I’m looking for a small number of experienced visual observers to beta-test a free, non-commercial system for studying when naked-eye stars first become visible during twilight.
The main idea is to let the observer keep looking at the sky instead of repeatedly looking down at a phone. The program guides the observer to one star at a time using practical directions such as sky region and approximate altitude, while keeping the model’s predicted visibility time hidden.
During a session, the observer can simply report aloud:
- “Not seen”
- “Possible glimpse”
- “Confirmed”
- or a natural spoken comment
Each report receives an exact timestamp. The sequence is preserved separately—last confirmed non-detection, first possible glimpse, first confirmed sighting, and continuous visibility—rather than forcing everything into one claimed first-seen time. The original audio is also preserved for research review.
A working preview is available at https://starsobserve.pages.dev/.
Would a few experienced observers be willing to try a short early beta session and comment on the guidance, voice reporting, timing, and overall observing experience? The first test needs only a phone/browser and voice input. Please reply in this topic if interested.