Orrery

What's in the sky above you.

The Sun, Moon, planets, stars, meteor showers and satellite passes, all calculated for where you're standing. Everything runs on your phone.

Orrery on an iPhone, showing the sky chart and Jupiter's moons

Reading the sky

One chart, the whole night

The chart at the top of the app shows everything above your horizon, hour by hour.

Orrery sky chart with the Moon, Saturn and the Northern Taurids
  1. Each arc is one object

    It rises on the left, is highest in the middle, and sets on the right.

  2. The bottom is your horizon

    Anything above it is up in the sky. Near the edges means low down, probably behind trees.

  3. Time runs left to right

    Drag to move through hours, days or months. Pinch to zoom.

  4. The sky behind

    Constellations, galaxies, nebulae and meteor radiants sit where they really are.

What's inside

A card for everything in the sky

Below the chart are cards full of detail. Open one to go deeper.

Tonight

Orrery Tonight card

Tonight

When it gets dark, how much the Moon will wash out the sky, and what's worth stepping outside for.

Orrery Next card

Next

Rises, sets, conjunctions, meteor peaks and satellite passes, in order. Tap one to jump the chart to it.

Moons of other worlds

Orrery Mars and gas giant moons card

Mars and gas giant moons

The shifting line-up of Jupiter's four big moons, the one a pair of binoculars shows.

Orrery Ice giant moons card

Ice giant moons

The brighter moons of Uranus and Neptune, for bigger telescopes.

Other views

Orrery Virtual Horizon card

Virtual Horizon

The sky from where you stand. Drag to look around, or point your phone at the sky.

Orrery Seasonal card

Seasonal

A whole year at a glance: how high each object climbs, day by day.

Orrery Solar system and galaxy card

Solar system and galaxy

The planets on their orbits, turning as you move through time. Keep zooming out to reach the stars.

Events

Orrery Meteors card

Meteors

Active and upcoming showers, peak rates, and whether the Moon will spoil them.

Orrery Satellites card

Satellites

Visible passes of the ISS, Hubble and other satellites over you.

Orrery Alerts card

Alerts

A daily sky briefing at a time you choose, and a heads-up when the dark observing window opens.

Sun, Moon and planets

Orrery Sun card

Sun

Sunrise, noon and sunset, plus the twilight stages that tell you when it's truly dark.

Orrery Moon card

Moon

Phase, illumination, and rise and set times. The biggest single influence on what you'll see.

Orrery Planets card

Planets

Mercury to Neptune and the dwarf planets, with brightness and rise and set times.

Deep sky

Orrery Stars card

Stars

The brightest named stars, and when each one is up.

Orrery Constellations card

Constellations

All 88 figures drawn behind the chart, or just the ones you pick.

Orrery Messier Catalogue card

Messier Catalogue

Galaxies, nebulae and clusters, each with a photo, and which ones rise where you live.

Orrery home screen widgets in several sizes

Home screen widgets

The sky on your home screen

The live chart as a widget on Android and iPhone, from a small square to full width.

Set each widget up its own way. They refresh on their own without draining your battery.

Why "Orrery"? An orrery was a clockwork model of the solar system, its planets turning on brass arms so that early astronomers could see where everything sat and where it was heading.

Look up tonight

Free to download, with more to unlock. No account needed.