Polar Scope Align Pro vs nGeneTime

Polar Scope Align Pro is a complete toolkit for amateur astronomers: accurate polar alignment, deep-sky observing, astro weather, push-to/manual GoTo, iOptron mount WiFi control, widgets and more. All features and updates are free forever. Optional in-app purchases are just tips to support development. POLAR ALIGNMENT • Calculates Polaris or σ Octantis position for 30+ reticle types: iOptron, Astro-Physics, Takahashi, Skywatcher, Vixen, Celestron, Orion, Astrotrac and others* • Atmospheric refraction correction for accuracy at any latitude • Works with or without a polar scope ALIGNMENT WITHOUT A POLAR SCOPE • Daytime / No Polar Scope Alignment: works day and night with just your phone's gyro • Camera Azimuth Calibration: use sun/moon/stars to calibrate gyro and align accurately without a compass, immune to magnetic interference • Laser / Hop Align: nighttime alignment for maximum accuracy with a laser or a scope with no view of Polaris • Live sky map guides you to the celestial pole in real time • Sun Finder helps you point your filtered telescope/telephoto to the Sun PUSH TO (MANUAL GOTO) • Attach your phone to any scope and convert it to manual/push GoTo • Select from a large database and use direct push or more accurate hop-to mode DEEP SKY OBJECT DATABASE • 22,000+ objects with altitude graphs, rise/set times and more info • Save and manage curated observing lists • Filter, search, sort and push to any target XASTERIA ASTRO WEATHER • Hourly astronomy forecasts from 7Timer, OpenWeather, MET Norway and Apple Weather, plus a configurable Multi-source forecast • Animated satellite Cloud Map with recent EUMETSAT and NASA infrared imagery • Aurora forecasts • ISS and bright satellite passes with an All Sky night chart, individual sky charts, live map tracking, and Tiangong and Hubble views • Solar eclipse tool with past and future eclipses, live mode with audio cues • Experimental eclipse camera for automated photoshoots of partial phase, diamond ring, Baily's beads, totality bracketing • Interactive light pollution map using World Atlas and recent VIIRS data CALCULATORS & TOOLS • 30+ calculators for observing and astrophotography • Moon phase calendar with altitude graphs • Solar eclipse calculator and simulator • Bubble level & Compass IOPTRON WIFI MOUNT CONTROL • Connect to WiFi-enabled iOptron mounts (HAE, HAZ, HEM, CEM, GEM and more) • Automatic date/time/location setup • Switch between Equatorial and Alt-Az on mounts that support both • Move & Sync: directional control with a live sky map • Point GoTo: aim your phone at a patch of sky and send the mount there • Current Point Query: find out what the mount is pointing at • GoTo any object from the DSO Database NIGHT-FRIENDLY • Red, green or white night mode with dimmer WIDGETS • Configurable Tonight and Multi astronomy weather forecasts • Upcoming bright satellite passes • Aurora probability, activity forecast and NOAA aurora map * Full list of supported reticles: Astro-Physics RAPAS & PASILL, iOptron, the latest Orion / Skywatcher, the Classic Skywatcher / Orion / Celestron / Meade / EXOS2 / Bresser / MSM, various versions of Takahashi EM-10/11/200/400/500, NJP, PM-1, P2-Z, the Telrad, Rigel QuikFinder, a couple for Astrotrac / Losmandy / Kenko / Avalon, the Vixen PF-L/Atlux/SX/SXD/SXP/AXD/GP/GP-DX/Polarie Polar Axis Scopes, a Konus and several Polar Finders: Tuthill, Explore Scientific 8x50, Meade 9x60, Vixen Polaris, Celestron 7x50, Carton Optical. PoleMaster help view for South Hemisphere users.

nGeneTime combines three complementary experiences: a kinetic desk clock, a solar-term-based perpetual calendar with Four Pillars (四柱), and line casting for The Book of Change (周易). iPhone • Landscape: A kinetic desk clock with magnetic motion and hourglass-style disappearance effects that visualize the flow of time. • Portrait: A perpetual calendar with lunar dates, day pillars, current Four Pillars, solar-term transitions, date-selectable hour-pillar tables, Zhouyi line casting, and an interactive longitude-to-time globe. Longitude-to-time globe Part 5C presents longitude correction as a visual geographic model. • Rotate, tilt, and zoom the globe. • See the best available location with its latitude and longitude. • Compare the selected time-zone reference meridian with the physical longitude used for correction. • Follow five one-hour longitude guides and their corresponding clock times. • Optionally display simplified civil time-zone boundaries to compare ideal meridians with real-world time zones. Calculation basis On iPhone, nGeneTime offers two calculation modes: • Time-zone applies the selected civil time zone to the complete Four Pillars result. • Longitude-corrected time shifts the calculation reference by the longitude difference from the selected time-zone reference meridian. With valid location data, the corrected time is used for the year, month, day, and hour pillars. Latitude positions the marker on the globe, while longitude determines the clock correction. If usable location data is unavailable, the selected time-zone basis is used. Home Screen widgets Three widgets provide calendar and pillar information: • Calendar: Current month, lunar dates, day pillars, and the applicable solar-term boundary • Four Pillars: Current hour, day, month, and year pillars • Hour Pillars: All twelve hour-pillar intervals, with the current interval highlighted Solar-term-based pillars Year and month pillars do not change at ordinary Gregorian boundaries. • The year pillar changes at the Beginning of Spring (立春), rather than January 1. • The month pillar changes at the applicable monthly solar-term boundary, rather than the first day of the Gregorian month. • The applicable solar term and its local boundary time are displayed in the selected time zone. The Book of Change (周易) Open the full-screen line-casting interface from the portrait calendar and cast one line at a time. Each cast uses the hundredth-second value of the running timer: an odd value creates a whole line, and an even value creates a broken line. Six lines form a set, and multiple sets can be reviewed. This feature focuses on line casting and visual review. It does not reproduce a complete digital edition, translation, commentary, or interpretation of the Zhouyi. Apple Watch The Apple Watch app provides: • Current time and Four Pillars • Solar-term-based year and month pillars • Optional longitude-corrected pillar time when location is available • Monthly calendar with pillar information • Selected-date hour pillars • A timer with immediate-start presets, custom durations from 1 to 180 minutes, progress, and selectable vibration patterns • Circular and corner complications for the current day and hour pillars, with countdown information while the timer is active Privacy Location access is optional and is used only to calculate longitude-corrected pillar time and display the current position on the globe. Precise Core Location coordinates are processed locally. If Core Location is unavailable, the app may request an approximate IP-based location from a network service. No account is required. nGeneTime does not use information for advertising or cross-app tracking.