Dark Sky — Timezone identification from geographic coordinates

Heading Reference

Each mode has its own preference. The T / M keyboard shortcuts toggle the currently active mode.

Ground Mode

True Magnetic

Aircraft Mode

True Magnetic

Declination: °

Satellite Display

Emphasized (easy to spot) E Realistic (matches visual appearance) R

Satellite Annotations

Show circle H Show name N Show lines L

Brightness

Stars & satellites 100%

Moon

Brightness 100%

View

Show constellations C Show dome D Transparent earth G Immersive mode I

Star Identification

Hold the modifier key and hover over a star to see its name, magnitude, and constellation.

Brightest magnitude ≤ 5.0

Ground Mode

Duration

How long the simulation runs in Ground Mode before it stops automatically. Aircraft Mode uses the loaded flight's own duration.

Satellite Data

Force-refresh today's satellite data ahead of the regular auto-refresh. Most users will never need this — Play, Rewind, and Load Flight refresh today's data automatically once it's older than 12 hours.

Toggle satellite groups to control which satellites appear in the simulation. Disabling large groups like Starlink significantly improves performance.

Have a feature request, found a bug, or just want to say hello? Contact the developer →

Curious Pilot has two modes, controlled by the Observer Mode switch at the upper left: Ground Mode for observing from a fixed location, and Aircraft Mode for replaying a real flight.

Ground Mode — Enter your location (or search by name), set the date/time, and press Play. Visible satellites appear as moving dots on the sky dome.

Aircraft Mode — Enter a call sign, flight number, or ICAO24 hex code along with a date, then click Load Flight. The app replays the flight path and shows satellites visible from the aircraft. Flight track data can be obtained from OpenSky Network or FlightAware AeroAPI — select your provider under Provider Credentials. Both require a free account. The developer has no relationship with either provider and receives no compensation.

Controls — Drag the sky to look around. Use the heading and elevation sliders for precise aiming. The magnitude filter limits which satellites are shown.

Satellite Info — Click the “x satellites visible” count at the upper left to see a list of visible satellites with details.

Satellite Data — Orbital parameters are fetched from Space-Track.org, the U.S. Space Command’s public catalog of tracked objects in Earth orbit. If Space-Track is unavailable, the app falls back to CelesTrak. The app tracks roughly 12,000 satellites in low Earth orbit. Only LEO satellites are included because higher-altitude satellites are too faint to see with the naked eye. The Update Satellite Data button at the bottom of the controls area re-fetches the latest data. Satellite data is cached locally and only re-fetched when you click the button.

Historical Satellite Data — For accurate replay of past events, Space-Track also provides historical orbital parameters going back to 1957, ensuring satellites appear where they actually were on a specific past date. Historical lookups require a free Space-Track.org account, which you can configure under Settings. There is no CelesTrak fallback for historical data.

Shortcut Keys

`Space`	Play / Pause simulation	`R`	Realistic satellite display
`H`	Toggle highlight circles	`E`	Emphasized satellite display
`L`	Toggle satellite lines	`T`	True heading
`N`	Toggle satellite names	`M`	Magnetic heading
`C`	Toggle constellations	`D`	Toggle dome grid
`G`	Toggle transparent earth	`[`	Rewind to start
`I`	Toggle immersive mode	`]`	Fast forward to end
`K`	Keyboard shortcuts	`S`	Settings & Info
`←` `→`	Camera azimuth (left / right)	`↑` `↓`	Camera elevation (up / down)
`⌥ Option` + hover	Identify star (name, magnitude, constellation)

Version 1.31

May 1, 2026

In Aircraft Mode, click and drag the sky to look left or right and the View Direction now follows. The “Adjust view direction” checkbox was removed — the slider is always enabled, and the camera stays fixed relative to the aircraft as it flies
Aircraft Mode now labels its camera controls with “View” — the slider reads View Elevation, and the canvas overlay reads View Az / View El. Disambiguates camera look-direction from aircraft heading and altitude in pilot-facing terminology
Observer Mode toggle (Ground / Aircraft) now renders with equal brightness in both states. Previously the Ground side appeared dim, implying it was “off” — both modes are equally valid
First-visit demo redesigned: a brand intro card up front, a consolidated data-sources card naming the actual data feeds (ADS-B for the aircraft; ephemeris + sunlight for satellites), and a final card with two buttons. Try it yourself auto-restarts the simulation, and Learn About Curious Pilot opens the About tab
A small reload banner appears when a newer version is deployed while a tab is open. Click Reload to update or dismiss it — auto-reload is never triggered, so an in-progress simulation is never interrupted

