SkyWatch knowledge center

Read the signal. Keep the uncertainty.

Original field guides for interpreting live aviation, public alerts, maritime movement, GNSS disruption, and satellite observations without turning incomplete data into certainty.

Source firstEvery observation needs origin, time, and freshness.
Time mattersLive, cached, stale, and unavailable are not synonyms.
No automatic intentA track or anomaly is evidence to examine, not a mission claim.
Quick tutorials

One task at a time

Short, silent walkthroughs of the live interface. Pause at any step and keep the map open in another tab while you follow along.

Getting started | 2:18

SkyWatch complete tour

A single guided walkthrough of the navigation, workspace, map controls, quick views, aircraft tools, public alerts, environmental signals, weather, ships, and satellites.

  1. Learn where each menu lives
  2. Open the map tools and operational workspace
  3. See the main filters and verification layers in context
Aircraft | 0:12

Filter aircraft by operational class

Switch between all aircraft, military aircraft, and government or special-mission candidates without changing the selected data source.

  1. Open the filter bar
  2. Choose All, Military, or Gov + special
  3. Use the source row independently
Aircraft trails | 0:12

Follow up to 20 selected aircraft

Enter focused selection mode, click the aircraft you want, and keep only their sampled trails on the map.

  1. Open Layers, then Trails
  2. Choose Selected and start map selection
  3. Click up to 20 aircraft, then finish
Aircraft trails | 0:12

Compare forces and ghost trails

Show recent trails for selected militaries and add subdued historical movement without mistaking it for a live position.

  1. Choose Forces trail mode
  2. Select up to three forces
  3. Enable Ghost trails for historical context
Public warnings | 0:12

Read public alerts and UAV event trails

Enable official alert areas and UAV alert-event routes while keeping current warnings visually separate from older context.

  1. Open the OSINT layer tab
  2. Enable public alerts and UAV route
  3. Open a marker for source and time
Signals | 0:12

Inspect GNSS, network, radiation, and seismic layers

Turn on one signal at a time, open its details, and read update time and coverage before drawing a conclusion.

  1. Enable a signal layer
  2. Click a cell, station, or event
  3. Check source, timestamp, and stale state
Thermal | 0:12

Check thermal detections against satellite imagery

Use strike-focused NASA thermal detections together with recent satellite imagery to examine context and likely false positives.

  1. Enable Thermal detections
  2. Use Strike-focused mode
  3. Enable true-color or aerosol imagery for context
Weather | 0:12

Use weather without obscuring the map

Switch between rain, clouds, wind, temperature, and pressure while preserving the current map view.

  1. Open Weather + Sat
  2. Enable Weather
  3. Choose the weather field you need
Maritime and space | 0:12

Open ship and satellite details

Enable AIS or satellite positions, choose an object, and inspect its identifiers, freshness, and available external record.

  1. Enable AIS ships or Satellites
  2. Click an object on the map
  3. Review identifiers and source freshness
Field library

How SkyWatch data should be read

These guides explain the assumptions, failure modes, and verification steps behind the layers available in the product.

AboutAbout SkyWatchA public situational-awareness workspace for understanding fast-moving aviation, maritime, alert, environmental, and open-source data.2 min read MethodologyMethodology and limitsHow SkyWatch normalizes observations, manages freshness, avoids duplicates, and communicates uncertainty.2 min read SourcesData sources and freshnessA high-level inventory of the information categories used by SkyWatch and the limits that accompany them.2 min read AircraftHow to read the live aircraft mapA practical guide to callsigns, aircraft types, altitude trails, filters, flags, and observation gaps.2 min read Public alertsHow to read the public alert mapHow active, recent, historical, and UAV-related public warnings appear without replacing official instructions.2 min read Data literacyLive, cached, and stale: reading data freshnessA practical method for deciding whether a marker represents a current observation, recent context, or a source that has stopped updating.3 min read AircraftAircraft trails, observation gaps, and impossible jumpsWhy a line on an aircraft map is a sequence of received reports rather than a perfect record of the path flown.3 min read SignalsHow to read GNSS interference without overclaimingWhat an interference polygon can support, what it cannot establish, and why coverage changes between regions and hours.2 min read Earth observationThermal detections: separating transient signal from persistent heatHow satellite heat detections become investigation leads, and why factories, flares, volcanoes, and repeated hot surfaces need special handling.2 min read MaritimeAIS vessel tracking through Hormuz and the GulfHow cooperative vessel reports support movement analysis, where ownership and cargo data come from, and why a missing ship is not proof of a closed route.2 min read Data literacyWhat an empty live map does and does not meanA troubleshooting and interpretation guide for zero results, upstream outages, filters, stale caches, and genuine quiet periods.2 min read

Editorial standard

SkyWatch explains what a public observation supports, what it leaves unknown, and which failure modes can change the picture. We do not convert a callsign into a mission, a thermal pixel into attribution, or a missing transmission into proof of absence.

Corrections, source concerns, and questions about these guides can be sent to support@skywatchintel.com.