What’s New

Sky area range search is now available for finding objects inside precise coordinate ranges. Searches can combine RA/Dec or Az/Alt limits with magnitude filters, object-type filters, visible-sky presets, and local topographic horizon filtering for observing plans.

Sky View and related rendering paths received stability fixes for release builds, resume behavior, and visual rendering issues. This should make sky rendering more reliable across sessions and device states.

Satellite rendering and information pages were expanded with clearer satellite display, selectable satellite sets, catalog counts, and a dedicated artificial-satellites information page for more context around the satellite database.

Dashboard menu tiles are protected from accidental drag-to-remove actions. The dashboard customization flow now keeps menu tiles available while still allowing intended layout changes.

In this update, we fixed three interaction issues to make object browsing smoother:

- The close button in the object information popup is no longer hidden by the time slider in landscape mode.
- Artificial satellites are now searchable from the general Search screen, including quick lookup for the ISS.
- Sky View object tap selection now matches your tap more reliably, especially in dense fields.

Released in version 4.4.0.

The Great Red Spot position has been corrected and checked across the relevant Jupiter views so its placement is more consistent with current observations and reference tools.

Please let me know if the Great Red Spot position still appears wrong on your device with version 4.4.0.

Released in version 4.4.0.

The searchable Help Center is now available, with refinements that make it easier to find features, settings, objects, and date-aware actions and open the matching screen directly.

Version 4.4.0 is now available in both the freemium and premium channels. It adds detailed solar eclipse reports with new graphics showing the Moon's shadow on Earth during each eclipse stage, plus a searchable Help Center that can find app functions, settings, objects, and date-aware actions and open the matching screen directly.

This update also polishes red night mode, adds optional oversized Sun and Moon rendering, fixes flickering constellation art in Sky View, and optimizes Sky View and Solar System 3D textures for faster rendering on more devices. The public feedback page is now part of the release as well, so feedback and roadmap work are easier to follow.

Version 4.4.0 is now available and includes a correction for a VSOP data initialization problem that could affect twilight diagrams and times, rise and set times, Moon-phase calculations, and Sky View's day/night state after the app was backgrounded and launched again.

Please let me know if twilight, rise/set, or Sky View day/night behavior is still incorrect on your device with version 4.4.0.

Released in version 4.4.0.

Constellation art rendering in Sky View has been corrected so artwork no longer flickers when both atmosphere and landscape are turned off.

Released in version 4.4.0.

The dashboard can now advance time directly, making it easier to preview how sky conditions change without leaving the main screen.

Released in version 4.3.6.

The Favorites widget now renders reliably again and uses a clearer layout with controls that are easier to read at a glance.

Released in version 4.3.4.

LX200, NexStar, and SynScan telescope controllers can now be connected over Wi-Fi as well as Bluetooth, which makes more field setups possible without changing the rest of the observing workflow.

Delivered across versions 4.3.1 and 4.3.6.

Comets are easier to interpret in Sky View and detail maps, and the brightest-comet lists now behave more reliably when ranking what is currently worth observing.

Released in version 4.3.1.

The dashboard now highlights current sky objects for the selected date and location, so it is easier to see what is timely and worth opening right away.

Released in version 4.3.1.

Distance-based object lists and observing lists now show light-travel time next to distance, from light-seconds up to light-years, which makes the scale of the sky much easier to grasp.