"Every amateur astronomer yearns for clear, dark skies, and this exhaustive app helps you find them."
- Sky At Night Magazine 2017
"Several astronomy-oriented weather apps are available, but Scope Nights has become my favoriteโฆ it does a fine job of summarizing the data in a clear and understandable fashion."
- Sky & Telescope Magazine 2015
"Conventional weather forecasts meet the needs of Earthly dwellers; news of cloud cover when sensible folk are asleep is hardly required. Now via this wonderful Appโฆ local forecasts for nocturnal weatherโฆ are now available."
- Astronomy Now Magazine 2012
If youโre a stargazer, astronomer or astrophotographer, analysing conventional weather forecasts for favourable night time conditions can be very time consuming, you just want to know when to plan your stargazing trip or set up your telescope. Scope Nights analyses night time weather forecast data for you and shows exactly when and where to go for the darkest and clearest skies, as well as offering customisable stargazing ratings to suit your telescope and observing habits, stargazing notifications, and a detailed light pollution map showing nearby dark sky sites and observatories. Finding clear dark skies and discovering the night sky has never been easier!
PLAN YOUR OBSERVING WITH CUSTOM STARGAZING RATINGS
โข View at a glance which nights will be good for astronomy using smart weather analysis with clear stargazing ratings and animated weather icons to quickly see if itโs worth preparing your telescope or planning a stargazing trip
โข Create custom stargazing ratings using observing thresholds for moon phase, wind, humidity and temperature. Choose night, evening or morning coverage to suit when you observe, the type of telescope, and the type of observing you plan to do.
โข View at a glance which of your favourite Scope Sites will have the most suitable conditions
FIND DARK SKY SITES & OBSERVATORIES
โข Find nearby dark sky sites with the clearest skies using a detailed light pollution map derived from the latest NASA satellite data
โข Searchable lists and dark sky map showing certified dark sky places, major astronomical observatories and robotic telescopes
DETAILED ASTRONOMY FORECASTS
โข Long range astronomy forecasts for any location worldwide, compare up to 10 locations up to 10 nights ahead
โข Local 3-hourly forecasts for UK & USA updated hourly using the best forecast data available direct from the UK Met Office and the US NOAA National Weather Service
CUSTOM STARGAZING NOTIFICATIONS
โข Receive accurate notifications of good or fair stargazing ratings based on your custom thresholds, well before sunset so you can prepare for your observing session
โข App badge showing the number of sites with good observing conditions for tonight
SHARE STARGAZING FORECASTS
โข Share astronomy weather reports with fellow astronomers via email, social media or print them out for your observatory
DETAILED CUSTOM ASTRONOMY FORECASTS
โข Night time specific astronomy forecasts from sunset to sunrise
โข Forecast coverage to suit when you observe: All Night, Evening or Morning
โข Detailed colour coded forecasts:
- Moon phase percentage & altitude
- Cloud cover
- Precipitation probability
- Relative humidity
- Minimum temperature in Celsius or Fahrenheit
- Wind direction
- Wind speed & gusts in Mph, Knots, Kph or Mps
โข Moonrise and moonset times
โข Sunrise & sunset times
โข Wind speed gust sensitivity switch for those with large telescopes or in exposed locations
REQUIREMENTS
โข Requires a device with iOS 9.3 or later
โข Requires Internet access over a Wi-Fi or cellular data connection
โข Requires Location Services be enabled to automatically find local astronomy forecast
โข Requires Background Services be enabled to get stargazing notifications
