Skywatch — connector documentation

MCP endpoint: https://skywatch.connectorbay.com/mcp
REST API: POST https://skywatch.connectorbay.com/v1/tools/{tool_name}, described by the OpenAPI 3.1 spec at https://skywatch.connectorbay.com/openapi.json
Transport: Streamable HTTP, stateless, MCP specification 2025-06-18 or later
Authentication: none required. An optional Authorization: Bearer <key> raises rate limits.
Health: https://skywatch.connectorbay.com/health · Tool schemas: https://skywatch.connectorbay.com/tools.json
Publisher: Unify Dynamics LLC · connectorbay.com/skywatch · agent@connectorbay.com

What Skywatch is for

"Can I see the space station tonight?" is a maths question with a precise answer, and most people never get it. Skywatch computes it: the ISS's current orbit (a fresh TLE) propagated with SGP4 for an observer's exact spot, keeping only the passes where the station is in sunlight while the sky below is dark — with the direction to look, the time it appears, how high it climbs and how long it lasts. The same local ephemeris gives sunrise and sunset, twilight, golden hour, the moon's phase and next full moon, and which planets are up tonight and where.

What comes live

The ISS's position right now, tonight's and this week's rocket launches worldwide with webcast links (Launch Library 2), asteroids passing within a few lunar distances (NASA/JPL), the aurora oval and Kp forecast for a location (NOAA SWPC), who is in space (Open Notify) and NASA's Astronomy Picture of the Day. Bundled: the annual meteor-shower calendar with the moon's brightness computed for each peak, and every solar and lunar eclipse through 2030 with where it is visible.

How good is it

Pass predictions were checked against Skyfield and agree to the minute; a TLE a few days old is good to about a minute. Sun and moon times use standard refraction. Aurora probability is the OVATION model's 30–90-minute forecast at your coordinates — a chance, not a promise — and needs darkness, clear skies and a view toward the pole.

Tools

ISS

iss_now — Where the International Space Station is right now: latitude/longitude, altitude, speed, whether it is in sunlight, and the nearest city below it. Use for "where is the ISS", "how fast is the space station going".

iss_passes — When the ISS will be visible from a place in the coming days: rise time and direction, highest point (altitude and direction), set time, duration, how long it is visible and how bright — computed from the current TLE. Use for "when can I see the space station from Denver", "ISS passes this week". Args: place, latitude, longitude, days, min_elevation, include_daylight.

Sky tonight

sun_moon — Sunrise, sunset, solar noon, day length, civil/nautical/astronomical twilight, golden hour, moonrise, moonset, moon phase and illumination, and the next full and new moon — for any place and date. Use for "what time is sunset in Cairo", "when is it fully dark tonight", "is there a full moon this week". Args: place, latitude, longitude, day.

planets_tonight — Which planets are visible tonight from a place: when each is up (between dusk and dawn), its highest point and direction, brightness, constellation, naked-eye or not, and a spotting tip — plus how much moonlight there is. Use for "which planets can I see tonight", "where is Jupiter right now", "is Saturn visible this evening". Args: place, latitude, longitude, day.

meteor_showers — Meteor showers peaking in a date range: peak night, active period, expected rate (ZHR), radiant, parent comet, best hemisphere, speed, and the moon's brightness at the peak (the thing that makes or breaks a shower). Use for "any meteor showers this month", "when are the Perseids", "will the moon spoil the Geminids". Args: from_date, to_date, hemisphere.

eclipses — Solar and lunar eclipses from now through 2030: date, type (total, annular, partial, penumbral) and where each is visible, with safety notes. Use for "when is the next total solar eclipse", "any lunar eclipse this year", "where can I see the 2027 eclipse". Args: from_date, to_date, kind.

aurora — Northern/southern lights chances for a place: the OVATION aurora probability at that spot right now, the nearest latitude with a real chance, the current Kp index and the 2-day Kp forecast, and whether it is dark there. Use for "will I see the northern lights tonight in Edinburgh", "how strong is the aurora forecast". Args: place, latitude, longitude.

Space news

launches — Upcoming rocket launches worldwide: name, rocket, provider, mission and orbit, launch time (UTC) and how firm it is, pad and location, status, weather odds and webcast link. Use for "any launches this week", "when does the next Starship fly", "what is launching from Vandenberg". Args: days, search, limit.

asteroids — Asteroids passing close to Earth in the coming days (NASA/JPL close-approach data): name, closest-approach time, distance in km and lunar distances, speed and estimated size. Use for "any asteroids passing close this week", "how big is the one passing tomorrow". None of these are impacts. Args: days, max_lunar_distances, limit.

people_in_space — How many people are in space right now and on which spacecraft, by name. Use for "who is in space", "how many astronauts are on the ISS".

picture_of_the_day — NASA's Astronomy Picture of the Day: title, the image or video link, the explanation and credit, for today or any date since 1995. Use for "show me today's APOD", "what was the astronomy picture on my birthday". Args: day.

Conventions

Read-only. Every tool reads public data or computes; nothing is written anywhere and nothing about the user is stored.
Result envelope. ok: true with data, or ok: false with a structured error (bad_input, not_found, upstream_error). degraded lists optional sources that were unreachable.
Rate limits. Free tier 60 tool calls/minute and 300/day per user (keyed on the user identifier supplied by the host agent, else client IP); Pro keys raise this. Over-limit calls return HTTP 429 with Retry-After. initialize and tools/list are never counted.

Support

agent@connectorbay.com · connectorbay.com/skywatch/support