Support & Documentation

Welcome to the official support hub for Night Astro Planner. Whether you are setting up your smart telescope, testing FOV framing, traveling to a dark-sky preserve, or diagnosing an issue, this page covers features, FAQs, and contact channels.

Contact & Technical Inquiries

For direct assistance, feature requests, or subscription inquiries, email our support team directly:

• Direct Support Email: climbbike+radar@gmail.com
• Typical Response Time: Within 24–48 hours

When reporting a technical issue or crash, please include:

1. Device Model: (e.g., iPhone 16 Pro, Google Pixel 9, iPad Pro M4, Samsung Galaxy S24)
2. Operating System Version: (e.g., iOS 18.2, Android 15)
3. App Version: Listed in the in-app Menu or About screen (e.g., v1.1.6)
4. Issue Summary: What occurred, the selected target or location, and relevant screenshots if available.

What’s New in Night Astro Planner

Version 1.1.6

• Added Telescope & Sensor FOV Framing Simulator with rotation angles and DESI/WISE survey overlays
• Improvements to the locations of celestial objects and target date recommendations
• Full Screen landscape mode and improved location editing
• Map scale is now saved when an observing location is saved or updated

Version 1.1.5

• Added Up Next target queue: promote up to 5 saved targets to focus on top upcoming objects
• Added real-time compass sky tracking with pinch-to-zoom support
• Added Target Discovery: explore and filter targets by location, apparent size, and object type
• Added Solar System support: search, track, and plan planets and bright asteroids with offline ephemeris

Version 1.1.4

• Added astrophotography weather forecasting: clouds, seeing, and atmospheric transparency
• Added 20-year ERA5 historical clear-sky climate reanalysis for long-range planning
• Added HUD weather pill with night-aware forecast matching and multi-day condition breakdown

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does the app request precise location?

Night Astro Planner calculates celestial coordinates (Altitude and Azimuth) based strictly on your observer latitude, longitude, and Local Sidereal Time (LST). Precise coordinates ensure that the horizon, zenith, altitude rings, and transit culminations accurately match what your telescope or camera sees from your exact setup location.

Is my location data transmitted to remote servers?

We (the developer) never collect, store, or track your location on any server, and your data is never shared with advertising networks or data brokers.

• 100% On-Device Calculations: All astronomical algorithms, Julian date transforms, Meeus ephemeris equations, celestial trajectories, and 20-year historical sky climatology lookups are computed locally on your device.
• Apple Maps & Apple Weather (iOS): To display satellite maps, reverse-geocode place names, and fetch 7-day astronomical weather forecasts, your selected observation coordinates are transmitted directly to Apple via Apple MapKit, CoreLocation, and Apple WeatherKit in accordance with Apple's Privacy Policy. (On Android, interactive maps and weather forecasts use Google Maps SDK and the MET Norway API).
• NASA GIBS Light Pollution Tiles: To compute high-resolution Bortle and SQM light pollution ratings and render the Dark Sky heatmap, the app requests regional satellite map tiles from NASA Earthdata GIBS (gibs.earthdata.nasa.gov). Only the regional map tile index is requested—never your personal identity.
• Private iCloud Sync: If you save custom observing locations or targets on iOS, they are stored on your device and synced exclusively to your personal Apple iCloud account via Apple CloudKit. We have no access to your iCloud data.

How does the FOV Framing Simulator work?

The framing simulator calculates the sensor field of view based on your telescope or lens focal length and sensor dimensions (or built-in presets for ZWO Seestar, DWARF, and Vaonis Vespera). This allows you to preview framing and camera angle rotation on deep-sky survey cutouts before shooting.

How are the Bortle ratings and light pollution calculated?

Light pollution overlays are sampled from the high-resolution NOAA / CIRES Falchi 2016 World Atlas of Artificial Night Sky Brightness and NASA VIIRS Black Marble radiance data, delivering instant Bortle Class (1–9) and Zenith Sky Brightness (SQM in mag/arcsec²).

Does the app work without cellular or Wi-Fi in remote areas?

Yes. All celestial mechanics, planet/asteroid ephemeris calculations, offline deep-sky catalogs (Messier, Caldwell, NGC, IC), and saved target databases work completely offline in remote dark-sky locations.

How do I restore or manage my Pro subscription?

On iOS, open Menu > About & Scientific Sources and tap Restore Purchases. Subscriptions can be managed or canceled anytime via your Apple ID under Settings > [Your Name] > Subscriptions. On Android, manage subscriptions via the Google Play Store app under Payments & Subscriptions.

Scientific Data Sources & Attributions

• CDS SIMBAD & Sesame: Celestial coordinates, astronomical designations, and object categorizations provided by the Centre de Données astronomiques de Strasbourg, France.
• NOAA / CIRES Falchi 2016 World Atlas & NASA EOSDIS GIBS: Artificial night sky brightness, SQM magnitudes, and Bortle classifications (CC BY 4.0).
• Apple WeatherKit, MET Norway & Copernicus ERA5: Numerical atmospheric weather forecasting and historical clear-sky climate reanalysis.
• DESI Legacy Surveys, WISE & Wikimedia Commons: Deep-sky survey cutouts and curated target imagery.