Astrophotography planner · iOS & Android

Plan the clearest,darkest nightsfor astrophotography.

Dark Skies helps photographers decide when tonight is worth shooting — with Best Nights, Milky Way windows, Moon visibility, meteor outlooks, weather forecasts, widgets, alerts and exposure tools. No ads. No accounts required.

Download on theApp Store Get it onGoogle Play

Free to download No account No ads

Dark Skies Tonight screen showing a Night Score of 71, the Galactic Core rising at 10:43 PM, and a 3-hour 30-minute dark window.

Built for night-sky photographers — by people who chase the dark.

  • Milky Way, Moon & meteor planning
  • Field-ready dark-window forecasts
  • Private by default — no ads, no accounts

Know before you pack the bag

Know if tonight is worth shooting

Every clear-looking night isn't a good one. Dark Skies reads cloud cover, atmospheric transparency, humidity, moonlight and your true dark hours, then gives you one honest answer — a Night Score from 0 to 100.

01

One score, not ten tabs

Stop cross-referencing five weather sites. The Night Score blends every signal that matters into a single, glanceable read.

02

The window that matters

See exactly when the sky goes properly dark — after the moon sets, before dawn, while your target is high.

03

Plan the week, not just tonight

A 14-day outlook surfaces the best upcoming nights so you can book the drive and the babysitter in advance.

How the astrophotography planner works

A planner, end to end

From “maybe tonight” to a shot list

Scroll through the night the way the app walks you through it — from picking the night, to catching the Milky Way, to dialing in the exposure.

01 / Best Nights

The best nights, ranked for you

Dark Skies scores the next two weeks on cloud cover, transparency, moon phase and dark hours — then tells you, plainly, which night to shoot.

  • “Best night this week” called out at the top
  • A 0–100 score for every upcoming night
  • Tap any night for the full breakdown
Forecast screen ranking the week ahead, with Friday scored 91 out of 100 as the best night.
02 / Milky Way Window

Catch the galactic core, on time

Know precisely when the Milky Way core clears the horizon, how high it climbs, and how long it stays visible in true darkness — for any night, any location.

  • Core rise, peak altitude and set times
  • Season-aware: knows when the core isn't up
  • Visible planets called out for the night
Explore the Milky Way planner
Tonight's Sky screen showing the Galactic Core rising at 10:47 PM with three planets visible.
03 / Moon & Meteors

Work with the moon — and the showers

Moonlight is the quiet killer of deep-sky shots. Dark Skies shows phase, illumination and the exact rise/set times, plus a meteor-shower outlook with peak nights and expected rates.

  • Phase, % illumination, rise & set
  • Meteor-shower peaks and radiant timing
  • Plain-language guidance for each night
Tonight screen listing moonrise, moonset, astronomical dark and Galactic Core event times for the night.
04 / Weather & Dark Windows

A forecast built for photographers

Not “20% chance of rain.” Dark Skies reads cloud cover by hour, transparency and humidity, dew-point margin and the genuinely dark hours — so you know exactly when to be set up.

  • Hour-by-hour cloud cover and transparency
  • Dew-point margin & condensation risk
  • True astronomical-dark window per night
See the dark-sky forecast
Forecast screen scored from cloud cover, transparency, moon and dark hours with a live multi-night outlook.
05 / Exposure Tools

Pinpoint stars, not trails

The Star Exposure Calculator turns your camera, lens and sky into a recommended shutter speed — Balanced or Sharper — so you nail focus and tracking without the guesswork.

  • Full-frame, APS-C and Micro Four Thirds
  • Balanced and Sharper (NPF) modes
  • Saved camera & lens profiles
Exposure calculator recommending a 20.8 second shutter speed for a full-frame sensor, with the NPF rule alongside.

How Dark Skies works

Open it. Read the night. Go shoot.

Step 01

Set your spot

Use your current location or save the dark-sky sites you shoot. No sign-up — it just works.

Step 02

Read the Night Score

One number tells you if tonight's worth it, with the dark window and what's visible underneath.

