ATLAS answers one question: what is actually worth imaging from your backyard tonight? Tell it where you are, and it scores the deep sky objects above your horizon by weighing the six factors that decide whether a target is worth the night: altitude, separation from the moon, moon illumination, sky brightness at your site, how long it stays inside your imaging window, and where it sits in its season. You get a ranked answer in seconds, instead of an hour across three apps and a weather site. WHAT IS INSIDE Tonight's Best A ranked list of targets scored for your location, your date and the forecast. Open any object to see its altitude curve, transit time, angular size, magnitude, and a plain reading of why it scored the way it did. An interactive 3D sky Messier, NGC, IC, Caldwell and Sharpless on a dome you can spin, zoom and scrub through time, forward or back by years. Search any designation or common name, fly to it, and see when it is highest. Conditions Hourly cloud cover, rain and temperature for your location, plus moon phase, moonrise and moonset, and each stage of twilight. Gear aware framing Enter your telescope, reducer and camera and ATLAS frames each target the way your rig will see it. Drag and twist the frame on the sky, then send it to NINA with its position angle. PLAN A YEAR AHEAD The imaging planner answers the question that decides a project: when can I shoot this, and for how long. Pick a target and ATLAS works out the next twelve months from your location, your horizon and your gear: which nights are worth it, how many usable hours each one gives you, and which months carry the season. It is sky geometry, not a forecast. PLAN A TRIP Pick a place and the nights you will be there, and ATLAS shows the dark hours and the moon for each night. Each saved place keeps its own sky quality and horizon line. POINT AT THE SKY Raise your phone and the map follows it, with your camera's view behind it if you want the real horizon. If it ever looks off, center the Moon and tap it, and it corrects. BUILT FROM A LIGHT POLLUTED ROOFTOP ATLAS was built by an astrophotographer in Chicago who has put over 750 hours of integration on deep sky objects from a Bortle 9 rooftop. You do not need dark skies or expensive gear to do serious astrophotography. You do need to spend your clear nights on the right target. FREE, AND STILL FREE ATLAS is free to use, with no account required. Tonight's best targets, the 3D sky, Point mode, conditions, search, framing and a trip stay free, and with an account, a note before dark on clear nights. No ads, no full screen upsells. Astronomer is an optional subscription for planning ahead and going deeper: target alerts, My List, the twelve month planner, Universe view, mosaics, transparency, the fainter NGC, IC and Sharpless objects, emission profiles, Compare framings, trip picks for each rig, and lists of your places and rigs. One page shows what it includes; nothing opens on its own. DATA AND CREDITS Star data from the HYG Database v3.8 (CC BY-SA 2.5), compiled by David Nash. Deep sky data from OpenNGC v2024.02 (CC BY-SA 4.0), compiled by Mattia Verga. Solar system positions, twilight and moon phase from astronomy-engine. Weather from Open-Meteo. Place names from OpenStreetMap and Nominatim. Made by M102 Astro. m102astro.com ATLAS Astronomer is an auto-renewing subscription. Monthly: $3.99 per month. Yearly: $29.99 per year. New subscribers pay $19.99 for the first year. Payment is charged to your Apple Account at confirmation of purchase. The subscription renews automatically unless it is cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period, and your account is charged for renewal within 24 hours of the end of the period. You can manage or cancel your subscription in your Apple Account settings after purchase. Terms of Use: https://atlas.m102astro.com/terms Privacy Policy: https://atlas.m102astro.com/privacy
Education · iPhone, iPad · Free
Rating: 4.4 out of 5, based on 5 user ratings.
