# Light Pollution Map - Dark Sky — Astronomy tools & more

> Interactive light pollution map and celestial event tracker for astronomers and stargazers. (iPhone/iPad app by Dunbar Technology, LLC.)

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/light-pollution-map-dark-sky/id1200379779 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`)
- Developer: [Dunbar Technology, LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/1200379778)
- Category: Weather, Reference
- Price: Free with in-app purchases
- Rating: 4.60/5 from 201 App Store ratings · 420 written reviews indexed
- Age rating: 4+
- Requires: iOS 16.0 · 91 MB
- Languages: American English
- Released: 2017-02-17
- Data updated: 2026-08-28
- Monetization: free with in-app purchases
- User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/light-pollution-map-dark-sky/id1200379779/reviews.md

## What is Light Pollution Map?

Light Pollution Map allows you to easily locate dark sky locations where the sky will not be affected by light pollution, allowing the best observance, star gazing, and photography of the night sky! But it's not just a light pollution map. There's so much more, such as aurora borealis live viewing map, meteor shower alerts, super moon alerts, lunar eclipse alerts, moon phases and info, aurora and magnetic field information, international space station tracker, and a lot more! Light Pollution Map will help you master the night sky..

List of all features:
• Highly accurate, customizable and interactive light pollution map to find dark sky viewing locations near you.
• See live aurora borealis information such as KP value, magnetic field information, and more for the hardcore aurora chaser.
• Live aurora borealis visibility map for northern and southern hemisphere, with additional timelapse options.
• Aurora information widgets (today widget).
• ISS Tracker with live updates about the international space station including the location, visibility, velocity, altitude, and more.
• Night sky event calendar allows you to find dates for lunar eclipses, super moons, and meteor showers.
• Live images of the Sun via NASA's Solar and Heliospheric Observatory.
• Darkness countdown timer until the darkest period of night so you know when the night sky will be the darkest. Also let you know when it starts getting light outside.
• Astronomy photo of the day directly from NASA! A new one every day to look at!
• Local temperature indicator to know if you need to bring a sweater before you even step outside.
• Local cloud coverage indicator to know if you will be able to see anything before you step outside.
• Cloud cover overlay on the main map to find clear sky locations at night.
• Settings to customize the app.
• Moon information such as moon phase, moon rise, and moon set times, days of next full moon and new moon, etc.
• Moon direction tool which allows you to find where the moon will be, at any time, any date, for any location.
• Enable a horizon safe radius circle to avoid light pollution from nearby cities on the map.
• Local Aurora Borealis (Northern/Southern Lights) alerts and push notifications.
• Global Aurora Borealis Activity alerts and push notifications.
• Meteor shower alerts and push notifications.
• Super moon alerts and push notifications.
• Lunar eclipse alerts and push notifications.
• Save and load your favorite dark sky locations.
• Navigate to your saved locations using the Apple Maps app.

Some features above require an optional in-app purchase to upgrade to the pro version. Every purchase helps us to continue running and developing the app and is much appreciated.

Note: Light Pollution Map loads data online. Internet connection or wifi is required, and we are not responsible for any data usage chargers from your provider.

Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

## Key features

- Interactive light pollution map
- Aurora borealis live map and alerts
- Meteor shower and super moon alerts
- ISS tracker with live updates
- Moon phases and information
- Astronomy photo of the day

## Pricing and in-app purchases

Base price: Free.

**Subscriptions**

| Subscription | Price | Period |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Pro Version | $9.99 | per year |

**One-time purchases**

| Purchase | Price | Type |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Pro Version Upgrade | $9.99 | one-time |
| Pro Version Upgrade Discounted | $8.99 | one-time |


## Chart rankings

- #133 in Top Free · Weather (US App Store)
- #199 in Top Grossing · Weather (US App Store)

## What do users think of Light Pollution Map?

Overall sentiment: negative

**Pros**

- 👍 Clear detailed satellite views
- 🚀 Works with barely any signal
- 📊 Useful map with latest data
- 🌌 Helps with astrophotography

**Cons**

- 🐛 Crashes on opening the map
- 🐛 Crashes after locating user's position
- 🔍 No legend for map colors
- 💰 Tries to get users to upgrade to premium

**Commonly reported bugs**

- App crashes when opening light pollution map
- App crashes after locating user's position
- Cloud coverage feature not working as expected

**Most requested features**

- Add Bortle rating information
- Improve cloud coverage feature
- Fix crashing issues

## Recent user reviews (10 of 420)

All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/light-pollution-map-dark-sky/id1200379779/reviews.md

### 4/5 — Oft Daten nicht verfügbar

*2026-08-08*

Ich habe oft den Aurora api error und demzufolge keine Daten.

### 4/5 — Really good!

*2026-07-26*

I feel like it could have more features but other wise it helps a lot for stargazing!

### 5/5 — Works great to find dark skies and more!

*2026-07-14*

Developer is also very good at keeping the app updated lately. Love this app

### 3/5 — API Error

*2026-07-07*

The app used to work, but now no map shows up, and it says there is an API error “Aurora Info Server Error” even after I updated the app.

