About Polar Scope Align Pro Watch
Apart from the most reliable app for polar alignment (with or without a polar scope), PS Align pro has become the astronomer's swiss-army knife with all the tools added over the years. Remember, all features & updates are...
Apart from the most reliable app for polar alignment (with or without a polar scope), PS Align pro has become the astronomer's swiss-army knife with all the tools added over the years. Remember, all features & updates are free forever, the only in-app purchases are donations (tip jar).
Polar Scope Align will calculate the position of Polaris or σ Octantis in your Polar Scope reticle for your location (using your phone's GPS or manually), allowing a quick and accurate polar alignment. It is one of the few programs that are accurate in lower latitudes by correcting for atmospheric refraction (so expect results to agree only with precise software and not most simplistic "polar align" apps - see the "Accuracy" section in help for details). In the settings you can select the polar scope reticle that matches your own, from a vast collection:
iOptron old & new, Astro-Physics RAPAS & PASILL, various versions of Takahashi EM-10/11/200/400/500, NJP, PM-1, P2-Z, the latest Orion / Skywatcher, the Classic Skywatcher / Orion / Celestron / Meade / EXOS2 / Bresser, the Telrad, Rigel QuikFinder, a couple for Astrotrac / Losmandy / Kenko / Avalon, the Vixen PF-L/Atlux/SX/SXD/SXP/AXD/GP/GP-DX/Polarie Polar Axis Scopes, a Konus and several Polar Finders: Tuthill, Explore Scientific 8x50, Meade 9x60, Vixen Polaris, Celestron 7x50, Carton Optical. PoleMaster help view for South Hemisphere users.
The Pro Watch version has all the features of Polar Scope Align Pro, with the addition of an Apple Watch app featuring:
-Graphic & Text display of polar alignment.
-Weather view.
-Bubble level.
-Day alignment & push/hop-to assist.
-Moon/Sun rise/set/twilight/phase.
Feature list:
-Accurate calculation of Polaris or Sigma Oct for any date and location, including effect of atmospheric refraction (and annual aberration, nutation). Most other apps do not perform precision calculations, so please only compare app readings to accurate sources (USNO etc).
-Use device time/date/location, or enter your own, or pick from online & offline world databases via the Location Manager.
-Approximate daytime / no polarscope polar alignment tool. Great for visual use, solar imaging (inc. eclipses) and even limited short focal length astrophotography. Now with sun shadow calibration for more accuracy!
-Laser / Hop Align for nighttime alignment using a calibration star for obstructed or not visible polar star, or for improving laser align.
-Full app in red-color (or alternative green, white) night mode - tools switchable to daytime view.
-Deep Space Object (DSO) Database with 22000+ objects from several catalogs (Messier, Caldwell, NGC, IC, Herschell 400, Sharpless 2, Barnard), along with stars (Yale Bright Star) & planets. Search, apply filters, sorting, download DSS color images for all items, or get help finding them with your non-goto telescope with the Push-To function.
-Connect to and control WiFi-enabled iOptron mounts.
-Over 30 calculators useful for observing and astrophotography, from eyepiece magnification and field of view, to imaging res and reducers.
-World astro-weather report based on multiple sources.
-Solar Eclipse Calculator/Simulator.
-Water vapor satellite images.
-List of visible ISS and bright satellite passes.
-Moon phase & lunar Calendar with solar/lunar rise/set and twilight times.
-Wizard to calculate your reticle centering offset and correct or compensate for it.
-Zoomable reticle view and customized routines & tools: Alt-az alignment error display for mounts that calculate it after alignment (e.g. iOptron iEQ45, CEM60), polar alignment when your scope is not in zero position (for mounts like iOptron CEM on which you can always access the polar scope), remember zero position on Celestron / Skywatcher / Orion etc reticles.
-Bubble level (using either gyro or accelerometer) and Compass heading, as well as magnetic declination reading.
-GPS accuracy & elevation data.
-Red/White/LED light.
-Dimming slider.
-iOptron, NexStar, Meade LX200 Star Lists.
Apr 16, 2024
Version 6.8
Please support the app by reviewing or rating! You will never get annoying popups asking you in the app.
What's new:
- Added Alt-Az Field Rotation calculator.
