Armillary vs MessierMate

Armillary — your pocket stargazing guide. Raise your phone to the sky and instantly identify the constellations, planets, and bright stars overhead. Whether you're a seasoned astronomer or looking up for the very first time, Armillary makes stargazing effortless and fun. KEY FEATURES REAL-TIME SKY MAP Powered by your gyroscope and compass, the star map follows wherever you point. Constellation lines and planet labels are clear at a glance. AR STARGAZING Open your camera and watch constellation lines and celestial labels overlay the real night sky in real time — what you see is what's there. SEARCH & NAVIGATE Looking for a particular star or constellation? Type its name, follow the arrow, and locate your target with ease. TIME TRAVEL Drag the timeline to see the sky at any moment, past or future. Relive last night's meteor shower or preview next week's planetary conjunction. CELESTIAL ENCYCLOPEDIA Tap any object to see its name, apparent magnitude, distance, home constellation, and more. ASTRONOMICAL EVENT CALENDAR Meteor showers, solar and lunar eclipses, planets at opposition... See upcoming astronomical events at a glance, with reminder notifications so you never miss a spectacular sky. NIGHT MODE A full red-light filter protects your dark-adapted vision — designed for real observing out in the field. WORKS OFFLINE 9,000+ bright stars, all 88 constellations, and planetary ephemeris data are built in — no connection needed. Dark-sky sites rarely have signal, and that's exactly what Armillary was built for. Armillary is inspired by the armillary sphere devised by Zhang Heng, an astronomer of the Eastern Han dynasty (c. 78–139 CE) — one of humanity's earliest models of the celestial sphere. We hope to carry that same curiosity and wonder into the modern age.

110 deep-sky objects. See which ones are above your horizon right now, sorted by urgency so you never miss one before it sets. MessierMate is the complete companion for deep-sky observing, and it's completely free. No ads. No in-app purchases. Ever. Whether you're under the stars for the first time or chasing the Messier Marathon, the app tells you exactly what's visible from your location right now, helps you plan future nights, and keeps a log of every session. TONIGHT Open the app and instantly see which of the 110 Messier objects are above your horizon, sorted by urgency so you never miss a galaxy that's about to set. Each card shows altitude, compass direction, time until it sets, and an altitude arc so you know exactly when to look. Filter by object type (galaxies, nebulae, star clusters) and minimum altitude, and switch between three card layouts to match your observing style. PLAN Tap any night on the monthly calendar and see dusk time, moon phase, moonrise, and a count of how many objects are visible. Browse your targets in a list or on a timeline that shows when each object rises, peaks, and sets. Star objects to build a target list for the night. The app automatically detects Messier Marathon nights and flags them on the calendar. LOG Record every session with the date, location, duration, and which objects you observed. Add notes and photos to individual objects. Share a session with a friend via a short share code. No account needed on their end to view it. YOUR SKY, YOUR PRIVACY Your GPS coordinates never leave your device. Only your site name and Bortle class are synced to the cloud, never your exact coordinates. There are no ads and no analytics trackers. Guest mode is fully functional: the app works completely offline without an account. BUILT FOR DARK SITES A dark theme and a Red Night mode protect your night vision. The interface is designed to be usable by feel, with minimal taps needed to log an observation while you're at the eyepiece. WHAT'S INSIDE - All 110 Messier objects with real-time altitude and azimuth calculations - Tonight view ranked by urgency, objects setting soonest appear first - Monthly planning calendar with moon phase and object counts - Rising, peaking, and setting timeline for any night - Automatic Messier Marathon opportunity detection - Session log with notes, photos, and shareable codes - Equipment manager for telescopes, eyepieces, filters, and cameras - Bortle scale support for accurate sky darkness settings - Red Night mode for dark site use - Works offline, no internet connection required for sky calculations - Free, with no ads and no in-app purchases Whether you're hunting your first galaxy or completing the catalog for the tenth time, MessierMate keeps you focused on what matters: the sky.