**Developer response:** Hi There,

Edit : The update is available now, kindly update the app.

Thank you for the feedback. We are working on the fix. A new update will be available in coming days. Sorry for the inconvenience.

### 5/5 — Best

*2026-05-04*

I have had this for a long time now and this is soo useful I always use this for stargazing they became a lil more pay to win but it’s still useful

### 4/5 — Good app, old data

*2026-05-04, version 5.5.0*

Data is from 2016/2017, it would be huge if they updated that like some other apps/sites. Otherwise it’s a nice map that’s clear and easy to use.

### 5/5 — Great app

*2026-05-04*

Just what I needed

### 4/5 — 3.5 stars; lacks a scale

*2026-04-25*

Nice and responsive from a map perspective, but there’s no legend for the colors to link them even notionally to Bortle class. So, it works fine for seeing where you need to drive for dark skies (vs towns and cities) but gives no guidance for differentiating between two locations of similar darkness.

### 5/5 — Eyes to the night sky

*2026-04-11*

Good~

### 4/5 — Not all that

*2026-02-21*

It realy just a map of light pollution

## Frequently asked questions about Light Pollution Map

### What does the Light Pollution Map app do?

The app helps you find dark sky locations ideal for stargazing, astrophotography, and general night sky observation. It provides a detailed, interactive light pollution map and offers real-time information and alerts for various celestial events.

### What are the key features of the app?

Key features include a customizable light pollution map, live aurora borealis information and visibility maps, alerts for meteor showers, super moons, and lunar eclipses, an ISS tracker, moon phase information, and daily astronomy photos from NASA.

### Is the app free to use?

The app is free to download and use, but some advanced features require an optional in-app purchase to upgrade to the pro version. These purchases help support the continued development of the app.

### What are the system requirements for this app?

The app requires an internet connection or Wi-Fi to load data. Specific operating system version requirements are not detailed, but it is designed for mobile devices.

### How can I use this app for stargazing?

You can use the app to identify areas with minimal light pollution for clearer views of stars and celestial objects. The app also provides event calendars and alerts for phenomena like meteor showers and auroras, helping you plan your stargazing sessions.

## Version history (last 5 releases)

### 5.5.6 — 2026-08-10

Added Bortle information
Fixed Global Aurora Alerts
Temporarily disabled Local Aurora Alerts
Improved Meteor, Super Moon, and Eclipse Alerts
Improved the Night Event Calendar
Updated the About screen
Added helpful hints to the ISS screen
Improved widgets and their reliability
Improved notification reliability
Various bug fixes and performance improvements
Removed social media references

### 5.5.1 — 2026-07-13

Fixed the Main Screen Info.
Improved widgets and widget reliability.
Terms of Service and Privacy Policy links updated

### 5.5.0 — 2025-11-29

Fixed crash in moon information screen
Fixed crash in the Moon Direction Tool screen
Fixed Aurora Alerts
Improved Meteor/ Super Moon/Eclipse Alerts
Improved Night Event Calendar

### 5.4.2 — 2025-07-21

Added Apple's standard Terms of Use (EULA) for subscription in purchase screen and in App Store description

### 5.4.0 — 2025-07-11

Fixed major bug after launch
Fixed others bugs
Modern, responsive UI optimized for iPhone and iPad in both portrait and landscape modes.
Improved many features of the app.

## Apps similar to Light Pollution Map

| App | Rating | Price | Category |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [Sun Calendar](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/sun-calendar/id748920235) | 4.3 (43) | $2.99 | Weather |
| [Weather Informant](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/weather-informant/id802517287) | 2.6 (32) | Free | Weather |
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| [Power Outage - Live Monitor](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/power-outage-live-monitor/id1161371495) | 3.8 (50) | $1.99 | Weather |
| [指尖天气预报-2小时降雨预警](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/2/id1184793295) | 4.5 (78) | Free | Weather |

## More apps by Dunbar Technology, LLC

- [SkyCandy - Sunset Forecast App](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/skycandy-sunset-forecast-app/id1263477198)
- [Fotocast](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/fotocast/id1270587588)
- [AuroraCast - Aurora Forecast](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/auroracast-aurora-forecast/id1270592946)

All apps by Dunbar Technology, LLC: https://appshunter.io/developer/1200379778

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[light pollution map](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/light-pollution-map) · [dark sky map](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/dark-sky-map) · [dark sky finder](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/dark-sky-finder) · [lpm](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/lpm) · [light pollution](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/light-pollution) · [astronomy tools](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/astronomy-tools) · [clear dark sky](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/clear-dark-sky) · [pollution map](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/pollution-map) · [dark sky](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/dark-sky) · [dark sky widget](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/dark-sky-widget) · [dark sky meter](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/dark-sky-meter) · [sky map astronomy](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/sky-map-astronomy) · [dark skies](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/dark-skies) · [light and dark](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/light-and-dark) · [dark sky meter pro](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/dark-sky-meter-pro) · [dark mode eclipse](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/dark-mode-eclipse)

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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 2026-08-28.*