Unveiling the Transit Finder: Your New Celestial Prediction Tool

Ever looked up at the night sky and wondered if you could predict when a satellite or even the Moon would perfectly align with a distant star or celestial object? Well, get ready to have your celestial predictions revolutionized! I've been working on a new section of called the Transit Finder, and it's designed to do just that.

What is the Transit Finder?

The Transit Finder is a powerful new tool that allows you to identify and predict satellite and celestial body transits in your local area. Whether you're an avid astrophotographer looking for the perfect shot or simply a curious sky-gazer, this tool can help you plan your observations.

Beyond Prediction: Recreating History

But the Transit Finder isn't just about looking forward; it's also about revisiting the past. A truly exciting feature of this tool is its ability to test predictions against old photos of transits where the location and time were documented. This means you can see how accurately the tool can recreate historical celestial events, giving you confidence in its capabilities.

I've already uploaded a moon transit and a sun transit to the gallery. Both photographers who collaborated with me were incredibly patient as we tested the tool. Seeing the tool accurately reproduce their stunning historical images was a rewarding experience.

How it Works

Simply head over to . The tool will automatically detect your location and show you possible transits over the next two weeks. You can also explore the gallery to see the historical photo recreations.

Current Status and Future

While the tool is about 99% complete, there are a couple of minor glitches. For instance, directly selecting specific satellites like CSS and HST requires a two-step process (loading them into the simulator and then clicking functions from their information panel). However, these are small hurdles, and the core functionality is robust.

I'm excited to share this tool with the community and hope it inspires many incredible observations and photographs!