Space Arc

Space Arc tells you what's worth stepping outside for tonight — when to go, where to look, and whether the clouds will cooperate.

Meteor showers, planets, the ISS, Starlink trains, eclipses, the aurora, full Moons and rocket launches, all worked out for your exact location, with a weather-based Sky Score so you only head out when it's worth it.

TONIGHT'S PLAN
A simple timeline for tonight: sunset, full darkness, moonrise and moonset, each planet at its best, and every event you can actually see. A "Now" marker shows what's up right now.

FIND IT IN THE SKY
• AR Sky Finder — hold up your phone and follow the arrow until the target is in the circle. Works for planets, the Moon, meteor-shower radiants and satellites.
• Where Do I Look? — a compass guide with the direction and height above the horizon.
• Live Track — follow the International Space Station in real time, with a countdown to its next visible pass.

EVENTS THAT FIT YOUR NIGHT
• Meteor showers — the best hours of the peak night where you are, with realistic hourly rates that account for the radiant's height, twilight and moonlight.
• Planets — oppositions, the best evenings and mornings for Mercury and Venus, and a live "Tonight's Sky" card with rise and set times.
• Moon — full Moons, supermoons, blue moons and moonless Dark Sky Windows.
• Eclipses — whether you'll see each solar and lunar eclipse from your location, and how much of the Sun will be covered.
• Satellites — ISS flyovers, Hubble and Tiangong passes, and "Starlink trains" right after launches.
• Aurora — NOAA geomagnetic storm alerts, shown only when it's dark and the storm can reach your latitude.
• Space weather, rocket launches and near-Earth asteroid flybys.

KNOW BEFORE YOU GO
• Sky Score — Apple Weather cloud forecasts for the clearest dark hour of each viewing window.
• Clear-sky alerts — one optional heads-up before sunset when something special is up and the forecast looks clear.
• Reminders and Calendar — get notified before an event or add it to your calendar. Reminders update automatically if a launch is rescheduled.
• Home Screen widget — tonight's best event and its Sky Score at a glance.

YOUR OBSERVING LOG
Tap "I saw it" to save sightings with notes and photos. Earn badges like Meteor Hunter, Station Spotter and Planet Collector, keep a weekly streak, and share good-looking cards of what you saw.

EVERY DAY
NASA's Astronomy Picture of the Day and the latest image from the Hubble Space Telescope.

ACCURATE AND PRIVATE
Sky positions, twilight, Moon phases, planet events, meteor peaks and satellite orbits are calculated on your phone using established astronomical methods and NASA/NORAD orbital data. Your observing log and photos stay on your device.

Data from NASA (APOD, DONKI, NeoWs, JPL Horizons), NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center, Launch Library 2, CelesTrak, N2YO, ESA/Hubble and Apple Weather.