Version 1.30

May 1, 2026

Arrow keys now move the camera — ← / → change azimuth, ↑ / ↓ change elevation. In Aircraft Mode, left/right adjust the View Direction slider
Aircraft Mode now defaults to Magnetic heading (matches cockpit instruments and ATC convention); Ground Mode keeps True heading. Each mode persists its own heading-reference preference
Aircraft Mode heading display now reads “True Heading” or “Magnetic Heading” with declination subtracted in magnetic mode — matches what a pilot would read off the cockpit instruments
Heading Reference radios moved from the controls panel to the Settings tab, with separate Ground / Aircraft selectors visible side-by-side
Aircraft Mode now shows the loaded flight’s callsign above the UTC / Local time at the upper-right of the canvas
Brightness legend (color/magnitude key) at the bottom-left of the canvas now appears only in Emphasized display mode — in Realistic mode the satellites are drawn at their actual apparent magnitudes, so the tiered legend doesn’t apply
Satellite count and update date now share a single line at the bottom-right of the canvas (replacing the controls-panel TLE Status section)
Controls panel decluttered — the “Update Satellite Data” button moved to the Settings tab, the “Learn” button moved to the References tab, and several status messages and obsolete labels removed
Ground Mode azimuth slider relabeled from “Heading” to “Azimuth” (it always referenced camera direction, never aircraft heading); the canvas overlay now reads “Az:” / “El:”
Settings tabs are now deep-linkable from URL paths (e.g. /about, /help) so you can share a direct link to a specific tab
First-visit demo flight loads instantly from a bundled satellite snapshot — no network round-trip needed before the demo starts

Version 1.29

April 30, 2026

Each Saved Flight now uses orbital data accurate to its exact UTC date. Multiple flights on the same date share one underlying snapshot, and deleting a flight automatically frees its satellite data when no other flight still references that date
Faster page open — satellite data is now loaded only when you press Play, Rewind, or Load Flight. Visiting the app and not interacting costs zero network
Cached satellite data loads silently — no loading-dialog flash when the data is already in memory or in IndexedDB
Loading dialog and result popup now display both the UTC date and your local date on separate lines, so flights that cross UTC midnight don’t cause confusion about what date the data is for
Visible-satellites list no longer shows a stray “0 ” prefix on every satellite name (the leader was Space-Track’s 3LE format marker, now stripped during parsing)
Keyboard shortcuts (L for trails, H for highlight, etc.) now toggle on the first press immediately after Play or Reset, instead of needing a second press
Inline satellite-emoji favicon eliminates the favicon 404 that was logged on every page load
Storage system upgraded automatically on first launch — no user action required. The three previous single-slot orbital caches are replaced by a per-date snapshot store keyed to each flight’s calendar date, with automatic cleanup of unreferenced data

Version 1.28

April 29, 2026

Keyboard Shortcuts dialog now lists the ⌥ Option / Alt + hover star-identification shortcut, with the modifier key label adapted to the user’s platform

Version 1.27

April 29, 2026

KML import now correctly handles files with multiple <gx:Track> blocks (e.g. adsbexchange exports that split taxi and airborne phases) — all tracks are merged, sorted by timestamp, and adjacent duplicate timestamps collapsed so the interpolator never sees a zero-duration segment
KMZ archive support: drop a .kmz file (zipped KML) and it’s extracted and parsed transparently using the browser’s native DecompressionStream API — no library required
Imported KML and KMZ aircraft tracks now persist to the Saved Flights list with a kml: or kmz: prefix, the file’s Placemark name as the displayed callsign (or the filename if no name is present), waypoint count, duration, and a notes field — identical UX to lookup-fetched flights
The Import KML or KMZ File tab is now the first tab in the Select Flight dialog
Star identification: hold ⌥ Option (Mac) or Alt (Windows/Linux) and hover over any bright star — a popup near the cursor shows the star’s name, magnitude, and constellation; intended for identifying reference stars in UAP photos
Star catalog rebuilt from HYG v4.1 to include proper names, Bayer designations (e.g. “α Lyrae”), and constellation membership for ~1,400 stars at magnitude 5.0 or brighter
New Settings → Star Identification slider controls the magnitude cutoff for hover identification (default ≤ 5.0, range 0.0 – 5.0)
Open-center crosshair cursor appears over the sky while the modifier key is held, so the target star remains visible behind the cursor

