Solar Coaster vs Eclipse

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.

See the sky's greatest events — every solar and lunar eclipse, 5,000 years in either direction. Eclipse turns the machinery of the cosmos into something you can hold in your hand. Spin a globe, watch the Moon's shadow race across Earth, and find out exactly what the next eclipse will look like from your own backyard. Whether you're a curious first-timer or a lifelong eclipse chaser, Eclipse meets you where you are. Watch it happen - Drag to spin a 3D globe, and pinch to zoom from space right down to street level - Watch the shadow sweep across the world as you scrub through time - Zoom in and the globe hands off to a detailed map, with a day/night line showing exactly where the eclipse is visible See it from your location - Tap anywhere — or use your GPS — to drop your spot on Earth - Get precise local times: when the eclipse begins, peaks, and ends - See how much of the Sun will be covered, how high it sits in your sky, and whether you'll catch totality Two eclipses, one app Flip a single switch between Solar and Lunar: - Solar: follow the path of totality and the "ring of fire" of an annular eclipse - Lunar: watch the Moon glide into Earth's shadow and turn deep copper-red — the "blood moon" — on a realistic star chart with named stars and constellations Learn as you go - Simple, beautiful guides: what causes eclipses, total vs. partial vs. annular, and the science behind the blood moon - How to watch safely — certified eclipse glasses, pinhole projection, and the methods that actually work - The myths and stories cultures have told about eclipses — and what's really going on - A guided tour walks you through everything on first launch Browse a 5,000-year catalog - Nearly 12,000 solar and 12,000 lunar eclipses, from 2000 BCE to 3000 CE - Filter by type, by year, or by "visible from where I am" - Built on NASA / Fred Espenak eclipse predictions — the same data the experts use Share any view Found a spectacular one? Send a link that opens the exact same globe, date, and location on your friend's phone. Going deeper — for the eclipse-obsessed Everything above is all most people will ever need. But if you like to look under the hood, it's all here: - The Saros cycle — play a whole Saros family and watch its eclipses march across the centuries - The Saros–Inex Panorama — every eclipse in history on one zoomable, colour-coded grid - The Syzygy Explorer — a lattice of every new and full Moon, where the great orbital rhythms line up before your eyes - Full technical readouts — Besselian elements, gamma, magnitude, ΔT, path width and sub-solar point; and for lunar eclipses, sidereal positions with Nakshatra & Ayanāṁśa Made with the Public Outreach & Education Committee of the Astronomical Society of India.