Step 03

Dial in the shot

Get your exposure from the calculator and the best window for the Milky Way, moon or meteors.

Step 04

Get a nudge

Add widgets and smart alerts so a great upcoming night finds you — no need to keep checking.

Everything in the bag

One app for the whole night

Night Score

A single 0–100 read on whether tonight is worth shooting.

Best Nights

A 14-day ranked outlook of the clearest, darkest nights ahead.

Milky Way Window

Galactic-core rise, peak and set times for any night and place.

Moon Planning

Phase, illumination and rise/set so moonlight never surprises you.

Meteor Outlook

Shower peaks, radiant timing and expected rates per night.

Weather & Darkness

Cloud, transparency, dew-point and wind by the hour.

Exposure Calculator

Balanced and Sharper (NPF) shutter speeds for your kit.

Widgets

Tonight's score and dark window on your Home and Lock screens.

Smart Alerts

A heads-up when an exceptional night is coming to your spot.

Privacy-first by design

Your sky. Your data.

Dark Skies is built to be useful and trustworthy — not to harvest you. There's nothing to sign up for and nothing to sell.

Read the privacy policy

  • No accounts required

    Open the app and start planning. No email, no password, no profile.

  • No ads. No accounts.

    No banners and no ad networks. Diagnostics are optional, privacy-respecting, and off by default.

  • Your spots stay yours

    Saved Locations stay on your device. Forecasts use your location only to calculate sky and weather conditions — never to track you.

  • Ready in the field

    Saved plans and recent forecasts are available when you arrive, even with patchy signal.

Learn the night sky

Plan smarter, shoot better

All guides
Planning

How to find the best nights for astrophotography

The five signals that actually decide a good night — and how to read them in minutes, not hours.

Read the guide
Milky Way

Planning Milky Way photography: season, core & timing

When the galactic core is visible from your latitude, and how to time the window around the moon.

Read the guide
Moon

Moon phase & photography: when dark really means dark

Why illumination beats phase, and how to use moonrise and moonset to protect your deep-sky frames.

Read the guide

Before you head out

Frequently asked questions

When is the Milky Way visible?

The bright Galactic Core is seasonal. From the northern hemisphere it's visible roughly February to October, and only for part of the night — rise, peak and set times shift with your latitude and the date. Dark Skies shows the exact core window for your location on any night.

What makes a good night for astrophotography?

Five signals decide it: low cloud cover, good atmospheric transparency, low humidity, little or no moonlight, and enough true astronomical darkness while your target is high. A night can look clear and still fail on moonlight or haze — which is why it pays to read a forecast built for photographers.

What is the 500 rule (and the NPF rule)?

The 500 rule is a quick estimate of the longest shutter speed before stars trail: 500 divided by your effective focal length. The NPF rule is a more precise version that also accounts for aperture and pixel pitch. Dark Skies' exposure calculator gives Balanced and Sharper (NPF) recommendations for your camera and lens.

How does Dark Skies score each night?

The Night Score blends cloud cover, atmospheric transparency, humidity, moonlight and your true dark hours into a single 0–100 read for your location. It's a forecast, not a promise — its job is to tell you honestly which nights are worth the drive.

Does Dark Skies work offline?

The astronomy — Milky Way, Moon and dark-window timing — is calculated on your device, so it works without signal. Weather forecasts need a connection to fetch, though recently loaded forecasts and saved plans stay available in the field.

Do I need an account, and does the app track me?

No account, ever — open the app and start planning. There are no ads, and your location is used only to calculate sky and weather conditions for your spot. Optional diagnostics exist to help us fix crashes, and they're off by default. The privacy policy has the details.

Is Dark Skies free, and what does Pro add?

Dark Skies is free to download and fully usable on its own. An optional Pro subscription unlocks the app's advanced planning features, billed through the App Store or Google Play, where you can manage or cancel any time.

The next clear night is coming

Be ready for the night worth driving for.

Download Dark Skies and plan your next shoot in under a minute. Free to start. No ads. No accounts.

Download on theApp Store Get it onGoogle Play

Free to download No account No ads

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