Horizon Capture

Utilities

Only for iPhone

$0.49 · Designed for iPhone. Not verified for macOS.

iPhone

Horizon Capture turns your iPhone into a simple horizon-mapping tool for astronomy. Use the camera and built-in motion sensors to sight along your local horizon and record the altitude and azimuth of surrounding obstructions such as trees, buildings, hills and observatory walls. As you capture points, Horizon Capture builds a live polar representation of your observing horizon so you can immediately see the profile taking shape. The first captured point is clearly identified, while a live position marker shows where the phone is currently pointing, making it easy to work your way around the horizon. Designed for astronomers Horizon Capture is intended for telescope users who need a practical way to map their local observing horizon for planning, automation and observatory configuration. Features include: * Live camera sighting view * Altitude and azimuth measurement * True-north heading where available * Heading accuracy indication * Front and rear camera support * Live polar horizon display * Visual start-point marker * Live current-position marker * Undo individual measurements * Export horizon coordinates as .hrz * Export the same data as plain text Horizon profiles are stored during your capture session and exported only when you choose. Whether you are mapping trees from a backyard pier, an observatory wall, a neighbouring roofline or a distant ridge, Horizon Capture provides a quick way to turn the visible horizon into usable Alt/Az data.

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What’s New This update brings significant improvements to horizon capture, management and usability. Horizon Management * New Current Horizon and Saved Horizons workflow. * New dedicated Horizon selector for quickly switching between saved horizons. * Create a new horizon or import an existing horizon directly from the Horizon selector. * Save & Export now names the current horizon, saves it within Horizon Capture and creates a shareable HRZ or TXT file. * Added confirmation before replacing an existing saved horizon. * Improved horizon persistence and switching between saved horizons. Capture Improvements * Added Capture Spacing Guidance, providing a sound and haptic cue when you have moved the recommended angular distance from the previous point. * Recommended point spacing can be adjusted from 5° to 45°, with 15° as the default. * Point capture remains manual, allowing additional detail to be captured where the horizon changes rapidly. * Added optional sound and haptic feedback when capturing a point. * Azimuth is now displayed to two decimal places. Horizon Display * Added Mono and Rainbow horizon display modes. * Rainbow mode provides an altitude-based colour representation of the captured horizon. * Altitude labels correspond with the Rainbow altitude colours. * Display preferences are retained between sessions. Help & Usability * New illustrated in-app guide covering horizon capture, point spacing, the polar plot and horizon editing. * New first-run Getting Started guide introduces the basic capture workflow, with direct access to the full illustrated guide. * Added dedicated guidance explaining the horizon editing controls. * Horizon editing now uses a dedicated workspace without the camera view, making it clearer that existing horizon data is being adjusted. * Improved editing layout and control accessibility. * General interface, touch-target and usability improvements.

The developer, Trent McDougall, 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.

    Privacy practices may vary, for example, based on the features you use or your age. Learn More

    The developer has not yet indicated which accessibility features this app supports. Learn More

    Seller
    Trent McDougall
    Size
    982 KB
    Category
    Utilities
    Compatibility
    Requires iOS 18.6 or later.
    • iPhone
      Requires iOS 18.6 or later.
    • Mac
      Requires macOS 15.6 or later and a Mac with Apple M1 chip or later.
    • Apple Vision
      Requires visionOS 2.6 or later.
    Languages
    English
    Age Rating
    4+
    Copyright
    © 2026 Trent McDougall