# Mahina

> Accurate 3D moon phase viewer with Hawaiian lunar calendar integration. (iPhone/iPad app by Ronald Logan.)

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/mahina/id1143996144 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`)
- Developer: [Ronald Logan](https://appshunter.io/developer/1143996143)
- Category: Education, Utilities
- Price: $0.99
- Rating: 4.50/5 from 12 App Store ratings · 6 written reviews indexed
- Age rating: 4+
- Requires: iOS 15.0 · 8 MB
- Languages: American English
- Released: 2016-09-08
- Data updated: 2026-08-24
- Monetization: paid
- User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/mahina/id1143996144/reviews.md

## What is Mahina?

Moon phase viewer with a Hawaiian twist! 

Accurately shows the current phase of the moon generated from a 3-D model of the earth-moon-sun geometry. Calculations are based on detailed equations that correctly take into account orbital characteristics such as inclination, distance, obliquity, nutation, libration, AND [optionally] the device's location on the surface of the Earth. Also generates relevant ephemeris data viewable on separate detail pages. Does not require a network connection; all calculations are performed locally within the app.

Estimates the traditional Hawaiian lunar calendar day name based on calculated predictions for the astronomical full moon occurring near the beginning of the Hawaiian day Hoku. Traditional Hawaiian days ends at sunset, not midnight.

* Allows two-finger pinch-zoom gesture. 

* Animate the phases of the moon over time by selecting "Animate" from the action menu; tap the animation to stop. Double-tap to reset back to current time, rotation, and zoom. The information icon in the lower-right corner brings up the action menu with multiple options.  

* Details page displays several moon ephemeris calculations for the given date and time. Items can be reordered and/or deleted from the list to prioritize which data items are displayed. Long-press on a value to copy to clipboard.

* Motion sensors [if enabled] automatically rotate the moon image on the Phase tab to keep it in sync with what one might see in the sky. Enable Location Services for this feature to work. If Location Services are turned off, use the two-finger rotate gesture to manually rotate the moon image.

* Lists upcoming phases with their dates and times on the Upcoming tab, and optionally displays alert notifications when they are about to occur. Identifies full moon at perigee as a "super moon."

* Shows the phases of the moon for a full calendar year on the Calendar tab - swipe left and right to see other years.

* Today widget quickly shows the current phase of the moon and the traditional Hawaiian day name on the lock screen or when the app's icon is Force Touched. If location information is available, will also show the parallactic angle, whether the moon is visible above the horizon, and next rise and set times.

* iOS14 users can add new widgets to their home screen pages. These widgets display upcoming phase milestones, the current Hawaiian day name and fishing/planting hints, and/or the current month of moon phases in calendar form.

Users in the southern hemisphere should go to the Settings app, scroll down to the Mahina settings, and set the "Hemisphere" setting to "Southern." The application will try to automatically set this value if location permission was granted, but it couldn't hurt to make sure.

Two iOS permissions need to be granted for the app to utilize its full feature set. Location Services is needed to know when the moon rises and sets, and its orientation/rotation in the sky as seen from the device location. The app does not track the user's location or send that location off the device. It uses a three-kilometer location radius that updates whenever the device travels more than 80 kilometers (~50 miles) from the last known position. 

Notification permission is needed to display local alerts when phase milestones are about to occur (full moon, new moon, first and last quarters). The alerts are locally generated and do not come from any external service.

We will never show ads within this app!

## Key features

- 3D moon phase visualization
- Hawaiian lunar calendar integration
- Detailed ephemeris data
- Offline calculations
- Moon phase animation
- Customizable widgets
- Upcoming phase alerts

## Chart rankings

- #181 in Top Paid · Education (US App Store)

## Recent user reviews (6 of 6)

All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/mahina/id1143996144/reviews.md

### 5/5 — Fisherman

*2023-11-28*

Love the app so far but can’t figure out how to add it to widgets

### 5/5 — Maika’i Loa

*2023-11-20*

Love this app, its a good way for me to stay in tuned with my culture. love the animation feature, i appreciate apps that represent the Hawaiian culture.  

Mahalo

### 5/5 — Cool App

*2022-02-27*

I like the widget, 3-D model, hints and rise/set time features. Is there any way to add tides to this? I’d pay to have that.

### 5/5 — Hawaiian fisherman

*2021-02-09*

Thanks for including the fishing and planting tips.

### 5/5 — Price was right

*2018-01-06*

Not a ton of features and I will only be using the “Upcoming” tab. But it was only 99 cents and I don’t see any ads, so here’s 5 stars!

