# StarScope Global

> The global platform for serious amateur astronomers. Real-time research feeds, hemisphere-aware sky alerts, and a worldwide observer community — built for both hemispheres, not just the UK and USA.

StarScope Global is a modern astronomy platform that aggregates live data from the world's leading scientific sources and delivers it to amateur astronomers in a clean, actionable format. It is free to use for core features and offers a Pro subscription (£4.99/month) for real-time research feeds and advanced alerts.

## What StarScope Global Does

- Aggregates real-time astronomy feeds: Arxiv astro-ph preprints, NASA GCN transient alerts, Minor Planet Center bulletins, NOAA space weather / aurora Kp index, Near-Earth Object close approaches, ESA Hubble press releases, Sky & Telescope news, and NASA APOD
- Delivers hemisphere-aware sky data: tonight's visible planets, deep-sky objects, moon phase, meteor showers, and aurora alerts for both Northern and Southern hemispheres
- Provides a real-time community chat with multiple channels (general, observations, equipment, southern sky, astrophotography)
- Offers an interactive sky map powered by Stellarium Web
- Maintains a curated telescope recommendation guide with affiliate links
- Sends custom notifications: aurora alerts when NOAA Kp reaches a user-set threshold, new comet alerts from MPC, NEO close-approach alerts, and keyword-matched research alerts (Pro)
- Provides a personal Observation Log for Pro subscribers (equipment, location, conditions, notes)

## Free Features (no account required)

- APOD daily image (real-time)
- Sky & Telescope news (real-time)
- ESA Hubble press releases (real-time)
- Comet bright list from MPC (real-time)
- Tonight's Sky panel (planets, DSOs, moon, best viewing window)
- NOAA space weather summary (Kp index, aurora alert level)
- 5 most recent NASA GCN circulars
- 5 most recent MPC alerts
- 5 closest NEO approaches
- Community chat (all channels, full history)
- Sky Map (Stellarium Web interactive viewer)
- Telescope recommendations
- Aurora and comet notifications (after free sign-up)

## Pro Features (£4.99/month)

- Arxiv astro-ph: real-time (free tier has 24-hour delay)
- NASA GCN: all circulars in real-time (free gets 5)
- MPC: full alert list in real-time (free gets 5)
- NEO: full close-approach table (free gets 5)
- Keyword-matched notifications across Arxiv and GCN
- Personal Observation Log with equipment and location tracking
- TNS (IAU Transient Name Server) alerts — pending IAU API approval

## Donate (one-off, no account required)

Observers who want to support the platform without subscribing can make a one-off donation of £5, £10, £25, or a custom amount via Stripe. No account is required.

## Target Audience

- Serious amateur astronomers worldwide, particularly those underserved by Northern-hemisphere-centric platforms
- Southern hemisphere observers (South America, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand)
- Observers interested in variable stars, transients, comets, NEOs, aurora, and astrophotography
- Citizen scientists who want access to the same alert streams as professional astronomers
- Beginners who want a clean, modern entry point into observational astronomy

## Data Sources

- Arxiv astro-ph: https://arxiv.org/archive/astro-ph
- NASA GCN Circulars: https://gcn.nasa.gov/
- Minor Planet Center: https://www.minorplanetcenter.net/
- NOAA Space Weather: https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/
- NASA CNEOS NEO: https://cneos.jpl.nasa.gov/
- NASA APOD: https://apod.nasa.gov/
- Sky & Telescope: https://skyandtelescope.org/
- ESA Hubble: https://esahubble.org/
- IAU TNS: https://www.wis-tns.org/

## Pages

- / — Homepage with Tonight's Sky, feature highlights, and hemisphere toggle
- /feed — Live multi-source astronomy feed with keyword filter and hemisphere toggle
- /sky-map — Interactive Stellarium Web sky map
- /community — Real-time global chat for amateur astronomers
- /telescopes — Curated telescope recommendations by skill level and budget
- /pricing — Free vs Pro tier comparison and donation options
- /about — Mission, data sources, and contact
- /log — Personal Observation Log (Pro subscribers)
- /notifications/preferences — Custom alert preferences (aurora threshold, comet, NEO, keywords)

## Contact

Email: hello@starscope.live
Website: https://starscope.live