# Heliacal Rise — Where is Sirius rising?

> Where is Sirius rising? (iPhone/iPad app by Areo Info LLC.)

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/heliacal-rise/id6756533236 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`)
- Developer: [Areo Info LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/1781325312)
- Category: Reference, Navigation
- Price: $2.99
- Age rating: 4+
- Requires: iOS 15 · 3 MB
- Languages: American English
- Released: 2025-12-16
- Data updated: 2026-06-30
- User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/heliacal-rise/id6756533236/reviews.md

## What is Heliacal Rise?

The heliacal rising of Sirius is the yearly occurrence when the brightest star, Sirius, becomes visible in the sky. That happens around August each year, and the specific day depends on the geographic latitude and the year. On that particular day, Sirius becomes visible for the first time for a few seconds shortly before sunrise in the morning at the eastern horizon. That day was an essential event for ancient Egyptian civilization, as it indicated the beginning of their new year. A few temples were aligned to that location on the horizon where Sirius appears for the first time each year; most prominently, the Hathor Temple at Dendera, near Luxor. Also, the southern shaft in the Queen's Chamber of the Great Pyramid at Giza is considered, with its 38° angle, to be related to Sirius. Specifically, its upper culmination angle, the maximum elevation above the local horizon it reaches, matches that angle at the time when the pyramid is assumed to have been built.

Heliacal Rise shows with a live camera view overlaid visual compass indicator the horizon locations of Sirius's heliacal rising and setting when exploring a location on Earth, along with dates and times. The built-in calculation automatically adjusts to the phone's location and set year.

It can also be switched to manual location mode so you can view the heliacal rising for any location on Earth.

With version 2,  a map view is available when running on iOS/iPadOS 17 and newer, showing the heliacal rising and setting directions overlaid as lines on a global satellite image map for any location on Earth at any year down to 13000 BC into the past.

It also shows for Sirius the time and elevation above the local horizon of its yearly midnight culmination on New Year's Day. That's special for the star Sirius to reach its highest nightly location above the horizon only seconds to minutes apart from midnight into the New Year. Every star has its day of the midnight culmination, but they are distributed throughout the year, and only the Sirius Midnight Culmination occurs at midnight into the New Year.

Next to the midnight transit also the noon transit is shown and the days since the Sirius Sun Conjunction.

If you'd like to see the rising locations of other stars, please let me know which ones. Also contact me, if you have suggestions about other interesting features to add.

## Chart rankings

- #197 in Top Paid · Reference (US App Store)


## Version history (last 5 releases)

### 2.1.1 — 2026-02-14

* new: Sirius Sun Conjunction date and Sirius Noon Culmination date down to 4713 BC
* improved map view
* usability on small screens

### 2.1.0 — 2026-02-09

* new: Sirius Sun Conjunction and Sirius Noon Culmination
* improved map view
* new: also runs on macOS as iPad app

### 2.0.0 — 2026-01-27

Map overlay view showing the heliacal rising and setting direction as lines.

### 1.1.0 — 2026-01-19

* experimental support to year 13000 BC into the past
* star proper motion for years far into the past now correct
* day count since solstice and equinox
* true local solar time for midnight culmination
* Gregorian Calendar and Julian Calendar dates
* star and sun icons at position above/below horizon
* quick view for +- 3 days

### 1.0.2 — 2025-12-29

* calculation now for fixed elevation threshold
* horizon elevation thresholds now adjustable, was fixed 0° before
* experimental mode for years before 1583
* calculation now also correct for high southern latitudes
* layout improvements for small screens
* compass calibration note now displayed when needed
* usability improvements

## More apps by Areo Info LLC

- [areoHDR](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/areohdr/id6738591240)

All apps by Areo Info LLC: https://appshunter.io/developer/1781325312

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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 2026-06-30.*