Support

How does the score work?

Star Tonight scores every hour of tonight's dark window, from the end of astronomical twilight until about 2am (or dawn, if that comes first). Each hour starts at 100 and loses points for:

• Cloud cover, the biggest factor. Low, thick cloud counts for more than thin, high cirrus.
• The moon, by how bright it is and whether it's above the horizon that hour.
• Darkness. If the sky never gets fully dark (high latitudes near midsummer), the score is capped.
• Light pollution, estimated from your town's size unless you set it yourself.
• Transparency: humidity, dew point, visibility and the chance of rain.

The night's score leans on the best three-hour stretch. 70 and up is YES, 40 to 69 is MAYBE, under 40 is NO. Rain or a thunderstorm in the window makes it a NO. A peaking meteor shower, a likely aurora or bright planets add a small bonus when the sky is good enough to see them. The best window is the run of hours that stay close to the night's best hour.

The score seems wrong for my sky.

Check the sky darkness setting first. By default Star Tonight guesses your light pollution from the size of the town you picked, which can be off if you live on the edge of a city or drive somewhere darker to look. Set it to city, suburb, rural or dark site in Settings. If it still looks off, email me with the town and date and I'll dig in.

Why does it ask for my location? Do I have to allow it?

No. Location is only used when you tap “Use my location,” to find your town and its forecast. It's read once, never in the background. You can search for a town instead and never grant permission. To change it later, open iOS Settings, find Star Tonight, and pick a Location option. Details are in the Privacy Policy.

It said YES and it was cloudy. What happened?

Cloud cover is one of the hardest things in weather to forecast, and it can change in a couple of hours. Star Tonight is only as good as the forecast it reads from Apple Weather. Check again closer to dark, use the hour-by-hour view to find a clear gap, and remember a MAYBE often means patchy cloud with real windows in it.

Reminders aren't showing up.

Make sure notifications are on for Star Tonight in iOS Settings. The reminders are scheduled on your phone from the latest forecast when you open the app, so opening it once in the days before a shower keeps them current.

What's red-light mode?

It turns the whole app red and black so it doesn't wreck your night vision while you're outside. Turn it on in Settings, and turn your screen brightness down too.

I got a new phone. Do I pay again?

No. Sign in with the same Apple ID and download Star Tonight again from the App Store at no charge.

How do I get a refund?

Apple handles all payments, so refunds go through Apple: visit reportaproblem.apple.com, sign in, and choose Star Tonight. I can't issue refunds directly, but I'm happy to help if something isn't working.

Something crashed or looks broken.

Force-quit and reopen the app first. If it keeps happening, email me your iPhone model, iOS version, the town you were checking and what you tapped. Star Tonight has no crash reporting, so your email is how I find out.