Version 1.26

April 28, 2026

Bright-end size cap reduced from 80 px to 30 px so very bright satellites (mag below approximately −2.3) no longer render larger than the brightest planet icons; ISS at peak now stays comfortably under Venus and well below the moon
Satellite-data load dialog now labels the orbital-data date as UTC (e.g. “Orbital data is for Dec 8, 2024 UTC”) so users near a UTC date boundary aren’t confused by the day-shift relative to their local sim date
Visible-satellites list now hides satellites with elevation 0° or below — only objects actually above the horizon appear in the user-facing list
Search box appears next to the visible-satellites count when the list is open; type to filter satellites by name (case-insensitive substring match)

Version 1.25

April 28, 2026

Dim satellites (magnitude 0 and dimmer) are nudged 15% larger than their catalog-star counterparts — empirically the smoothstep disc reads slightly fainter than a matching star at identical pixel size, and the small boost compensates without making satellites visibly outsize the surrounding star field

Version 1.24

April 28, 2026

Satellite dots and highlight rings now render through the same Points + shader pipeline as catalog stars, using gl_PointSize in screen pixels — a magnitude-N satellite is drawn at the same pixel size as a magnitude-N star, and dots no longer enlarge near the edges of the canvas
Bright satellites (magnitude below 0) grow continuously above the brightest catalog stars, so a typical ISS pass shows visible size growth from horizon to peak; capped so an extreme flare can’t blow out the canvas
Emphasized mode keeps satellites visibly larger than the brightest stars so they stand out for easy spotting
Double-click a satellite in the visible-satellites list to center the camera on it and blink its highlight ring (was single-click previously, which silently fired on accidental clicks)
Display-toggle shortcuts (H, N, L, E, R, D) and their corresponding Settings checkboxes now take effect immediately whether the simulation is running or paused

Version 1.23

April 27, 2026

Realistic-mode satellites now render at the same visual size curve as real catalog stars, so a magnitude-N satellite reads at the same brightness as a magnitude-N star
New global Brightness slider in Settings scales stars and satellites together (30%–200%); the Moon retains its own independent brightness control

Version 1.22

April 27, 2026

Both satellite-data dialogs (loading spinner and result dialog) are now centered on the canvas instead of the full viewport

Version 1.21

April 27, 2026

The satellite-data load result is now shown in a normal, draggable dialog with a close button. The friendly summary appears centered with one sentence per line, and the actual Space-Track response (when applicable) is shown parenthetically below in smaller print

Version 1.20

April 27, 2026

The satellite-data load result dialog now always includes the date of the orbital data — e.g. "Loaded 18900 satellites — orbital data current as of Apr 27, 2026." or "Loaded 1 satellite — orbital data for Oct 4, 1957."
Failure messages from Space-Track now include the requested date too — e.g. "Could not load satellite data: No orbital parameter data returned from Space-Track (requested date: 1957-10-04)"

Version 1.19

April 27, 2026

Satellite data is now fetched only when the Play button is pressed. Editing the start-time field no longer kicks off a Space-Track query before the user has finished typing the date
The pre-1957 date check now also runs at Play time as a backstop, so an invalid date can never reach the Space-Track query
Changing the start time during a running animation now stops the animation cleanly instead of auto-restarting it (which previously triggered an unwanted load for partially-typed historical dates)

Version 1.18

April 27, 2026

The satellite-data loading dialog now stays open after a load completes (or fails) and shows a brief summary — "Loaded N satellites for <date>" or "Could not load satellite data: <reason>" — so the user can read the result before dismissing it with the Close button
Improved error message when Space-Track has no records around a given date (e.g. "No orbital data found for 1957-10-04 (Space-Track has no records in the ±3-day window around this date)")

Version 1.17

April 27, 2026

The satellite-data loading overlay is now a modal dialog with a Cancel button so loads can be aborted gracefully if Space-Track is slow or unresponsive
Fixed an infinite retry loop that pumped "Space-Track rate limit" errors when historical data could not be loaded — playback now stops cleanly on a failed load

Version 1.16

April 27, 2026

All date fields now reject dates before October 4, 1957 (the launch of Sputnik 1) to avoid Space-Track server errors. A dialog explains the limit if an earlier date is entered

Version 1.15

April 27, 2026

Added a small "Satellite data: <date>" label in the bottom-right of the canvas showing the date the orbital data is current as of (or the historical date when replaying a past flight)

