MySkyPics vs Nightfall Atlas
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
MySkyPics
Organize and share your astronomy photos and observations. Catalog thousands of celestial objects, add custom tags, and record sightings without photos. Access Wikipedia and NASA articles for more information.
- Smart telescope photo album
- Record observations without photos
- Catalog thousands of sky objects
- Custom tagging for photos and sightings
- Link to Wikipedia and NASA articles
- Search and browse celestial objects
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MySkyPics organizes astronomy experiences and makes them easy to share with others. • Add smart telescope photos into a sky object focused photo album. • Add observations without a photo as a Sighting. ASTRO PHOTO GALLERY Start by picking an object in the app and add its photo from your Camera Roll. MySkyPics is designed to hold photos of thousands of sky objects — sun, moon, solar eclipse, lunar eclipse, planets & moons, comets, meteor showers, asteroids, dwarf planets, stars, star clusters, galaxies, and nebulae - including all Messier and Caldwell objects. It even has a special place for photos of objects not included in the app, labeled ‘My Objects’. As a photo is added for a sky object, it is instantly tagged with that object’s tags. Any custom tag(s) you’ve created can also be attached. Expand your record with optional place and notes. Objects added to the album can be quickly found with Search and browsed with a swipe. SIGHTINGS RECORD Sightings makes MySkyPics a reference resource of your astronomy experiences. Because not all astronomy viewing can be recorded in a photograph, Sightings is a special option for recording details of observations without photos. Record the details of a sighting — date, confidence, magnitude, opposition, place, notes, and tags. WEB RESOURCES Most sky objects also link to a Wikipedia article with more information on the object. Many also have links to a NASA ‘Picture of the Day’ article. (Internet access needed to access these links.) One can also add Wikipedia and NASA links for sky objects that are added to the app.
Nightfall Atlas
Plan your next astrophotography session with equipment-aware recommendations, observing conditions, and a camera-based sky preview. Scout targets, check field risks like weather and obstructions, and receive alerts for optimal imaging windows. Spend less time guessing and more time capturing the night sky.
- Equipment-aware target recommendations
- Observing conditions and field risk analysis
- Camera-based sky preview (Scout)
- Nightly and weekly planning
- Target path and visibility tracking
- Native alerts and calendar integration
- Offline target path calculation
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Make the most of your next clear night. Nightfall Atlas helps you choose what to photograph, when to photograph it, and where to set up—with equipment-aware target recommendations, observing conditions, and Scout’s camera-based sky preview. PLAN YOUR NEXT IMAGING SESSION Plan around your location, gear, sky conditions, Moon phase, darkness windows, and target visibility. Check practical field risks like wind, dew, freezing temperatures, clouds, and precipitation before setting up. Build tonight or week-ahead plans, save target windows, export plan cards, add sessions to your calendar, and get native alerts when conditions or saved targets line up. SCOUT YOUR SKY BEFORE YOU SET UP What could you photograph through that gap in the trees—and where will it be later tonight? Scout brings target discovery and planning into your phone’s camera view. • Discover targets where you’re pointing. Explore recommendations for your observing site, night, and equipment, or browse nebulae, galaxies, star clusters, solar-system objects, and saved targets. • Follow a target through the night. Overlay its approximate path and observing times on your surroundings to help judge where trees, roofs, or nearby buildings might get in the way. • Explore another night. Preview future dates, compare paths, and watch deep-sky target paths change through the season. • Save your setup idea. Capture a snapshot with the target’s path and time labels to revisit later. • Take prepared paths off-grid. With your catalog and observing site loaded beforehand, Scout can calculate cached deep-sky target paths without a connection. Solar-system targets require internet access. Scout works in daylight or under cloudy skies—no visible stars or star alignment required. Pointing is approximate and depends on your device’s sensors; Scout does not automatically detect obstructions. MORE TOOLS FOR YOUR NIGHT • Tonight and week-ahead astrophotography planning • Target visibility and imaging-window recommendations • Weather, Moon, darkness, and field-risk signals • Saved target and saved plan reminders • Native widgets and observing alerts • Plan sharing and image export • Equipment-aware planning for common astrophotography workflows From your backyard to your next dark-sky trip, Nightfall Atlas helps you spend less time guessing and more time imaging.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: Nightfall Atlas at every 3 days against MySkyPics's every 4 months. Nightfall Atlas also leads on iOS requirement (15.0 vs 18.6). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
MySkyPics ships an update every 4 months, Nightfall Atlas every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on October 30, 2026 and November 7, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | MySkyPics | Nightfall Atlas |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | — | 5.0 (3 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | — | 3 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 4 months | Every 3 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 18.6 | 15.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 6 MB | 36 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | NNN Software | Builder of Things Studio LLC |
Customer experience
MySkyPics
Nightfall Atlas
In-app purchases
MySkyPics
No in-app purchases
Nightfall Atlas
No in-app purchases