- Barlow/Reducer option added to 6 calculators (Eyepiece Magnification, Eyepiece Projection Focal Length, FoV for Imaging System, Actual Size of Lunar View, Eyepiece Field of View, Arcsec/px for Imaging System).
- Updated Sat24 and Clear Sky Chart locations for Xasteria Weather.
Previous Versions
Here you can find the changelog of Polar Scope Align Pro Watch since it was posted on our website on 2016-09-28 06:26:29.
The latest version is 6.8 and it was updated on 2024-04-22 10:54:58. See below the changes in each version.
Polar Scope Align Pro Watch version 6.8
Updated At: 2024-04-16
Changes: Apr 16, 2024
Version 6.8
Please support the app by reviewing or rating! You will never get annoying popups asking you in the app.
What's new:
- Added Alt-Az Field Rotation calculator.
- Barlow/Reducer option added to 6 calculators (Eyepiece Magnification, Eyepiece Projection Focal Length, FoV for Imaging System, Actual Size of Lunar View, Eyepiece Field of View, Arcsec/px for Imaging System).
- Updated Sat24 and Clear Sky Chart locations for Xasteria Weather.
Polar Scope Align Pro Watch version 6.7
Updated At: 2024-03-23
Changes: Mar 23, 2024
Version 6.7
Please support the app by reviewing or rating! You will never get annoying popups asking you in the app.
Special update for the April 2024 Solar Eclipse:
- Solar Eclipse Calculator ("other" category in the calculators list). Find and Simulate any Solar Eclipse of the past or future.
- New tool in Xasteria: Click the solar eclipse button below the weather view for a list of solar eclipses as they will be visible from your location.
- On the Xasteria weather forecast, the solar eclipse type and time of maximum will be displayed in place of the moon phase on eclipse days.
- Solar eclipse details are shown on the lunar calendar under eclipse days.
- Sun / Moon location calculation improved in the DSO DB.
Also:
- Fixed barometer for iOS 17.4 devices (requires Motion & Fitness permissions).
- Eq. Coord - Alt Az calculator auto-updates if the app time is on auto.
- Disable display sleep setting also added to daytime alignment and bubble level tool settings (but applies across the app).
- Apply/Tab buttons added to calculator keyboards.
Polar Scope Align Pro Watch version 6.6
Updated At: 2024-02-18
Changes: Feb 18, 2024
Version 6.6
Please support the app by reviewing or rating! You will never get annoying popups asking you in the app.
- Added user-requested configurable reticle (Generic Graded/Microscope).
- Improved Generic Rifle/Finder reticle FoV configuration.
- iOptron WiFi Connect: Fixes for some CL v2.5 mounts (iOptron AZ Pro etc).
- Xasteria weather: Font shadow for stripe mode and other fixes.
Polar Scope Align Pro Watch version 6.5
Updated At: 2023-07-04
Changes: Jul 4, 2023
Version 6.5
Please support the app by rating or reviewing! You will never get any annoying in-app popups asking you to do so.
Here's what's new:
- Added decimal degrees as an option for coordinate entry in the Location Manager.
- Improved DSO DB searching help, added button above the keyboard to access it.
- Bubble level / compass tool shows both True/Geographic and Magnetic north heading, at 0.5° resolution. 5° tick marks added to the compass.
Xasteria changes:
- Improved contrast on weather views for both text and icons.
- Fixed Sat24 zoom issue.
- Cloud Free Nights link for users in Australia/NZ.
- Show last good weather forecast on update failure.
- Avoid possible crash with bad Apple Weather data.
Polar Scope Align Pro Watch version 6.4
Updated At: 2023-03-31
Changes: Mar 31, 2023
Version 6.4
Please support the app by rating or reviewing! You will never get any annoying in-app popups asking you to do so.
Here's what's new:
- Date Circle - Time / RA Circle conversion calculator.
- Rotated reticle view tool option for Star Adverturer to use the Date Graduation circle. Start/Stop tracking works off any rotation position with reset button added.
- Added visual hints to the main page clickable regions (e.g. coordinates).
- Xasteria changes:
-- Added a new forecast from MET Norway. It's based on the non-hydrostatic ECMWF model, which takes altitude in account to improve forecasts in regions with steep/complex terrain. It is a 10-day forecast with configurable display, options for cloud layers and more.
