Using the Moon Flight Tracker

First Boot

Plug in USB-C power. The tracker connects to WiFi, syncs the clock over NTP, and lands on the RADAR screen. Before it can predict anything it needs to know where you are — so set your ZIP code first:

1. Tap LOC in the navigation strip.
2. Enter your five-digit ZIP code on the keypad. DEL backspaces.
3. Tap OK. The tracker looks up your coordinates and timezone, then returns to the radar.

Your ZIP is saved to non-volatile memory, so it survives unplugging — you only do this once, or when you travel.

RADAR

A plan view of the sky around you, refreshed every 15 seconds. You're at the center; the rings mark distance out to the search radius. Each aircraft appears as a triangle pointed along its heading, labeled with callsign and altitude. A moon marker sits on the rim at the moon's current bearing, so you can see at a glance which side of the sky to face.

When a plane is on track to pass close to the moon it lights up and an alert banner drops from the top of the screen with the callsign and a countdown. Tap the banner — or any plane — for its details.

LIST

Every tracked aircraft, sorted by how close it will come to the moon — best candidate at the top. Each row shows callsign, the predicted minimum separation in degrees, and how many seconds until that closest approach. Rows are color-coded to match the alert tiers. Tap a row to open flight details.

FLIGHT DETAIL

Callsign, aircraft type, origin and destination airports, altitude, speed, and heading, plus the predicted separation and time. Route information is looked up when you open the screen, so it appears a moment after the rest — a dial spins while it loads. Not every aircraft is in the route database; private and general-aviation flights often show the callsign only. Tap anywhere to go back.

MOON

Tonight's moon: the current phase drawn to scale, illumination percentage, whether it's waxing or waning, its altitude above the horizon and compass azimuth, and local rise and set times. Negative altitude means the moon is below the horizon — the tracker holds off on alerts until it climbs above 5°, since the geometry near the horizon isn't reliable enough to be worth chasing.

LOCATION

Beyond the ZIP keypad, this screen sets screen rotation. Enter 90, 180, or 270 and tap OK to rotate the display — useful depending on which way the ribbon cable exits your mount. Touch coordinates rotate with it, and the setting persists across power cycles. Enter 0 to go back to upright.

Reading the Alerts

Alerts are about angular separation — how far apart the plane and the moon will look in the sky, not how far apart they are in miles. The moon is about half a degree wide, which sets both thresholds:

• NEAR (cyan) — closest approach under 2°. The plane won't cross the disc, but both fit comfortably in a 300 mm telephoto frame. Worth shooting.
• TRANSIT (pink) — closest approach under 0.5°. The plane crosses the lunar disc itself. This is the shot.