# Emerald Observatory for iPad — user reviews

> 54 indexed App Store user reviews of Emerald Observatory for iPad by Emerald Sequoia LLC, rated 4.92/5 from 78 ratings.

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/emerald-observatory-for-ipad/id364904759/reviews
- App overview in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/emerald-observatory-for-ipad/id364904759.md
- Rating breakdown: 5★ 75 · 4★ 1 · 3★ 1 · 2★ 1 · 1★ 0

## Newest reviews (20 of 54)

### 5/5 — Superior App

*2021-08-21, version 1.4.6*

and beautiful.

### 5/5 — Visually Stunning

*2021-01-16, version 1.4.3*

This is probably the most stunning clock ever. It is amazing the information, dials, and representations presented on this clock.

### 5/5 — Magnificent Union Of Form And Function

*2020-11-24, version 1.4.3*

This is a splendid example of application development that is both a useful information center for Astronomy, as well as a beautiful timepiece. The dials are easy to read, and provide a wealth of useful data. Even if you have only a passing interest in the sky above, you will still have an intriguing display of several different ways to measure time. This app is an excellent investment for scholars of any age.

### 5/5 — Just Outstanding

*2020-05-23, version 1.4.3*

Absolutely love this app! So incredibly detailed, so beautiful! I’ve taken to keeping it up and running as my bedside clock. It’s perfect.

### 5/5 — Crème de la crème

*2019-12-19, version 1.4.3*

This one’s a home run and an absolute steal, you will probably learn some new things using it, and its UX is flawless. I’m tempted to grab other apps by these devs, they all look top notch, even though they haven’t been updated in a while.

### 5/5 — One of the Most Beautiful, Functional Apps

*2018-05-03, version 1.4.3*

I have had this app, it seems, ever since iPads first came out. It is one of the most beautiful clocks with astral events and other useful things that didn’t make me miss my analog clocks. It does what it says, and it does it well. Other clocks have come and gone, but this one is always one my iPad.

### 5/5 — It’s just cool!

*2018-01-23, version 1.4.2*

It really works well, and it’s gorgeous to look at.  Glad I got it. I recommend it for everyone!

### 5/5 — My Favorite App

*2017-12-22, version 1.4.2*

This is one of the few perfects app I have found to date.  I have been using it for years and have never had an issue.  It gives me a quick view of where the planets are at any given time, has a daily alarm (a beautiful gong sound) that wakes me up every morning and is visually stunning, to boot.  Highly recommended if you want to know when the planets rise and set and are a sucker for old style scientific instruments.

### 5/5 — A Visual and Intellectual Delight

*2017-12-20, version 1.4.2*

Very informative, very beautiful to look at. It's well thought out, provides a lot of information and does it in a visually stunning format. I just can't say enough about this app.

Addendum: I don’t know how many years I’ve had this app but it consistently delights the eye and gives me so much information at the same time.

### 5/5 — Just Beautiful

*2017-10-26, version 1.4.1*

Absolutely Beautiful!!!

### 5/5 — Wow.  Again, wow.

*2017-10-07, version 1.4.1*

Why is there no AppleTV version?  

Always a rarity when an app exceeds your expectations so wildly. Pretty, detailed, easy to understand, and a marvelous use of the device.

### 5/5 — lovely, interesting, useful!

*2017-02-18, version 1.4.1*

This is a wonderful app, full of features, beautifully designed and imagined.

In addition to the primary features, I especially love the orrery (seeing where the planets are in their relative orbits around the "Sun" (the center of the clock)).

In this respect, as well as the above-horizon times, I wish they had gone beyond Saturn since the iPad has plenty of room to accommodate Uranus, Neptune and, yes, Pluto.

Why Pluto?  Because like many people, I love Pluto, have read a great deal about that "dwarf" PLANET, and have followed the New Horizons (NASA) mission closely.  Visiting this world has been a huge milestone, a completion of sorts.  Pluto has a great importance in history, and I wish it had a place on this clock!

### 5/5 — Longtime Favorite

*2017-01-18, version 1.4.1*

I have had this app for at least six years.  It's hard to overstate how much I love it.  First, it's beautiful just as a clock, but there is so much more.  Sometimes I need a quick UTC reference, and it's there.  Sometimes I just want to know what planets are going to be up in the night sky, and it's there.  I have watched a few eclipses on it, because they aren't often visible from my spot on earth.  I've learned about solar and sidereal time and so much else by exploring this app.  It's simply great.

### 5/5 — Wishes

*2016-12-18, version 1.4.1*

I wish Emerald would put this out for the iPhone and Apple Watch.

### 5/5 — Elegant NIST Synchronized Timepiece

*2015-04-22, version 1.4*

I stumbled across this app looking for one to provide the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) time. This app does synchronize with the NIST atomic clock time via the web. It is so much more. If you enjoy having a spatial sense of where you are relative to the other planets in the solar system, like to know sunrise and sunset times, what planets are visible in the sky, when the next solar and lunar eclipse will occur, or want a better understanding of different time references, then you will enjoy this app. On top of these items, it is the most beautiful time piece I have seen.

### 5/5 — I've been using this for years…

*2014-09-13, version 1.4*

…As a functional orrery and ephemeris, and only just now thought to review it. Basically, it's a great app. If you're in any way interested in planetary positions, times of rise and set, and lunar motion and phases, look no further. You've found the app you need.

Beyond that, it's a beautiful timepiece — a clock you'll be pleased to display on your iPad.

