AstroNight: Astrophotography

Clear nights are rare. AstroNight helps you use them well. It tells you what's worth shooting tonight, which settings to start with, and whether your frames are any good while there's still time to fix them. DECIDE WHAT'S WORTH SHOOTING Tell AstroNight your gear: phone, DSLR, mirrorless, tracker or telescope. It works out the astronomical dark window for your date and location, tonight's moon phase and brightness, and your Bortle class. From that it picks one to three targets that suit those conditions, each with a plain-English reason. Anything your gear can't frame, or the moon will wash out, is left off the list. START WITH THE RIGHT SETTINGS Every target comes with starting settings for your setup. A phone doesn't get aperture advice. A wide-field lens doesn't get a deep-sky target it can't frame. SHOOT MANUALLY WITH YOUR PHONE Use the built-in camera to set exposure time, ISO and focus yourself, so long exposures of the night sky are possible without extra gear. Adjust focus manually, apply the starting settings AstroNight suggested for your target, and capture. A self-timer keeps a screen tap from shaking the shot. Shoot longer exposures with your iPhone or iPad. CHECK YOUR SHOTS BEFORE THE NIGHT IS GONE Import a frame mid-session. AstroNight measures vignetting, colour cast, gradient and sharpness from the pixels, then tells you what's wrong while you can still change it. A single frame can't always separate soft focus from star trailing, and the app says so rather than guessing. SEE YOUR PROGRESS Each session is logged with target, settings, conditions and photo. Shoot the same target again and you get a side-by-side comparison. KNOW WHAT'S COMING The built-in calendar covers meteor showers, eclipses and comets. Aurora alerts use live NOAA space weather data. BUILT ON REAL ASTRONOMY Sunset, twilight and astronomical dark times from the same solar equations NOAA uses Moon phase from lunar-cycle calculations Bortle estimate from a 40,000-city light-pollution dataset Aurora probability from NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center PRIVATE AND OFFLINE Photo analysis runs on your device and your images never leave it. Once installed, the app works offline, so a dead-zone dark-sky site isn't a problem. No ads and no required account. WHO IT'S FOR Beginners get explanations. Experienced shooters get the numbers.