Astronomy & astrophotography planner
Plan the light.
Own the dark.
Still Dark shows where the Sun, Moon and Milky Way will be, and when, so you can plan a shoot. It covers everything from golden hour to the time the Milky Way core rises. It runs on iPhone, iPad and Mac.
iPhone 17 Pro
Tonight, where you are
Tonight's sky times for your location.
This panel is calculated in your browser from your location. It shows sunset, golden hour, when full darkness begins, and tonight's Moon. Still Dark does the same for any place and any date, to the minute, with refraction and parallax included. It also does everything listed below.
How it works
Find the moment, plan the spot, check the sky.
1 · Find the moment
Sky events, the best Milky Way nights, moon phases and passes for your location, ranked so the best come first. The ticker shows tonight's highlights.
2 · Plan the spot
Drop a pin, pick a camera body and lens, and see the exact field of view on the map, with the Sun, Moon and galactic core paths drawn through it.
3 · Check the sky and go
Cloud cover by layer, transparency, dew risk and one stargazing score for tonight. Then save the plan and set a reminder.
Everything in one app
Twelve tools in one app.
Sun & light
Sunrise, sunset, golden hour, blue hour and every twilight, to the minute, for any place and date.
Moon
Phase, illumination, age, rise, set and transit with azimuths. Also libration, distance and the next four phases.
360° planetarium
Millions of stars, constellations, the Milky Way and 110 Messier photographs. Zoom in up to 2,200× and tap any object for its details.
AR sky
Hold up your iPhone and the app labels what you're looking at. A red night-vision mode keeps your eyes adjusted to the dark.
Planets & moons
Textured globes, Saturn's rings, dozens of moons placed from real ephemerides, oppositions and elongations.
Photo planner
Camera field of view and depth of field drawn on the map and in 3D. Hyperfocal, subject distance, Moon size in frame.
Milky Way
When the galactic core rises tonight, and a score for each of the next 45 nights.
Sky events
Meteor peaks, eclipses with local circumstances, conjunctions, ISS and Starlink passes with brightness.
Observing weather
Low, mid and high cloud separately, transparency, dew point, wind and one stargazing score.
Aurora
NOAA OVATION probability, direction and height for your latitude. The card only shows when there's a real chance of aurora.
Plans & reminders
Save a place, date and target. Export or import plans, and get a reminder before the event.
Works offline
Every position and time is calculated on the device, and the star and deep-sky catalogues come with the app, so it works with no signal.
Daylight & twilight
Golden hour, blue hour and twilight, to the minute.
The home screen shows the whole day: the Sun's arc, the Moon's phase, and each golden hour, blue hour and twilight window. Drag the timeline to see how the light changes.
- Golden and blue hour, morning and evening, with live countdowns. Also civil, nautical and astronomical twilight.
- The Moon in detail: phase, age, illumination to one decimal, rise, set and transit with azimuths, distance and apparent size.
- A 3D Sun & Moon compass that shows the shadow cast by an object of any height.
The 360° sky
A planetarium you can zoom a long way into.
Pan around the whole sky and zoom in up to 2,200×, from naked-eye constellations down to a Gaia catalogue of up to eight million stars that comes with the app. Search for any object, tap it for details, and drag the scrubber to see the sky at another time.
- Planets shown as textured globes, Saturn's rings with the Cassini gap, and dozens of moons placed from real ephemerides.
- The deep sky: the Milky Way band, all 110 Messier objects as photographs, the ecliptic and meridian.
- Tap anything for the full readout: azimuth and altitude to the arc-second, magnitude, distance, rise and set. You can also watch the ISS pass live.
Plan the shot
Frame the shot before you leave home.
Pick a camera body and lens and the planner draws your exact field of view on the map, with the Sun, Moon and galactic-core paths through it. It tells you where to stand for a 200 ft Moon behind the landmark, and how big it will be in the frame.
- Field of view, depth of field and hyperfocal distance for your exact body and lens, on the map and in 3D.
- Best Milky Way nights: the next 45 nights scored on true darkness, Moon interference, core altitude and cloud.
- Light-pollution score, 3D terrain and a map lock. The lock stops a pan from moving your observer position by accident.
What's up tonight
Sky events, worked out for where you are.
Every event is calculated on the device for your exact location. You get the geometry, the times, and whether the Moon will be in the way.
- Meteor peaks with radiant-rise times and whether the Moon interferes, and eclipses with coverage and timing for your latitude.
- Conjunctions and groupings, such as "Moon meets Regulus, 0.5° apart, closest 1:13p", plus oppositions and elongations.
- ISS, Tiangong, Hubble and Starlink passes with predicted brightness, direction and whether they fade into Earth's shadow.
Observing conditions
Cloud forecasts split into low, mid and high.
The app shows low, mid and high cloud separately, because thin high cloud can spoil a shot on a night the forecast calls "clear." You also get a transparency note, dew-point risk, wind and one stargazing score for tonight.
- Layered cloud cover on an hourly timeline, across multiple weather models.
- Transparency and a wildfire-smoke layer, two things that can ruin a clear night.
- Powered by Apple Weather and Open-Meteo, and cached so you still have the forecast without a signal.
Screenshots
Still Dark on iPhone, iPad and Mac.
One app, three screens
A native app on iPhone, iPad and Mac.
Each device has its own layout. It isn't a wrapped web page or a stretched phone app. All three share the same live sky and the same saved plans.
iPhone
The whole planner on your phone, plus AR and the 360° sky.
iPad
A bigger layout with the map, cards and sun arc side by side.
Mac
A desktop layout with a resizable planetarium, the deepest star catalogue, and a sky ticker in the menu bar.
Press and asset requests: hello@stilldark.app
Free and Pro
Today is free, anywhere. Any other date is Pro.
Everything for today is free, for any place you choose. Pro adds any other date, favorite places, unlimited saved plans, camera tools and live forecasts. The yearly plan starts with 7 days free. Current pricing is shown in the app.
| Feature | Free | Pro |
|---|---|---|
| Sun, Moon, twilight and sky events for any place, today | ✓ | ✓ |
| 360° planetarium and AR sky, today | ✓ | ✓ |
| Planner for any place, today | ✓ | ✓ |
| Any other date, past or future | — | ✓ |
| Saved plans, synced with iCloud | 2 | Unlimited |
| Favorite and recent places | — | ✓ |
| Camera tools: field of view, depth of field, subject recipes | — | ✓ |
| Reorder and hide home cards | — | ✓ |
| Offline star and deep-sky catalogues, every star drawn | ✓ | ✓ |
| Details for any faint star in the catalogue | — | ✓ |
| Live weather forecasts and cloud layers | — | ✓ (subscription, or Lifetime + Weather Pass) |
Purchases are handled by Apple and work on all your devices signed in with the same Apple Account. Purchase questions →
Learn the craft
Photography guides that include the planning.
How to photograph the Milky Way
When to go, the camera settings, and a step-by-step routine.
A huge Moon behind a landmark
How far away to stand, which focal length, and how to line it up.
Photograph a meteor shower
Where to aim, how long to expose, 2026–27 dates.
The Moon beside Venus
When pairings happen, which way to look, and how to expose in twilight.
Why Venus is the brightest planet
Why it's called the evening star and the morning star, and how to photograph it.
Supermoons and full Moon names
What they are, why the Moon looks bigger near the horizon, and the settings to use.
All guides What's in the sky this month Read the FAQ Help & user guide
Clear skies
Plan your next night under the sky.
Still Dark covers golden hour through to the galactic core, on the iPhone, iPad or Mac you already have.