Astro Planner: Night Sky Photo
Plan your astrophotography
$3.99 · Designed for iPad. Not verified for macOS.
Plan the light, save the shot, and explore Sun, Moon and Milky Way paths with Sky AR beta.
Plan every astrophotography shoot with precision. Astro Planner gives you all the data you need to capture stunning night sky photos — no subscription, no account required. Most features work fully offline.
SKY AR · BETA
Preview the Sun, Moon and Milky Way core over your rear camera. Explore another time or date and calibrate the overlay in the field. Camera, location and motion sensors are required; accuracy varies with your device and surroundings.
SUN & MOON TIMES
Know exactly when and where the sun and moon rise and set. See azimuth positions on an interactive compass dial so you can plan compositions with landmarks.
SHOT PLANNING MAP
Choose a date and see Sun and Moon rise and set directions directly on the dark-sky map. Drag through the night to watch where the Sun, Moon and galactic core actually sit, and use live compass alignment in the field to point your camera toward the planned bearing.
SAVED SHOOTS & PLACES
Save a shot with its place, night, target and notes. Its time and bearing stay live as the date approaches, and an optional reminder nudges you an hour, three hours or the evening before. Pin the places you shoot from, or tap anywhere on the map to plan from there.
ALIGNMENT FINDER
When will the Sun set behind that lighthouse? Pick a bearing, or tap the landmark on the map, and get every date in the coming year when the Sun or Moon rises or sets right there.
TONIGHT'S SCORE
Every night rated for night-sky photography from darkness length, Moon interference and how high the galactic core climbs — with the best Moon-free window to shoot in.
GOLDEN & BLUE HOUR
Never miss the magic light. Get precise morning and evening windows for both golden hour and blue hour, calculated for your exact location.
MOON PHASE CALENDAR
See saved shoots on their calendar days. Browse a full monthly calendar with moon phase icons and illumination percentages. Pick the darkest nights for deep sky photography or plan moonlit landscape shots.
LIGHT POLLUTION MAP
Find dark skies near you. An interactive map with Bortle scale overlay shows light pollution levels so you can choose the best location for your shoot.
MILKY WAY VISIBILITY
See when the galactic center is visible from your location. A 24-hour altitude chart shows the best window, factoring in moon brightness and twilight.
CAMERA TOOLS
NPF and 500-rule exposure, field of view, depth of field, ND filter and timelapse calculators. Save your camera rigs once and every tool uses the right sensor, lens and aperture.
AURORA TRACKER & ALERTS
Check real-time geomagnetic activity with the Kp index gauge and 3-day forecast chart, and see whether aurora may be visible at your latitude. Turn on alerts to be notified when the forecast reaches Kp 5, 6 or 7. Data from NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center.
WIDGETS
Moon Tonight, Sky Tonight — the night's score, darkness and Milky Way windows, and the next Moon event — and a Next Shoot countdown, plus Aurora Kp, on your Home Screen and Lock Screen.
BUILT FOR PHOTOGRAPHERS
• Mostly offline — astronomical calculations run on your device (weather and aurora require internet)
• Dark theme — preserves your night vision in the field
• Date picker — plan days, weeks, or months ahead
• GPS location — accurate data for wherever you are
• English and Portuguese
• No ads, no tracking, no subscription
Whether you're shooting star trails, the Milky Way core, a moonrise behind a mountain, the northern lights, or a golden hour portrait — Astro Planner has you covered.
Ratings & Reviews
- This app hasn’t received enough ratings or reviews to display an overview.
A new workflow for planning your next shoot.
• Sky AR beta: preview Sun, Moon and Milky Way paths over your camera, with a time slider and calibration.
• Save shoots and places, add reminders, share plans and see saved shoots on the Moon calendar.
• Find Sun and Moon alignments with landmarks, including crossings above the horizon.
• Explore the night on the dark-sky map and see your best Moon-free window.
• Optional night-quality and aurora alerts.
• Save camera rigs for the photography calculators.
• Sky Tonight, Next Shoot and Aurora widgets.
• Clearer location labels, a compact map legend and more reliable saved-plan reopening.
AR is a beta: verify alignment against the real sky before relying on it.
The developer, Daniel Vilela, 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
- Daniel Vilela
- Size
- 34.2 MB
- Category
- Photo & Video
- Compatibility
Requires iOS 15.0 or later.
- iPhone
Requires iOS 15.0 or later. - iPad
Requires iPadOS 15.0 or later. - iPod touch
Requires iOS 15.0 or later. - Mac
Requires macOS 12.0 or later and a Mac with Apple M1 chip or later. - Apple Vision
Requires visionOS 1.0 or later.
- iPhone
- Languages
- English and Portuguese
- Age Rating
4+
- 4+
- Copyright
- Daniel Vilela © 2026
