macOS Help

Astronomy Observation Planner

Fast help for the Mac app: first setup, location and equipment selection, exact-match target images, target filtering, saving, exporting, and purchase prompts.

Quick Start

  1. Open Astronomy Observation Planner and complete the privacy, internet, location, and language first-start page.
  2. Open Setup Locations, save the observing site, and mark the site as the default.
  3. Open Telescope, select or add the smart telescope and matching accessories, then set that equipment as default.
  4. Open Targets or Plan an Observation, set filters, add any blocked sky areas, and apply the filter.
  5. Review the Current Plan, then save, print, export, or create an observing log.

Target Images

Sample target lookup only shows an image when the source page or public-image metadata matches the searched target name or catalog identifier.

The app checks Wikimedia first and may use NASA's public image library when it can still confirm the exact object match.

Filtering

Use target type, magnitude, altitude, azimuth, date, time, and clear-area controls to build a visible target list.

When more than one clear sky area is set, targets that fit either area remain visible so the user can see all reachable targets.

Workflow

The Mac app follows the same planning standard as the iOS flow chart:

  • Home: review moon and session context.
  • Setup Locations: choose site, coordinates, elevation, time zone, and sky quality details.
  • Telescope: choose or add the visible telescope and accessories.
  • Targets: filter the planning catalog and inspect exact-match samples.
  • Plan: assign observing order and times. Build 6 starts with a clean Current List, warns before clearing an active plan on date change, and recascades inserted targets by first-visible time.
  • Current Plan and Logs: save, export, print, and record session notes.

iOS Companion

Planning on iPhone or iPad? The companion iOS app is available on the App Store as Smart Telescope Planner.

Trial And Purchase Prompt

Advanced features use a local 30-day trial. The trial starts after the first-launch privacy, internet access, and location-use agreements are accepted and the thank-you trial splash Continue action is selected.

Five days before the trial ends, the app shows a reminder with StoreKit Purchase and Restore actions plus an email link to support@bigskyastro.com for feedback or change requests. When the trial ends, the app explains what feature is locked and provides StoreKit Purchase and Restore actions.

Best user flow: keep the prompt inside the app at the moment the user tries an advanced feature. After day 30, Advanced Features stay locked until the App Store transaction entitlement is present.

Support

For help, include macOS version, app version/build, selected location, selected telescope/accessories, filters used, and the page where the issue happened.

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