EXPLORE THE INFRARED SKY THROUGH TIME
The sky doesn’t stand still.
Choose a field. Blink real observations. Look closer at what changes.
First visit? ① Choose a target below. ② Click Find observations. ③ Open Blink & timeline and press Play. See the illustrated guide ↗
Choose a target or coordinates, then click Find observations. The image stays visible as you explore the tabs.
Observation timeline
NORTH ↑ · EAST ←Your patch of the infrared sky
Click Find observations to load sky images.
Only real archive pixels appear here.
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Blink through time
Press Play, step between dates, or drag the timeline. Click the image to use arrow keys and Space.
Compare the same wavelength
Choose a wavelength group, then view its mean coadd or last-minus-first difference.
Wavelength varies across each array. Selecting a detector alone does not ensure comparable wavelengths.
Compare catalogue positions
Archive IMAGE display · no background subtraction or PSF/ePSF processing.
Ready to search.
Prepared image downloads
Load a sequence first. Download its available images and inspect the current frame’s provenance below.
Frame provenance and quality
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Available observations
Every returned record is browsable below. Footprint overlap is not proof that the target was detected. Wavelength and detector filters do not remove records from this list. Select observations to load their actual cutouts.
All observation records · select, view and review status
Search results are stored locally, including footprints, dates, wavelengths, archive links and release provenance.
Developer latency diagnostics
No measurements yet.
Shortcomings & examples
Blue pixels mean missing data, not fading. Mixed wavelengths can mimic brightness changes. An empty incomplete search does not mean no observations. See all limitations with examples and next steps ↗
What am I looking at?
Default frames show SPHEREx calibrated IMAGE pixels with sky alignment and a common display stretch, without zodiacal subtraction, quality-flag masking or PSF/ePSF processing. Existing background-subtracted analysis products remain available only through Advanced settings. Blue areas have no usable pixel. A common brightness stretch is used across the sequence. Target coordinates remain fixed so motion can be visible against the sky.
All-wavelength playback mixes different infrared responses. Use a narrow wavelength group for more comparable views. Groups use approximate target-position wavelengths, not a full response calibration. Coadds and differences are exploratory: PSF differences, residual astrometry, masks and noise can mimic change. These views do not establish a detection or a calibrated light curve.