Milky Way Scout

About

Is tonight worth the drive? Get an answer with a glance at the app. Milky Way Scout is a focused night-photography planner built to help you move from a promising dark site to a deliberate composition. PLAN THE CORE See when the galactic core is visible, when it reaches its best altitude, and which window combines astronomical darkness with a usable Moon position. KNOW THE MOON Moonrise, moonset, illumination, and the screened Milky Way window live together so you can judge the tradeoff before leaving home. FIND DARKER GROUND Search a curated set of dark-sky locations, compare editorial Bortle/SQM estimates and distance from Bend, Oregon, explore the map, and choose a site for the rest of your plan. Bundled darkness ratings are planning estimates reviewed in August 2026, not instrument measurements. FRAME THE FOREGROUND Use the Planner to select a date, review core direction and altitude, compare the Moon window, and save field notes to your on-device calendar. EXPLORE SKY VIEW Use the full-sky dome to explore 8,920 catalog stars, the Moon, horizon, calculated Milky Way plane, core direction, and an optional catalog guide for prominent H-alpha emission regions. On supported iPhone and iPad hardware, Sky View can use the camera and device attitude for an augmented-reality planning reference. The H-alpha layer is a coordinate guide; it does not claim the phone camera detects narrowband H-alpha light. FIELD TOOLS Estimate a conservative no-trail exposure from your camera's pixel pitch, focal length, and target declination; protect night vision with a red screen tint; review data status; and follow a practical field guide. PRIVATE BY DESIGN Core astronomy calculations run on device. Saved nights and settings stay on your device. No account is required, and Milky Way Scout does not collect or sell personal data. For selected U.S. planning sites and times, Milky Way Scout retrieves sky cover, precipitation probability, and humidity directly from NOAA/NWS forecast grids, plus global planetary Kp context directly from NOAA/SWPC. These are planning inputs, not emergency alerts; always verify smoke, lightning, tides, roads, and other field hazards with dedicated trusted sources before travel.