Version 1.14

April 27, 2026

Fixed the "updated at" timestamp shown in the Satellite Groups header, the data-load status line, and the Statistics panel so it now reflects the Space-Track snapshot stored in IndexedDB instead of only the (often empty) CelesTrak fallback caches

Version 1.13

April 27, 2026

Saved Flights tab now has a search box that filters by notes, callsign, ICAO24, FlightAware ident, and departure/arrival airport (case-insensitive substring match)
Saved-flight rows now display the source-prefixed identifier (os:, fa:) instead of the misleading ICAO24: label, since FlightAware idents are not ICAO24 codes

Version 1.12

April 27, 2026

Cached flight tracks now live in IndexedDB alongside orbital parameters, removing the last bulky cache from the localStorage quota
Legacy flightcache:* entries are migrated automatically on first launch after upgrade
Flight cache uses a unified source-prefixed identifier scheme (os:, fa:) so OpenSky and FlightAware records share one namespace without collision

Version 1.11

April 27, 2026

Bulky orbital-parameter and magnitude caches now live in IndexedDB, eliminating the silent localStorage quota failures that left current Space-Track data unsaved
Legacy tle_cache_* entries are migrated automatically on first launch after upgrade
Spinner caption now distinguishes historical, current, and future-date loads

Version 1.10

April 27, 2026

Keyboard shortcut S opens and closes the Settings & Info dialog
Renamed "Info & Settings" link to "Settings & Info"

Version 1.9

April 26, 2026

Mercury added to the visualized planets

Version 1.8

April 26, 2026

KML file import: drag-and-drop or browse to load flight tracks from KML files in Aircraft Mode
FlightAware AeroAPI added as a second flight data provider alongside OpenSky
iPad and tablet support with touch gestures and tap-to-identify tooltips
Learn dialog split into three tabs: Satellites, Stars, and Brightness
Visible Satellites Only filter with visible/total count columns in satellite groups
Atmospheric extinction correction for more accurate satellite magnitude calculations
Magnitude slider now uses 0.1 increments for finer control
Sortable columns and magnitude ranges in the Satellite Groups tab
Ground Mode start time split into separate date and time fields
Loading spinner with progress messages during data fetch
Keyboard shortcut K opens and closes the Keyboard Shortcuts dialog
Demo flight extended to 16 minutes with map zoomed to the departure climb on first visit

Version 1.7

April 24, 2026

Demo flight: app opens in Aircraft Mode running a real Southwest Airlines departure (SWA2594, SNA→LAS) on first visit
Demo flight is always available under Saved Flights for replay
Camera Az and Camera El displayed on same line in Ground Mode
Aircraft Mode overlay shows 4 rows: Heading, Altitude, Lat/Lon, Camera Az+El
Mode switch immediately updates the overlay layout and zeroes values when no data is loaded
Added pulldown indicator (▾) next to "satellites visible" title
Renamed "Camera Heading" → "Camera Az" and "Camera Elevation" → "Camera El"
Renamed Settings button to "Info & Settings"

Version 1.6

April 24, 2026

Accept both IATA flight numbers (e.g., DL123) and ICAO call signs (e.g., DAL123) with automatic conversion via adsbdb.com
Airport fields are now optional — airports auto-discovered from the call sign when left blank
Intelligent error messages: detects modified ADS-B call signs, route mismatches, and unknown call signs with actionable guidance
Renamed tabs to "Lookup by ICAO Hex" and "Lookup by Call Sign / Flight Number" for clarity

Version 1.5

April 23, 2026

New "Select Flight" dialog in Aircraft Mode with four tabs: By ICAO Hex, By Flight Number, Saved Flights, and Credentials
Flight Number lookup: find flights by callsign (e.g., UAL308), departure date/time, and airports using OpenSky arrival/departure data
Supports both Local and UTC time entry with automatic timezone conversion via adsbdb.com
Flight info display: loaded flights show callsign, ICAO hex code, departure/arrival airports, and UTC departure/arrival times
Ground time exclusion: on-ground and adjacent-flight data excluded by default, with "Include ground time" checkbox to restore
Start/End (UTC) time fields for manual adjustment of the simulation time window
Saved Flights tab with individual and bulk delete
Credentials tab with onboarding guide, Test button for credential verification, and connected status display
Credential guard: lookup tabs prompt users to set up credentials before attempting data requests
Oracle Cloud proxy updated with flight search and callsign route endpoints; deploy.sh now deploys to both Cloudflare and Oracle

