Scope Nights Astronomy Weather

Weather | Reference

iOS

If you’re a budding stargazer, an astronomer or even an astrophotographer, sometimes you don’t have time to analyse conventional weather forecasts, 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, weather alerts and a detailed light pollution map showing dark sky sites and observatories. Finding clear dark skies and discovering what’s out there has never been easier.

PLAN YOUR OBSERVING WITH CUSTOM STARGAZING RATINGS
● 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 it’s worth preparing your telescope or planning a stargazing trip
● Create custom stargazing ratings using observing thresholds for moon phase, wind, humidity and temperature and choose night, evening or morning coverage to suit when you observe
● View at a glance which of your favourite Scope Sites will have the best stargazing conditions for the upcoming night

FIND DARK SKY SITES & OBSERVATORIES
● Find nearby dark sky sites with the clearest skies using detailed light pollution map derived from the latest NASA satellite data
● Searchable lists and map of certified dark sky places and major astronomical observatories

DETAILED ASTRONOMY FORECASTS
● Long range astronomy forecasts for up to 10 locations worldwide and up to 10 nights ahead
● Local 3-hourly forecasts for UK & USA updated hourly using the best forecast data available direct from the UK Met Office and the US National Weather Service

CUSTOM STARGAZING NOTIFICATIONS
● Receive accurate notifications of good or fair stargazing ratings based on your custom stargazing thresholds, well before sunset so you can prepare for your observing session
● App badge showing the number of sites with good stargazing for the upcoming night

SHARE WITH FRIENDS
● Share your astronomy forecasts with fellow astronomers via email, social media or print them out for your observatory

ASTRONOMY FORECAST DETAILS & THRESHOLDS
● Night time specific forecasts from sunset to sunrise
● Forecast coverage to suit when you observe: All Night, Evening or Morning
● Colour coded weather details based on observing thresholds:
- 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
● Moonrise and moonset times
● Sunrise & sunset times
● Wind speed gust sensitivity switch for those with large telescopes or in exposed locations

REQUIREMENTS
● Requires a device with iOS 9.3 or later
● Requires Internet access over a Wi-Fi or cellular data connection
● Requires Location Services be enabled to automatically find local astronomy forecast
● Requires Background Services be enabled to get stargazing notifications