DeltaWeather vs Aurora Forecast 3D
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
DeltaWeather
Get live, hyperlocal weather updates directly from the Delta College Weather Station. Access current conditions, National Weather Service radar, watches, warnings, and regional forecasts for the College area.
- Live weather conditions
- National Weather Service radar
- Watches and warnings
- Regional forecast information
- Hyperlocal data
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The current weather conditions at Delta College in Mid-Michigan brought live from the Delta Weather Station. Includes current conditions as well as National Weather Service radar, watches/warnings, and forecast information for the region of the College.
Aurora Forecast 3D
Visualize Earth in 3D and track the aurora borealis with real-time data and forecasts up to three days ahead. Includes an aurora compass, star maps, and satellite tracking.
- 3D Earth visualization
- Real-time aurora oval tracking
- Up to 3-day aurora forecasts
- Aurora compass with Sun and Moon
- 2.4 million star map
- Satellite orbit calculations
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The Aurora Forecast 3D is a tool to track down where the aurora is located in the sky from any location on planet. It renders Earth in 3D with rotation and scaling at your fingertips. You can select locations and make your own ground - station list. The Sun illuminates the globe as it updates in near real-time. The short term forecasts are up to +6 hours, while the long term forecasts are up to 3 days ahead in time. They are updated when the app is active and connected to internet. An Aurora Compass is included that shows where the auroral oval [1,2], the Moon and the Sun are located as you look up at the sky from your location. The phase and age of the Moon is also visualized in the compass. By zooming out in the 3D view port, satellites, stars and planets appear in their orbits [3] around the Sun. FEATURES - 3D view port of Earth. - Solar illumination of the Earth and the Moon. - Aurora oval size and location in real time. - Day side location of the red Cusp. - Forecasts based on predicted Kp index estimated by the Space Weather Prediction Centre (NOAA-SWPC). - Includes a 2.4 million star map [4]. - City light texture [5]. - Earth, Sun and Moon textures [6,7]. - Sky view module to track planets and stars [8]. - 3-day space weather condition forecast as news ticker. - Two-Line Element (TLE) satellite orbit calculations [9]. - Skyview navigation. - 3D Laser Star pointer to identify star signs. - Sounding rocket trajectories. - Sun and Moon daily elevation plots with rise and set time. - Epoch selection for magnetic pole position [10] - Ovals based on polar orbiting satellites data [11] - Target web links added to satellites, stars, planets and position. - All-sky camera links to the Boreal Aurora Camera Constellation (BACC). - Sky color animation [12,13]. - Zhang and Paxton ovals [14]. - Earth shadow calculations in twilight - Youtube demonstration. References [1] Sigernes F., M. Dyrland, P. Brekke, S. Chernouss, D.A. Lorentzen, K. Oksavik, and C.S. Deehr, Two methods to forecast auroral displays, Journal of Space Weather and Space Climate (SWSC), Vol. 1, No. 1, A03, DOI:10.1051/swsc/2011003, 2011. [2] Starkov G. V., Mathematical model of the auroral boundaries, Geomagnetism and Aeronomy, 34 (3), 331-336, 1994. [3] P. Schlyter, How to compute planetary positions, http://stjarnhimlen.se/, Stockholm, Sweden. [4] Bridgman, T. and Wright, E., The Tycho Catalog Sky map- Version 2.0, NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center Scientific Visualization Studio, http://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/3572, January 26, 2009. [5] The Visible Earth catalog, http://visibleearth.nasa.gov/, NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, April-October, 2012. [6] T. Patterson, Natural Earth III - Texture Maps, http://www.shadedrelief.com, October 1, 2016. [7] Nexus - Planet Textures, http://www.solarsystemscope.com/nexus/, January 4, 2013. [8] Hoffleit, D. and Warren, Jr., W.H., The Bright Star Catalog, 5th Revised Edition (Preliminary Version), Astronomical Data Center, NSSDC/ADC, 1991. [9] Vallado, David A., Paul Crawford, Richard Hujsak, and T.S. Kelso, Revisiting Spacetrack Report #3, AIAA/AAS-2006-6753, https://celestrak.com, 2006. [10] Tsyganenko, N.A., Secular drift of the auroral ovals: How fast do they actually move?, Geophysical Research Letters, 46, 3017-3023, 2019. [11] M. J. Breedveld, Predicting the Auroral Oval Boundaries by Means of Polar Operational Environmental Satellite Particle Precipitation Data, Master thesis, Department of Physics and Technology, Faculty of Science and Technology, The Arctic University of Norway, June 2020. [12] Perez, R., J,M. Seals and B. Smith, An all-weather model for sky illuminance distribution, Solar Energy, 1993. [13] Preetham, A.J, P. Shirley and B. Smith, A practical model for daylight Computer Graphics, (SIGGRAPH 99 Proceedings), 91-100, 1999. [14] Zhang Y., and L. J. Paxton, An empirical Kp-dependent global auroral model based on TIMED/GUVI data, J. Atm. Solar-Terr. Phys., 70, 1231-1242, 2008.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: DeltaWeather at 100% against Aurora Forecast 3D's 33%. DeltaWeather also leads on rating (4.3 vs 3.7). Aurora Forecast 3D's advantage is update cadence (every 2 months vs every 17 months) and iOS requirement (11.0 vs 15.6). 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
DeltaWeather holds the better App Store score, 4.3 against 3.7. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 3 and 3 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 100% of DeltaWeather's written reviews are positive against 33% of Aurora Forecast 3D's.
DeltaWeather ships an update every 17 months, Aurora Forecast 3D every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on June 25, 2026 and August 19, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | DeltaWeather | Aurora Forecast 3D |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.3 (3 ratings) — better | 3.7 (3 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better | 33.3% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 3 | 3 |
| Update frequency | Every 17 months | Every 2 months — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 | 11.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 2 MB | 48 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Timothy Klingler | University Centre in Svalbard (UNIS) |
Customer experience
DeltaWeather
Aurora Forecast 3D
In-app purchases
DeltaWeather
No in-app purchases
Aurora Forecast 3D
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is DeltaWeather free?
Is Aurora Forecast 3D free?
Which has better reviews, DeltaWeather or Aurora Forecast 3D?
Do DeltaWeather or Aurora Forecast 3D have ads?
Which is updated more often, DeltaWeather or Aurora Forecast 3D?
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