Version 1.4

April 22, 2026

Space-Track.org integration: access historical satellite orbital parameters going back to 1957 for accurate replay of past events
Expanded satellite catalog from ~12,000 (CelesTrak) to ~27,000 LEO satellites (Space-Track)
Historical data automatically loaded when simulation date is more than 30 days in the past
Server-side caching via Cloudflare KV with LRU eviction (200 cached dates)
New Satellite Groups tab in Settings to toggle visibility of satellite groups (Starlink, OneWeb, Iridium, etc.)
Performance: magnitude pre-filter skips SGP4 propagation for satellites too dim to be visible
Performance: satellite group filter skips disabled groups entirely
Performance: frame throttling reduces propagation to every 3rd animation frame
Extended magnitude slider from 6.5 to 9.0 to include dimmer satellites (e.g., Starlink at ~6.9)
Added "All" checkbox to show all satellites regardless of magnitude
Default start time now uses current local time instead of a hardcoded date
CelesTrak retained as fallback data source when Space-Track proxy is unavailable

Version 1.3.1

April 22, 2026

Added immersive mode for distraction-free sky viewing (replaces fullscreen mode)
Added saved-flights dropdown to Flight Track for quick access to cached flights
Lat/lon overlay now updates from ADS-B data in Aircraft Mode
Reorganized Settings dialog with dedicated About, Help, and Settings tabs
Added Space bar keyboard shortcut to play/pause the simulation
Added [ and ] keyboard shortcuts to rewind to start and fast forward to end
Added libraries credits section to the About tab

Version 1.3

April 22, 2026

Sun, Moon, and planet icons now appear and disappear when their disks first touch the horizon, matching published rise/set times to within one minute
Constellation outlines now rotate correctly with stars during time animation
Local time display now uses the observer location timezone instead of the browser timezone
Location, altitude, and time inputs now update immediately on each keystroke
Ground Mode now redraws immediately when location or time changes
Clicking a star now auto-enables constellation outlines in the Satellite Reference dialog
Star positions upgraded to Hipparcos catalog coordinates
Added Troubleshoot tab to Settings dialog with browser compatibility workarounds
Added mobile landing page for visitors on phones and tablets
Keyboard shortcuts now work when focus is on non-text controls

Version 1.2

April 20, 2026

Renamed "About" link to "Settings"
Added Data tab identifying the 8 external data sources used by the app
Added Settings tab with controls for: satellite data update, heading reference (True/Magnetic), satellite display mode (Emphasized/Realistic), satellite annotations (circle, name, lines), and view options (constellations, dome, immersive mode)
Clicking a satellite in the visible list now blinks its highlight circle 4 times
Renamed "Show trails" to "Show lines"
Added dome grid toggle (Show dome / D shortcut key)
Immersive mode control now uses a checkbox consistent with other settings
Added Shortcut Keys reference to the Help tab

Version 1.1

April 19, 2026

Clicking a satellite in the visible satellites list now centers it in the view

Version 1.0

April 18, 2026

Initial release

Learn About Satellites

Opens a dialog with the current Satellites breakdown, Stars currently above the horizon (click any star to point the camera at it), and an explanation of how satellite brightness is calculated.

Papers

Lorenzi, G., et al. Reflectance characterization of Starlink-like satellite with HELIOS brightness testing facility

Brave Browser

Brave’s Shields feature can cause the 3D sky view to go white or become blurry during a simulation. If this happens, click the lion icon in the address bar and turn Shields off for this site, then reload the page. This does not affect your Shields settings on other sites.

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Keyboard Shortcuts K

`Space`	Play / Pause simulation	`R`	Realistic satellite display
`H`	Toggle highlight circles	`E`	Emphasized satellite display
`L`	Toggle satellite lines	`T`	True heading
`N`	Toggle satellite names	`M`	Magnetic heading
`C`	Toggle constellations	`D`	Toggle dome grid
`G`	Toggle transparent earth	`[`	Rewind to start
`I`	Toggle immersive mode	`]`	Fast forward to end
`K`	Keyboard shortcuts	`S`	Settings & Info
`←` `→`	Camera azimuth (left / right)	`↑` `↓`	Camera elevation (up / down)
`⌥ Option` + hover	Identify star (name, magnitude, constellation)

Loading satellite data…

Satellite Data

Press I to return

Camera Heading: 180° S Camera Elevation: 35°

click-drag to look around

Sky brightness too high — no satellites visible Show satellites anyway

<2 mag 2–4 4–6.5 (estimated visibility)