SkyChecker
Tonight's Night Sky Guide
Free · Designed for iPad. Not verified for macOS.
Discover whaDiscover what's visible in the night sky tonight — right from your backyard.
SkyChecker uses NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory data to show you exactly which celestial objects are
visible from your location. No guesswork, no complicated star charts — just a simple list of what you can
see and when.
WHAT YOU CAN TRACK
• The Moon with current phase and illumination percentage
• All planets from Mercury to Neptune
• Deep sky objects: Andromeda Galaxy, Orion Nebula, Pleiades, and more
• International Space Station (ISS) passes
• Meteor shower alerts with peak times and hourly rates
WEATHER INTEGRATION
• Live cloud cover and visibility conditions
• Observation quality rating (1-5 stars)
• Detailed weather breakdown: humidity, wind, cloud layers
• Tips for optimal viewing based on current conditions
PLANNING TOOLS
• Equipment difficulty ratings (Naked Eye, Binoculars, Telescope)
• Rise, set, and peak viewing times with compass directions
• Date picker to plan future observing sessions
• Share tonight's sky with friends and family
POWERFUL FEATURES
• Automatic GPS location detection
• Manual coordinate entry for precise locations
• Smart caching for fast app launch
• Elegant retro terminal-style interface with ASCII art
HOW IT WORKS
SkyChecker connects to NASA's Horizons Ephemeris System — the same data source used by professional
astronomers — to calculate precise positions for celestial objects based on your exact location and time
zone.
Weather data comes from Open-Meteo, providing real-time cloud cover, visibility, and atmospheric conditions
to help you plan the perfect observing session.
PERFECT FOR
• Casual stargazers curious about tonight's sky
• Amateur astronomers planning observation sessions
• Educators teaching astronomy concepts
• Anyone who's ever looked up and wondered "what's that?"
PRIVACY FOCUSED
Your location stays on your device. We don't track you, collect personal data, or show ads. The only
external connections are to NASA's public astronomical database and Open-Meteo weather service.
Clear skies!
BUG FIXES
• Fixed calculations for polar regions and extreme latitudes
• Fixed midnight sun and polar night handling
• Improved accuracy for celestial object visibility near the poles
The developer, ANDREW DAVID CHAMBERLAIN, indicated that the app’s privacy practices may include handling of data as described below. For more information, see the developer’s privacy policy .
Data Not Collected
The developer does not collect any data from this app.
Accessibility
The developer has not yet indicated which accessibility features this app supports. Learn More
Information
- Seller
- ANDREW DAVID CHAMBERLAIN
- Size
- 3.4 MB
- Category
- Reference
- Compatibility
Requires iOS 16.0 or later.
- iPhone
Requires iOS 16.0 or later. - iPad
Requires iPadOS 16.0 or later. - Mac
Requires macOS 13.0 or later and a Mac with Apple M1 chip or later. - Apple Vision
Requires visionOS 1.0 or later.
- iPhone
- Languages
- English
- Age Rating
4+
- 4+
- Copyright
- © 2026 Andrew Chamberlain, Ph.D.