-- Added 3-10 forecast days control and a 4h forecast step option (Apple Weather and MET.no).
-- Zero values in 7Timer/icon mode are completely blank and option to turn off twilight timings for less cluttered display.
-- DST fix for ISS/Satellite times (affects Pacific and Alaska timezones).
-- Current GMT offset shown in settings and ISS/Satellite times.
-- Various fixes and improved weather display speed.
From April 2023, iOS 9/10 compatible submissions will not be allowed on the app store, so this is the last version I can provide for those with very old devices.
Polar Scope Align Pro Watch version 6.2
Updated At: 2021-11-02
Changes: Nov 2, 2021 Version 6.2
Why not help out by rating the app! There are never popups to nag you (annoying!), which means fewer reviews than other apps.
What's new:
-Gyro Rotation Speed (pitch/roll/yaw) added to the Bubble Level tool (with watch support).
-Barometer display added to the Location Manager (requires "Auto Location" and iPhone/iPad with barometer).
-Collapsible Done/Back buttons in webviews & help screens.
-More configuration options for rifle scope reticle.
-Added latest version of iOptron star list (marked as v3).
-Equatorial with SHA (instead of RA) display option for Push To GoTo.
-Full support for new iPad mini & iOS 15.
Polar Scope Align Pro Watch version 6.1
Updated At: 2021-06-06
Changes: Jun 6, 2021 Version 6.1
Why not help out by rating the app! There are never popups to nag you (annoying!), which leads to fewer reviews than other apps.
What's new:
- Daytime alignment tool option to increase precision using the Sun's shadow for compass calibration.
- iOptron WiFi Connect: Ability to connect to WiFi-enabled iOptron mounts and basic setup/control functions, including pointing-goto and DSO Database integration.
- iOptron Star list defaults to "new".
- Approximate Full/New Moon time listed in calendar overview (for the day it falls on).
- *BELOW HORIZON* shown on objects that have set on DSO DB and push to button is disabled.
- Fixed wind direction icons in Xasteria & clarified their meaning in the info screen.
- Improved handling of weather access retries when there are network connectivity issues.
Polar Scope Align Pro Watch version 6.0
Updated At: 2021-04-03
Changes: Apr 3, 2021 Version 6.0
Why not help out by rating the app! There are never popups to nag you (annoying!), which leads to fewer reviews than other apps.
What's new:
- UI design update for better look and readability.
- DSO Database catalog additions: Solar System (Sun, Moon, planets), Barnard Catalogue, Yale Bright Stars Catalogue.
- DSO Database search supports regular expressions and shows number of results.
- Current epoch shown on DSO DB configuration screen.
- Lunar calendar shows moon & sun altitude graphs.
- Night vs day color-coded background on all altitude graphs.
- Xasteria: Added Sat24.com to "Other" sources, ability to vertically resize the main weather view - just use the arrows just below the weather view on the left.
- "Start Tracking" option in the Rotated Reticle view for Sky Adventurer, to automatically follow your polar scope rotation while you are tracking.
- Tapping the LST/UTC time display shows you various kinds of Sidereal Time: GMST, GAST, LMST, LAST.
- Fix potential crash with "Timezone from location" setting.
- Watch retina graphics on/off option for Daytime alignment tool.
- Performance improvements (for older devices).
Polar Scope Align Pro Watch version 5.8
Updated At: 2021-02-27
Changes: Feb 27, 2021 Version 5.8
Why not help out by rating the new version! There are never popups to nag you (annoying!), which mean less reviews than other apps.
Watch app only update:
- Non-retina watch graphics option applies to weather as well, for faster response.
- Animation to indicate first connection with phone app and force retry button.
- Fixed bubble level / daytime watch buttons.
Please note that the watch app relies on the phone app for all its functions, so the phone should be within reach. The watch app will also be less responsive if the phone app is in the background (esp. on older phones and for iOS 13+).
Polar Scope Align Pro Watch version 5.7
Updated At: 2021-02-19
Changes: Feb 19, 2021 Version 5.7
-Quick fix for the Watch app that broke for some iOS versions in the recent big update. Apologies!
Remember, you can help the app by rating the new version! There are never popups to nag you (annoying!), which mean less reviews than other apps.
