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Sky Lock reads real stars, so it needs a genuinely dark sky. The three things that stop it most often:

1. It's not dark yet. Twilight looks dark to your eyes long before it is dark enough for a camera. Wait until at least 60 to 90 minutes after sunset; the app tells you when the sky is still too bright.

2. Pointing too low. Aim well above the rooftops and trees, ideally 40° or more above the horizon, at a patch of sky with several visible stars. Houses, streetlights, and the glow near the horizon give the camera bright spots that are not stars.

3. Not steady enough. Brace your elbows or lean against something and hold still for a few seconds while the aim coach counts down. A lock usually lands within about 5 seconds once the sky is right.

Moonlight, thin cloud, and heavy light pollution make it harder but not impossible. No tripod is needed.

It photographs the sky in front of you, identifies the star pattern against the Hipparcos catalog, and snaps the map onto exactly what you are pointing at. It also measures how far off your phone's compass was and keeps the star-derived heading for a while afterwards, so the map stays true after the lock. The app cannot change iOS's own compass; it corrects its own map.

That is the phone's magnetometer being pulled by nearby metal, a magnetic case or mount, a car, or a steel building. Step away from metal and roll the phone in a figure-eight to recalibrate; the app shows a notice when iOS reports low compass accuracy. At night, Sky Lock fixes it directly from the stars.

Which stars, planets, and satellites are above your horizon depends on where you are. Location is used on the phone; a rounded position (about 1 km) leaves the phone only inside diagnostics, as described in the privacy policy. Without location the app falls back to a default position and the sky will be wrong for you.

Nova Watch follows T Coronae Borealis, a recurrent nova expected to erupt. A watcher run by the studio polls public variable-star observations and, when the star brightens, sends a push notification to phones that opted in. Alerts are best-effort: they depend on public reports, Apple's push service, and studio-operated services, so they can be late or missed.

Yes. The star catalog, ephemeris, artwork, and facts are on the phone. Satellite orbits ship with each build and go stale after a couple of weeks without an update; alerts need a network connection to arrive.

Install TestFlight from the App Store, then open the public beta link on your iPhone. Beta builds send full diagnostics by default; see the privacy policy. iOS 17 or later is required.

Not yet. The app is built on iOS sensor, camera, and push frameworks, and porting is on the list. Tell us you want it; the count matters.

Find your install code under Settings ▸ Privacy in the app and email it to support@astrocompass.app. Everything tied to that code is deleted within 30 days and we confirm by reply. On the App Store release you can also switch diagnostics off at any time, which stops sending and discards anything queued.

All purchases go through Apple. Manage or cancel a subscription in your iPhone's Settings ▸ your name ▸ Subscriptions. Refunds are requested from Apple at reportaproblem.apple.com. Tips support the developer and unlock nothing.