Comparison

Solar Coaster vs Eclipse Explorer

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Solar Coaster

Visualize the precise movements of the Sun and Moon with 3D graphs, eclipse details, and rise/set times. This app offers offline calculations for celestial positions and moon phases, making it ideal for astronomy enthusiasts.

Highlights
  • 3D movement graphs
  • Eclipse information and circumstances
  • Rise and set times
  • Moon phase and illumination
  • Offline astronomical data
  • Local horizontal coordinate system
Features
Read full description

Solar Coaster provides accurate position, time, motion and eclipse information for Earth's nearest star, Sol, our Sun, and nearest celestial body, Luna, our Moon. Information includes 3D movement graphs, upcoming eclipses and their circumstances, rise and set times, positions, distances and velocities, moon phase, illumination and crescent rotation. Solar Coaster automatically updates its state every minute, or you can examine minutes randomly. The simulation uses a local horizontal coordinate system when displaying information, which essentially means that your current position is the center of the Universe and all calculated values are relative to you. Sun and Moon positions are also available in equatorial coordinates. Solar Coaster stores enough onboard astronomical data to keep it running through the year 2100 AD, which means that all calculations can be performed locally without the need of a network connection — useful while in the wild chasing an eclipse. Algorithms are accurate at all longitudes, and latitudes between -61° south and +60° north (roughly speaking, locations outside the Polar regions). Of course, you must have Location Services enabled and allow Solar Coaster to access your position for accurate simulation results, and to properly detect eclipses visible at your location. You can also allow Notification Center to keep you informed when those eclipses will occur. Solar Coaster comes in various flavors: for iOS a native App; and for macOS a native App, Screen Saver and Web App.

About

Eclipse Explorer

Explore solar eclipses with detailed circumstances for your location between 1900 and 2100. Features countdown timers, Sun and Moon simulations, and real-time shadow mapping. Overlay weather data to avoid clouds during totality.

Highlights
  • Location-based eclipse circumstances (1900-2100)
  • Countdown timers to eclipse events
  • Sun and Moon position simulation
  • Real-time Moon shadow mapping
  • Satellite and radar weather overlays
  • Offline map functionality
Features
Read full description

Eclipse Explorer is a free mobile app that allows you to view the circumstances for solar eclipses that occur between 1900 and 2100 using your GPS defined location. It uniquely features countdown timers to eclipse events at your specific location, simulates the position of the Sun and Moon, and draws the location of the Moon's shadow on the Earth in real-time. A solar eclipse is one of nature's most amazing spectacles, however, clouds can ruin your day. Use this app to overlay satellite and radar data on the day of the eclipse to make sure you stay within the path of totality and away from the clouds! Find out exactly when the eclipse starts and finishes for your location with countdown timers. Be ready for the total eclipse in August of 2017! Free, with minor ad support. Only one full page ad will be displayed per app start, then one banner ad, which will automatically close in less than 20 seconds. Please check out my website for full details and instructions on how to use the app. http://www.solareclipseapp.com Please keep in mind this is a CPU/GPU intensive app. Recommended for phones a tablets made within the last 2 years. Full Release Notes Welcome to Eclipse Explorer version 3! Now has a beautiful material design. Multi-threaded performance improvements. Improved accuracy. Improved shadow details. Newly designed map. Map works offline. Show weather overlays on the eclipse map. Optionally, show eclipse circumstances, map, and simulation on a single screen. Your all-in-one app for the Great American Eclipse of 2017. Full version history: v3.4.1 Fixed: iOS only: Upside down orientation fix. v3.4.0 New: Lunar limb profile for improved contact times (TSE2017 only) New: Solar corona shown during total phase in eclipse simulation Improved: GPS time correction sync. (Green clock is GPS time) Fixed: Offline map does not load in some situations. v3.3.0 New: Moon's shadow speed shown in realtime or during animation, only when (ant)umbral shadow is touching Earth. New: Distance to totality/annularity or distance to eclipse centerline shown. New: Max duration of totatlity/annularity at closest point along centerline shown. New: Info ball shows click for hint. Fixed: Another timezone crash bug. Fixed: Offline map sometimes did not display after app restart. Changed: Hints last longer. v3.2.0 New: Voice cue and three cue beep audio event indications. New: Next occurring circumstance will scroll to visibility and flash in realtime. New: App user hints and tips. Fixed: Realtime tag did not appear on simulation screen when it should have. Fixed: Zoom in button did not work in certain screen orientations. Fixed: Map may not display on app restart in offline mode. Fixed: Next visible eclipse selects day-of eclipse. Fixed: Animations tags may show up circumstance page when they should not. Fixed: Certain timezones caused app crash. Improved: Realtime shadow lag. Improved: Hardened code to ensure realtime shadow and simulation start on day of eclipse. Changed: Time travel mode will now sequence to 15 seconds prior to event. Total or annular begins event is 60 seconds. v3.1.0 Added: App maintains state through restart/refresh. Added: Location Freeze mode, long press location icon to freeze manual location. Long press to unfreeze. Improved: Shadow animations while GPS is on. Fixed: Race condition when selecting certain eclipses. Fixed: Draw all eclipse lines no matter which thread completes first. v3.0.5 Fixed location change while zooming. Made circumstance page more readable / flexible Various bug fixes v3.0.4 Fixed location change while zooming. Made circumstance page more readable / flexible Various bug fixes v3.0.2 * Made map more responsive to location change touches. * Fixed version code in about page v2.0.2 Fixed: Google Maps API Key added, Google maps feature should work. Improved: Built against latest Apache Cordova and latest Android SDK. Update: jQueryMobile v1.4.5

Screenshots

Solar Coaster4 screens
Eclipse Explorer2 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Solar Coaster at 5.0 against Eclipse Explorer's 4.0. Eclipse Explorer's advantage is update cadence (every 5 days vs every 3 months) and iOS requirement (10.3 vs 14.0). On price, ratings volume, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Solar Coaster holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 2 and 1 respectively.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Solar Coaster ships an update every 3 months, Eclipse Explorer every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on September 22, 2026 and June 1, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Solar Coaster versus Eclipse Explorer: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSolar CoasterEclipse Explorer
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (2 ratings) — better4.0 (1 ratings)
Positive reviews—66.7% of reviews
Number of ratings2 — better1
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsEvery 5 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — betteriPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS14.010.3 — better
Further details — not scored
Size37 MB47 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperSteve LidieJoshua Berlin

Customer experience

Solar Coaster

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Eclipse Explorer

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive66.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative33.3%

In-app purchases

None

Solar Coaster

No in-app purchases

None

Eclipse Explorer

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Solar Coaster free?
Solar Coaster is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Eclipse Explorer free?
Eclipse Explorer is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Solar Coaster or Eclipse Explorer?
Solar Coaster is rated higher. Solar Coaster averages 5.0 out of 5 from 2 ratings, while Eclipse Explorer averages 4.0 from 1 ratings.
Do Solar Coaster or Eclipse Explorer have ads?
Neither Solar Coaster nor Eclipse Explorer shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Solar Coaster or Eclipse Explorer?
Solar Coaster ships an update every 3 months, and Eclipse Explorer every 5 days. Most recently, Solar Coaster was updated on September 22, 2026 and Eclipse Explorer on June 1, 2026.

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