**Developer response:** Cool, mahalo! And there NEVER will be any ads in this app. 
Any features in particular you’re looking for?

### 5/5 — Curious mom

*2016-08-21*

Informational and interesting with info easy to understand.

## Frequently asked questions about Mahina

### What is Mahina?

Mahina is a paid application that provides an accurate 3D visualization of moon phases, incorporating traditional Hawaiian lunar calendar day names. It performs all calculations locally and offers detailed ephemeris data.

### How accurate are Mahina's moon phase calculations?

Mahina's calculations are based on detailed equations of Earth-moon-sun geometry, taking into account orbital characteristics. It can optionally use your device's location for enhanced accuracy.

### Does Mahina require an internet connection?

No, Mahina does not require a network connection. All calculations for moon phases and ephemeris data are performed locally within the app.

### Can I customize the information displayed in Mahina?

Yes, on the details page, you can reorder or delete ephemeris data items to prioritize the information you want to see. You can also long-press on a value to copy it to your clipboard.

### How does Mahina handle users in the Southern Hemisphere?

Users in the Southern Hemisphere can adjust the 'Hemisphere' setting to 'Southern' within the app's settings. The application attempts to set this automatically if location permission is granted.

### What are the benefits of enabling Location Services for Mahina?

Enabling Location Services allows Mahina to automatically rotate the moon image to sync with what you see in the sky, and provides accurate moon rise and set times, as well as its orientation.

### Does Mahina offer notifications for upcoming moon phases?

Yes, Mahina lists upcoming phases with their dates and times on the Upcoming tab. You can optionally enable alert notifications to be informed when these phases are about to occur.

### What is the age rating for Mahina?

Mahina has an age rating of 4+, making it suitable for a wide range of users. It is available on iPhone, iPad, and iPod.

## Version history (last 5 releases)

### 4.1 — 2023-09-23

Version 4.1 updates the widgets to work with the latest iOS 17. Also added a few more widgets involving the native Hawaiian calendar lunar months. In keeping with our policy of only supporting the latest 3 major iOS versions, we have dropped support for anything less than iOS15.

### 4.0 — 2023-06-16

Changed the algorithm for calculating the traditional Hawaiian day. Previous versions started the month on the first time a sharp-eyed kahu would be able to spot a crescent moon at sunset. It always chose that day as Hilo, but doing so frequently means other important days, like Hoku, didn't line up with the other phases of the moon. Instead of protecting Hilo on the first crescent, the new algorithm tries to get the astronomical full moon as close to the start of Hoku as possible, as long as Hilo doesn't appear after the appearance of the first crescent. A future release may provide a setting switch to be able to choose the new or old Hawaiian day algorithms. 

Fixed a bunch of bugs while I was at it. Please feel free to report any bugs you may find.

### 3.6 — 2021-10-24

Fixed a light-mode bug - the new yellow font was unreadable, so changed back to blue for light-mode.

### 3.5 — 2021-10-09

Update for iOS 15 compatibility. Minor layout/UI tweaks to the moon-phase calendar widgets.

### 3.4 — 2021-05-29

If the next-supermoon widget shows a date more than a year out, show the text as "mon year" (eg: Jun 2022) instead of "mon day" (Jun 14) so that it's clear that the event is more than a year out and not the upcoming date.

Fixed a bug whereby an upcoming-phase widget might hold onto a missing-image response for far too long. For example, if the next super-moon is more than a year away and it wasn't able to retrieve the image from the server, we don't want it holding onto that missing-image for a full year or more. If the image couldn't be retrieved, try again no more than seven days later. If you happen to be in that situation from a previous version of the app, launch the Mahina app, then go to system Settings app for Mahina, change the default hemisphere (north or south), and return to Mahina. The cached timelines for all the widgets will be thrown out and reloaded. Don't forget to go back into settings and change the default hemisphere back to the proper value!

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| [Classic Sky Map 2](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/classic-sky-map-2/id1137455038) | 4.7 (8,890) | Free | Education |

## More apps by Ronald Logan

- [Voice of the Mummy](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/voice-of-the-mummy/id1144017590)

All apps by Ronald Logan: https://appshunter.io/developer/1143996143

## Related topics

[mahina](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/mahina) · [mahina hawaiian moon calendar](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/mahina-hawaiian-moon-calendar) · [ke ala mahina](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/ke-ala-mahina)

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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 2026-08-24.*