Polar Finder is a niche, real-time polar-alignment assistant that graphically shows Polaris (or Octant) position and hour angle, with options for manual longitude input or GPS. It combines precise astronomical timing with a mirrored reticle view for telescope alignment, backed by over 10,000+ total downloads and a 3.79 rating from 419 reviews.
Pros & Cons
Real-time tracking of Polaris/Octant for accurate alignment
GPS or manual longitude input for precise local sidereal time
Night vision mode with mirror view for telescope alignment
Low one-time price of $0.99
Niche use-case with limited broad appeal
Not ranked in any top app lists; modest visibility in general tools market
About Polar Finder
Polar Finder was a tools app developed by TechHead. It was removed from Google Play Dec 23, 2023 and is no longer available for download.
Download Statistics
Polar Finder had been downloaded 31 thousand times before it became unavailable.
User Ratings
Polar Finder was rated 3.79 out of 5 stars, based on 420 ratings.
App Information
Polar Finder cost $0.99 to download. The APK download size was 1.25 MB. The last available version was 2.5. The last update was on March 4, 2020.
Technical Requirements
Polar Finder required Android 6.0+ or higher. The app had a content rating of Everyone. The app had been available on Google Play February 2013.
Description
When astronomical observations or imaging is done using an equatorial telescope mount, the right-ascension (RA) axis should be parallel with the rotation axis of the Earth to avoid star-trails and errors in guiding. The method how we achieve it is called polar alignment and it starts with a rough alignment of the RA axis. The best aid for this is to use a polar finder scope with a reticle. On the reticle the Polar star (and the Octant for the Southern hemisphere) is engraved and should be positioned over the real Polaris by turning it. Because the Polaris is not exactly coincide with the Earth's rotation axis but rotates around it, one should know the exact hour angle of the Polaris to adjust (rotate) the finder.
This utility helps you solve this problem by graphically showing you the current position of the Polaris. The application tracks and draws the position of the Polaris (or Octant) in real-time and also displays its hour-angle, the local sideral time, current local time and the longitude of the place. The longitude can be entered manually or obtained using the built-in GPS. The view on the display can be mirrored to match the view in your polar finder scope. Key features are as follows:
• Northern, southern hemispheres • Naked eye, telescopic view • Customizable marker angle • Support for: Astro-Physics, AstroTrac, Ioptron, Losmandy, Skywatcher, StarAdventure, Takahashi and Vixen eyepiece reticles • Precession • Night vision mode • Enter longitude of your place manually or via built-in GPS
Note: On some new devices running Android 4.x the preferences menu can be reached via pressing and holding the Recent Apps Button - which is a ‘soft key’ (not the Home button). On Galaxy Tabs there are three buttons at the bottom. The middle one is the main, hardware button. The task manager is just on its left side. Press and hold for about two whole seconds on it, and then the menu comes up.
Recent changes: GPS update was made shorted for quicker refresh.
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★★★★★
I really like that this can show you the position overlaid on lots of different brands of reticles (iOptron and Normandy for me). I can't get it to use GPS, though. I set Longitude source to GPS, it tells me GPS is disabled on the device, I click Enable GPS, it takes me to the Location settings on my phone and Location is turned on, I go back to the app, and it still shows the message that GPS is disabled. I have a Samsung Galaxy S8. Also, when entering longitude manually, regardless of whether you set it to display degrees, minutes, and seconds, or decimals, you have to enter the longitude in degrees, minutes, and seconds. Edit: I saw the comment that you have to go to Settings > Apps > Permissions and give it Location permissions and now the GPS Longitude works. Raising review to 4 stars.
★★★★★
Great little app. Use it on my Galaxy Note 4 with Android 6.0.1, and it works like a charm. It did not show the Menu initially. GPS localization did not work because I had not set permissions for "location" on phone (via phone settings -> app manager -> polar finder app -> permissions). I then soft reset phone turning it off/on and went outside launched app, and it's been woking fine since. Helps me align my iOptron Smart EQ Pro+ mount accurately for AP. Love the built-in iOptron reticle image.
★★★★★
I use this with two Astrophysics mounts that have RAPAS alignment scope and an Ioptron Sky Tracker Pro also with the built-in alignment scope. Works great and can switch between different types of mounts/alignment scopes. Make sure you set with correct location data (E or W) and correct hemisphere. When you turn it on GPS has to be on for auto location so wait until the GPS satellites are located, or you will have wrong alignment point. You will know when it connects when the coordinates display.
★★☆☆☆
Very slow to get GPS coordinates, other apps don't have the same problem. Installed the update but does not appear to have made any difference. Waiting 20 mins now, and it still hasn't got coordinates. I have checked that permissions are ok. Other apps like SAM console, GPS Essentials get location in seconds. I have rebooted phone etc. but still no joy. Finally, after about 23 mins it got location details - very poor :-(
★★☆☆☆
Unable to use cellphone GPS to update time and location. Not enough description of how to navigate the app
★★☆☆☆
The app when opened in a room with phone's GPS 'ON', the app will never show Location details. Whereas app called polar alignment shows location details inside a room and app polar alignment is free.
★★☆☆☆
Cannot get to any of the menus on current Android. No pull down no menu buttons, nothing. Instructions talk about quote newer quote Android 4, and tell you to use buttons that no longer exist.
Technologies used by Polar Finder
Polar Finder is requesting 4 permissions and is using 9 libraries.
Show details
Trust & Safety: Requires location, network state, Internet, and license verification. These standard permissions and license checks help ensure safe usage and app authenticity.
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