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Explanations of the app's controls
Menu bar at the top of the screen
- Location
- Shows which place the sky is calculated for. Tap to set it by GPS or enter it by hand.
- Time
- Shows the observation time. Tap to pick any date and time — or to return to now.
- Night mode
- Turns the whole display deep red. Your eyes need about twenty minutes to adjust to the dark, and a bright screen undoes that in an instant — red light barely at all.
- Search
- Finds stars, planets, constellations and deep-sky objects by name. If the target is off screen, an arrow points the way.
- Settings
- Language, date and time, units, the camera picture and the explanations of the controls.
Menu bar at the bottom of the screen
- Visible tonight
- The place to start when you don't yet know what to look for: the most rewarding objects of the coming night.
- Time lapse
- Fast-forwards time so you can watch the stars move across the sky — from an object setting to the phases of the Moon. While you are watching an eclipse, the same button takes you back to the previous view.
- Layers
- Switches on and off what is shown: constellations, Milky Way, planet paths, names.
- Camera view
- Puts the map over your camera picture so the horizon, trees and rooftops stay visible. Needs live mode. Press and hold on the sky to see nothing but the camera picture for a moment.
- Live mode
- Point the device at the sky and the map follows your movement. The quickest way to identify a bright object.
- Recalibrate
- Map sitting askew? As soon as the compass gets imprecise, a tappable hint appears in live mode; you can also find it in the settings any time. Then swing the device in a lying figure of eight while tilting it.
- Hide the controls
- Clears all buttons away and frees the sky — the system bars step back too. The same button brings them back; it stays where it is.
Nothing to memorise: press and hold a button and it tells you what it is for.