SkyPlanner vs Shutter Scout

SkyPlanner: Your Personal Astrophotography Planner Stop guessing what's worth imaging tonight. SkyPlanner combines your real-world horizon with a massive celestial database to deliver personalized, ranked target recommendations, so every clear night counts. YOUR SKY. NOT SOMEONE ELSE'S. Most planning tools assume a perfect horizon. Your backyard doesn't have one. SkyPlanner uses your phone's camera to capture your actual horizon profile, including trees, rooftops, and hills, at each of your imaging locations. Every recommendation, every visibility window, every integration time estimate is calculated against your obstructions, not a textbook sphere. SMART RANKINGS. BETTER NIGHTS. SkyPlanner's ranking engine analyzes over 4,000 deep sky objects and surfaces the best targets for your specific date, location, and sky conditions. It factors in: Visibility window duration from your location - Moon phase and angular separation - Object altitude and atmospheric seeing - Seasonal peak imaging windows - Your personal imaging history New to an object? SkyPlanner flags targets you haven't imaged yet and surfaces ones you may never have considered. PLAN AHEAD. IMAGE SMARTER. Don't wait for clear skies to start planning. SkyPlanner's yearly visibility charts show you exactly when each object peaks from your location, so you can schedule sessions weeks in advance and never miss the optimal imaging window for a target again. Available integration time is calculated for any object, on any date, from any of your saved locations. EVERYTHING IN ONE PLACE - 4,000+ deep sky objects with detailed data - Planets with apparent size, magnitude, and event tracking (oppositions, elongations) - Integrated real-time sky conditions (cloud cover, atmospheric transparency, and seeing) displayed across your entire observing night - Monthly planner with moon phase calendar and high-illumination warnings - Full search with Messier, NGC, IC, and common name support - Save favorites, log imaged objects, and add personal notes to any target SKYPLANNER PRO Take your sessions further with an optional Pro subscription: - AI-powered target descriptions tailored to your specific equipment - Personalized imaging and processing tips based on your camera, telescope, and skill level - Advanced ranking controls to tune recommendations to your preferences Whether you're imaging from a light-polluted suburb or a dark-sky site, SkyPlanner Pro gives you expert-level guidance without the guesswork. SkyPlanner is designed for astrophotographers of all experience levels, from first-light imagers to seasoned deep sky veterans. It’s a big universe. Make your plan. Privacy Policy: https://www.optickstudios.com/skyplanner-privacy Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Shutter Scout answers one question: is tonight worth the drive? A conditions score for the places you actually shoot, built from cloud cover, moonlight, darkness and live sky activity - so you know before you pack the car. Shutter Scout brings the conditions for your photography locations into one clear briefing. Check the shooting window, then inspect the weather, moonlight and sky data behind it. FALL COLOR MAP Tap anywhere in North America, Europe, or Japan and Korea for a fall color score and the typical peak date. Press play to watch autumn sweep across the map, switch to Peak Week to see where color usually peaks this week, and find any place by name. PLAN THE NIGHT Find Milky Way windows, check the Moon and explore tonight's real sky before dark: Sky Tonight draws NASA's survey of the Milky Way and every bright star for your spot and minute, in every season. Use the planning tools to work toward a composition instead of arriving without a plan. LINE UP THE SHOT Drop a pin on a peak, lighthouse or skyline and the Viewfinder draws the sun, Moon or Milky Way core over your subject, with real terrain. Find the Spot suggests where to stand for the alignment you want, and the Alignment Window lists upcoming dates when it clears the skyline. SHOULD YOU GO TONIGHT? The hour-by-hour planner shows which hour looks best for your shot and what is limiting it. Emberlight maps sunset and sunrise color potential across your region, and The Week Ahead shows the dawns, dusks and clear nights worth planning around. SKY COVER A weather map built for night photographers: clouds, clarity, fog and smoke in full forecast detail, rain and snow for the next three days with thunder marked, wind and gusts, radar and live lightning. Press play and watch the clouds drift with the wind. IN THE FIELD Live View with tap-to-meter, exposure lock and one-tap infinity focus. Lens Tools for depth of field, hyperfocal distance, ND filters and sharp-star exposure times. Download an offline trip package before you lose signal. FOLLOW THE CONDITIONS Explore aurora activity, solar wind and NOAA forecasts. Check sky cover, sunrise and sunset potential, and coastal tides in the same app. AURORA CHASE Pick a dark-sky destination and Shutter Scout hands the drive to your maps app, while a live card on your Lock Screen tracks Kp, Bz, solar wind and whether the aurora door is open. With CarPlay on iOS 26, the card sits on the CarPlay Dashboard beside your map. A reading that gets old shows a dash, never a stale number. TAKE A PLAN INTO THE FIELD Move from the overview to the timing, direction and starting settings for your shot. The adjustable Red Light screen provides a red light for use in the field. MADE BY PHOTOGRAPHERS, BACKED BY SCIENCE Built by a Pacific Northwest nightscape photographer, with NOAA space-weather data and astronomical calculations behind the planning tools. The photography in this listing is the developer's own work. Forecasts and planning scores are estimates; conditions can change. FREE DOWNLOAD, PRO UNLOCKS EVERY FEATURE Shutter Scout is a free download with tonight's go / no-go verdict, Conditions Score and weather warnings for your spots. Shutter Scout Pro unlocks every feature above, from the full daily briefing, Emberlight, aurora and the planners to Live View and alerts, through a subscription or a one-time lifetime purchase.