Skygaze is a bot that provides information on where celestial objects are located, the best time to see them and what is currently visible from a users specific location. It supports the planets, sun, moon, and many deep-sky objects in the messier catalog. This includes objects like the Andromeda Galaxy, Orion Nebula, etc.
All of the ephemeris calculations themselves are in the bot code itself, it does not rely on external web services outside of google maps to retrieve the lat/long for a particular zip code.
Skygaze is a conversational bot and was an experiment in making a bot that would support a few different platforms at once. It support natural language but also attempts to guide the user down a path on some platforms. It is available on Facebook Messenger, Slack and Skype.
Support / Feedback
This is just a fun side project for me and helps with my own amateur astronomy planning. If you have any feedback or issues, please feel free to email me at gus.branchesi@gmail.com
Accessing the Bot on Various Platforms
Facebook Messenger
You can chat with the bot in Facebook Messenger which was the bot’s primary platform target. Click on the image below or scan it into messenger. You can also just search for Skygaze in Messenger.
Slack
Use the button below to add the bot to your team. The bot is a simple conversational bot. You can direct message the bot and ask it questions after adding it to your team. If you need some help, ask the bot and it will provide some examples.
Skype
Although the bot is not optimized for Skype, it will also function there. Just click the link below!
Alexa
You can install the skill by simply saying “Alexa, enable the sky gaze skill” or visit its page on Amazon or in the Alexa app.