### 5/5 — Simply awesome

*2013-06-25, version 1.3.8*

This app is the electronic equivalent of the antiquiterra device found on the bottom of Meditareanean sea dating back 2000 years ago. Besides being very beautiful it is very educative, it shows which planet is above the horizon, the phase of the moon, the eclipses, the azymuth and altitude of all the planets and even info related to the equation of time. It shows the adjusted summer time but also the solar time, universal time and sidereal time.
Honestly I don't know what else you could have added there to make it more useful and pretty. I would give this 10 stars, can I?

### 5/5 — Not Just a Pretty Clock

*2013-01-26, version 1.3.8*

I leave this up on my desk and it gets a lot complimentary comment, but we all know it's pretty. Beyond that though, it has prompted me to learn more about time and terms (look up twilight!). I am using it to teach analog time to my five year old niece  (it helps keep her attention in this digital world). I use to look ahead before a camping trip. Just a great item for you iPad.

### 5/5 — Astronomy teacher?

*2012-08-02, version 1.3.6*

I am a retired astronomy instructor and just wish I had this tool available when I was teaching. Not only are current data easy to see, but--more important to me--patterns of change can be shown by watching it as you allow the time to change. 
Not only that, it is beautiful--as astronomy should be.

### 5/5 — Just So Cool!

*2011-09-13, version 1.3.3*

This app is right down my alley. I love watches, clocks, and astronomy. If you love any of those, buy this!  I can stare at and study this for hours. Even as passive on screen eye candy this app works great.  

It displays so much information about time and how it relates to everything going on in the sky relative to your current location, and it does it in a gorgeous analog layout.  The visual real-time representation of the solar system on the face of the clock really helps to understand why the moon is there, and Jupiter is there when in look up at them in the night sky. 

A nice touch is the synchronization with atomic time servers for accuracy. Pleas release a version compatible with iPhone4. I think Retina could do it justice.

## Most critical reviews (10 lowest-rated)

### 4/5 — Beautiful, but can grow

*2010-06-30, version 0*

This is a gorgeous app as others have said, with a ton of info on one screen, but there is room, as always, for improvement. Does not support alarms currently, which is a big one, screen dimming for at night, etc. Still a steal for $1, but looking forward to some additional functionality. I'd like to make this my main clock on iPad, but need alarms with iPod support, dimming, etc. for it to be that app.

### 4/5 — Beautiful, informative, but a bit tough to decipher

*2010-06-20, version 0*

I bought this program because I needed to know the sunrise and sunset times where I am (for aviation and photography purposes). Emerald Observatory does this and so much more. It's a really beautiful interface -- almost the kind of thing you'd set up to display instead of a slide show. And there's a huge amount of information about the sun, moon, and four major planets on it. My only complaint is that it required a trip to the developer's Web site to learn the interface -- and I'm still a bit fuzzy. A tutorial mode or some other kind of onscreen help would be very useful. Otherwise, a great little program and a steal for just a buck.

### 5/5 — There is nothing else like it

*2023-10-14*

I’m sad to see Emerald Sequoia go.  Their Observatory is simply nonpareil for clarity.  I use it continually.  There simply is nothing better.  I know.  I’ve looked for something as useful for Linux.

### 5/5 — Time and space are the essence of all.

*2023-09-29*

This was the first and best app that I ever bought.
I aways send a screen picture to friends who need directions for planets.

### 5/5 — My very first app

*2023-09-05*

So sorry to see this go…I found it relaxing

### 5/5 — Essential through out the seasons

*2023-04-03*

Also a longtime user, this app is essential if one wants to know our ‘place’ in the solar system, at any time in the day and in any season. The sun swing from solstice to solstice, the local sunrise and sunset, the variation in the day length over the year, are all tracked precisely in an elegant and beautiful manner. Only one wish- that I had this Emerald Observatory as a large clock on the wall in a place where I could glance at it often!

### 5/5 — Amazing App

*2023-02-04, version 1.5.4*

I’ve had this app since it was introduced many years ago. There is nothing even remotely similar to it, so I consider it unique among the tons of content out there.

As with every app that has been in the market for a long time, I hope the developers continue supporting it. The last update was done a year ago.

### 5/5 — Perfection!

*2022-11-07, version 1.5.4*

From my current Facebook post:
If you have even a casual interest in the night sky and own an iPad, you owe it to yourself to buy the Emerald Observatory app. I’ve been using it for over a decade now and it’s one of the few apps I truly love now just as much as the day I purchased it. The price is probably just a few dollars. As an instructional designer and technologist as well as a software developer, I’m simply in awe of how beautifully and perfectly this app is designed and the amount of information that is clearly displayed on ONE screen. Data visualization geeks and designers, take note! This is how the best of the best do it. Exquisite and elegant in every way.

### 5/5 — The most awesome clock in the store! Think wallpaper! (Wish)

*2022-10-27, version 1.5.4*

I am absolutely mesmerized when I open this app. There is so much there! I would really love it if it could be ported to screen wallpaper.

### 5/5 — Wonderful App

*2022-09-26, version 1.5.4*

I got this app when I get my first iPad, and I love it. It’s so beautiful, and it packs in so much information.

## Most praised reviews (2 highest-rated)

### 5/5 — Awesome

*2022-05-14, version 1.5.4*

The best clock app.

### 5/5 — !

*2021-09-29, version 1.4.6*

I don’t even know what to say, it’s so good.

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*Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-06-10.*