Moon Atlas: Lunar Field Guide

The Moon changes every night. As sunlight moves across its surface, crater walls, mountain ridges and valleys emerge from the shadows. Moon Atlas helps you put names and stories to the places you see.

Explore on iPhone and iPad, with the interface, descriptions, search and narration available in English and Japanese.

START WITH TONIGHT'S MOON
See the Moon's phase and age, illumination, altitude and direction. Step through dates to plan an observing session, and check moonrise, moonset and transit for your current location or a site you choose. The astronomical calculations run on your device.

GET TO KNOW 434 FEATURES
Tap a label to read a description, key facts and observing tips. Browse craters, lunar seas, mountain ranges, valleys, rilles, scarps and observing phenomena. Search by feature name, alias or mission name. Voice search uses your selected app language where speech recognition is available.

LOOK CLOSER
Detailed image views cover 355 features. The image tiles are included in the app, so there is no separate image download. Resolution varies by target; most close-ups are around 100 meters per pixel. These are photographs with the lighting recorded at capture time, so their shadows may differ from tonight's Moon.

SEE THE SHAPE OF A CRATER
All 266 craters have illustrative cross-section charts to help you compare depth, rim shape and central peaks. These are representative profiles based on recorded dimensions, rather than measured terrain scans.

FOLLOW LUNAR EXPLORATION
Discover 15 spacecraft arrival and landing sites, from Luna and Surveyor to Apollo, Chang'e, Chandrayaan-3, SLIM and commercial missions. Read about the missions and the terrain around each site. The sites include both crewed and robotic missions, and Luna 2's impact arrival.

KEEP YOUR EYE AT THE TELESCOPE
Listen to the descriptions in English with Christopher or Michelle, or choose an available device voice. Download narration in advance for offline listening. Japanese narration is also available.

Match the map to an upright, inverted or mirrored telescope view. Adjust label density and text size, use the lunar coordinate grid and direction indicators, or switch to the red interface for observing in the dark. Dynamic Type, VoiceOver and Reduce Motion are supported.

PREPARE FOR A NIGHT OFFLINE
The map, descriptions, bundled close-up images and astronomical calculations work offline. Downloaded narration can also play offline. Audio downloads, external source links, speech recognition when required by your device, and App Store purchases or restoration may need an internet connection.

TRY FIVE FEATURES FREE
Open the details for five different features free. You can return to those same features without using another free entry. A single in-app purchase unlocks all feature details, observing tips, available close-ups and narration. Buy once: there is no subscription or recurring charge. Restore an existing purchase from Settings or the purchase screen.

SOURCES YOU CAN CHECK
Names and coordinates draw on the USGS Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature and IAU-approved names. Descriptions are original summaries based on cited sources. Lunar imagery draws on NASA SVS and LROC/PDS material. Source information and credits are available in the app. Moon Atlas is an independent app and is not endorsed by NASA, USGS, IAU or JAXA.

Find one more place you know on tonight's Moon.