ABOUT
An independent research prototype
SkyTransit is an independently developed academic research and software-development initiative with no dedicated project funding. It studies computational methods for predicting and analysing apparent alignments between aircraft and the Sun or Moon as seen from ground-based observing locations. References to Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM) indicate the researcher's institutional affiliation and do not imply that SkyTransit is an official UPM service or an institutionally funded project. It is currently developed and operated as a non-commercial research prototype.
What SkyTransit is
SkyTransit combines aircraft trajectory data, astronomical ephemerides and computational geometry to study apparent aircraft–Sun/Moon alignments from ground-based observing locations and to develop methods for predicting them. It is a working tool for photographers and observers, and at the same time a testbed for methodological research whose predictive performance is still being evaluated. Read the methodology.
SkyTransit Atlas is the historical-analysis component: it studies past trajectories to identify locations where alignments have already occurred. Historical occurrence is treated as evidence, not as a probability or guarantee of a future transit.
Research lead / developer
Alejandro Rodríguez-González
Professor / Researcher · Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM)
SkyTransit is an independent research-oriented software initiative developed by Alejandro Rodríguez-González. The university affiliation identifies the researcher's academic affiliation only; SkyTransit is not an official UPM service or an institutionally funded project.
Non-commercial status
SkyTransit is currently developed and operated as a non-commercial research prototype. There is no subscription, no paid tier, no advertising and no commercial operation. This describes the current state and is not a permanent legal commitment.
See it in action.
Explore SkyTransit