Observer Pro - Astronomy Planner
| Category | Price | Seller | Device |
|---|---|---|---|
| Education | $13.99 | Joshua Bury | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
What astronomers are saying:
"Every astronomer with an iPhone should own this app!"
- Astronomy Technology Today magazine
"Observer Pro is the most impressive astronomy app that I have tried out. I enthusiastically commend it to you!"
- Tom Mote, Professor Emeritus, Astronomy
"I have been using it since the day it first became available and I cannot live without it now."
- Sedat B., Cloudy Nights forum
Feature highlights:
• Over 14,000 deep sky objects included, all with closeup reference photos. No need to download anything after install! Advanced sorting and search make it easy to sift through all of them to find which objects belong on your observing list.
• Measure your local horizon in minutes with your iPhone.
• Unique charts completely take the guesswork out of predicting object visibility. Your house, trees, mountains, or any other obstructions are completely factored in to all visibility charts.
• New to astronomy? The Featured object list shows a list of objects specific to your location and local horizon that are great for observing right now.
• Keep a list of your favorite observing sites, each with their own local horizon. Compare object visibility between sites to find the best spot to setup your scope.
• There's a lot to observe! Observer Pro gives you a place to maintain a list of your favorite objects as well as an observing list that you can take with you to the eyepiece (red-screen night mode is included).
• 7Timer! astronomical weather forecasts for your observing sites are viewable without leaving Observer Pro. They give you the outlook on cloud cover, seeing, transparency, and more. (The weather screen can also be configured to show your favorite weather URL.)
• Simple and intuitive interface makes all these powerful features readily accessible. You don't need to be a Certified Astro Geek to use it!
• Check out the in-app tutorial (in Settings) to learn more about how to use the many features that come with Observer Pro.
Keep up-to-date with the latest news at the Observer Pro blog:
http://observer.pro/blog
Purchase Observer Pro today! You won't know how you did astronomy without it!
Reviews
A must have app for any astronomer!
A. Jerahian
None of the advanced image capture software have the functionality which is built elegantly into this little app! Yet, it’s essential for effectively planning your targets for the night. I love it! Now, if only we can get an increase in the catalog of objects supported by this little gem.
Brilliant design
campbesjtn
This app is perfectly designed to answer the question “What can I look at tonight?” Possibly the best thought out UI in any app I have.
Corrected my review!
MossBnd
I originally gave the app one star because dumbhead here couldn’t find the tutorial. The developer reached out to me and explained where it was. Happy camper now! Can’t wait to use it in an observing session. My apologies, Josh!
Best astronomy app on the App Store
TashiStation
For actually viewing with a telescope, this is by far the most useful app I’ve found for the IPhone. Love this! Keep up the great work. I’d buy this two or three times if I needed to.
Great app with a little bug
aaronncollier
Awesome app for planning out observations. The custom horizon tracing feature is awesome, especially if you observe at multiple sites. One thing I would like to see is a way to filter object lists. For example, in the featured objects section you have the option to sort the list by various attributes, but there is no way to filter certain types of objects out. Lastly, there is a bug where tapping on menu items doesn’t register on the far right side of the screen. It doesn’t hinder the function of the app, but it can get a little annoying.
GREAT APP But…
pjglad
Please update for iPad in landscape mode. Most iPad users use keyboards. Thanks for listening.
Fantastic
BigTenDad
I’ve used this app for a little over a month now. It has become indispensable when planning for a night of astrophotography. I, for the most part, do not travel with my scope and keep it in one spot all the time. I have a “decent” view of the night sky. Being in an urban setting, I have to deal with buildings and trees. However, with this app, I am able to plan, minute by minute, what I want to image on any given night and even nights in the future. One thing I’d like to see added is a feature that would enable planning to be done across different devices, i.e. iPad to iPhone. Just a suggestion.
Great Astronomical Observing App
Mike in Raleigh/Durham, NC USA
I'm one of those users that really likes free apps/software (like Stellarium); I rarely download an app from iTunes if there is a cost. However this app and its favorable review in Astronomy Technology Today Jan/Feb 2012 prompted me to looking into this app further. I am SO glad that I did. This app is quite robust for smart phone app. and at times I feel like I'm using a full-blown PC application. I've had it for about 2 weeks and I've taken on 2 observing evenings. I was very impressed! There is a bit to learn and go back to when using this app which is why the built-in tutorial is great idea. When looking thru the various catalogs, it is wonderful to be able to sort by various different criteria, name, transit time, size, constellation, etc. That fact that all the objects have pictures of what you should be able to see is great however in some cases the views you will see just are not as good. This is not a detraction of the app but rather users should set the appropriate expectation (i.e. NGC 6960 - the Western part of the Veil Nebula - you won't see that much nebulosity even from a dark site from with a huge telescope). However for photographic comparison it's great. Mapping the horizon for obstacles such as tree lines, buildings, etc. and then systematically blocking those parts of the skies in the data as to when objects are visible it truly amazing. There are lots of other neat features as well. If you are looking for an app to help your organize your observing lists, look no further. This app is definitely worth the price and more.
