# StoneBusters — Solar System Minor planets

> Solar System Minor planets (iPhone/iPad app by FABRIZIO TOZZI.)

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/stonebusters/id6743808912 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`)
- Developer: [FABRIZIO TOZZI](https://appshunter.io/developer/1804697065)
- Category: Education
- Price: Free
- Age rating: 4+
- Requires: iOS 15.0 · 55 MB
- Languages: American English
- Released: 2025-04-11
- Data updated: 2026-08-17
- User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/stonebusters/id6743808912/reviews.md

## What is StoneBusters?

On the mobile screen, users can access data from the Minor Planet Center, such as the NEO Confirmation Page (NEOCP) and the Possible Comet Confirmation Page (PCCP).
A list of recently observed NEOs, organized by classification: unnumbered single-opposition, multiple-opposition, and numbered objects.
Object from NEOfixer (University of Arizona) may be visualized, filtered and sorted.
A personalized “starred” list let the user to have a list of preferred objects available for quick view and a custom list of selected objects, based on various physical and observational parameters may also be listed.


Additionally, a list of objects that were removed from the NEOCP is available, with each object graphically categorized by its final classification (e.g., NEO, comet, artificial object, missing object, etc.).


Once an object is selected, the app provides detailed information, including: an observation summary (observatory codes and details), Ephemeris calculation, Orbital elements and uncertainty orbit graphic representation for NEO.


Users can also "identify" an object displaying physical and orbital data retrieved from NASA JPL's Solar System Dynamics (SSD) database. This includes secondary designations, discovery circumstances, and citation text (if available).


There is also the possibility to “WAMO” an object with personal MPC observatory code to obtain the status of observation, and also have Summary WAMO data visualized as bar histograms and tables.
As a curiosity—and to assist users without an observatory code—if location permissions are enabled, the app can list the 30 nearest observatory codes based on distance from the user's device. (For security reasons, the exact coordinates or map positions of the observatories are not displayed, and never will be.)


The app relies on APIs provided by:
- The International Astronomical Union's Minor Planet Center
- NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory's SSD and CNEOS (Center for Near-Earth Object Studies)
- NEOfixer (University of Arizona)
Some calculations, such as topocentric ephemerides, are performed directly on the device. While the app provides convenient, on-the-fly previews of information, users are strongly encouraged to refer to the official sources mentioned above for authoritative and professionally calculated data.


## Version history (last 5 releases)

### 1.3.23 — 2026-08-13

• Improved: Added Phase Offset support in Lightcurves
• Bug Fix: Some API endpoints were not handled correctly in the macOS release
• Bug Fix: Corrected some issues in the Lightcurves implementation
• Bug Fix: Retrieving information from the NASA SBDB API did not work correctly for a few specifically named asteroids.
• Bug Fix: Crash when "targeting" a custom object

### 1.3.20 — 2026-08-05

• New feature: Recent (Last 32 hours) NEOCP Observations
• New feature: Start of implementation of LightCurves (thanks to Brian D. Warner and all Lightcurve contributors for their support)
• New feature: Added Satellite Info on Identification
• BIG News: First Public Release for Windows (64-bit only) and macOS
• Improved: Reduced timeout for API/HTTP requests to 30 seconds; 3 minutes reserved for custom list requests only
• Minor Improvement: Icons added to all buttons

### 1.3.10 — 2026-07-16

• New features: Phase Angle added to ephemeris,  Ephemerides now available from MPC and NASA JPL
• Bug Fix: Minor (and hidden) bug in the search filter on Previous NEO page
• Minor Improvement: Added icons to some buttons

### 1.3.5 — 2026-07-09

• New feature: On identified Object added MPEC search
• Improv: More reactivity on various Reloads
• Improv: S-Wamo data auto download (every 45 days)
• Bug Fix: in Program Code, all name correctly displayed
• Bugs Fix: Few corrections on Custom target

### 1.3.0 — 2026-06-09

Release 1.3.0 (9 June 2026)
       • Renewed User Interface (hopefully more user friedly)
       • Improvement on Uncertainity position map
       • Removed Uncertaity maps for orbital parameters  (will be added in future release)
       • Added a "What's New" section in the app
       • Added Starred function in the Tips and Tricks
       • Bug correction: Android 16 safe area respected
       • Bug correction: Identifier did not target right object (Periodic Numbered Comets)
       • Correction of several minor-medium Bugs
       • Few cosmetics improvements

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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 2026-08-17.*