Release notes
What's new
What has changed on the map, in the guides and on Tonight, newest first.
See what's new
This page lists every notable change. When an update is ready, the reload card now says what it brings.
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September 2026
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Aim with a touch cursor
Hold a finger on the sky map to raise a reticle above it, so your finger never hides what you are picking. Lift to select.
Open the sky map -
Night mode covers every control
Every panel, button and mark on the sky now turns red at night, so nothing on screen spoils your dark-adapted eyes.
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Tap a name, and keep your place
Names on the map now select what they name, and whatever you select stays marked at every zoom, even a galaxy too big to ring.
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A new home page
Six short loops show what the guides draw on the sky, and the map is one tap away.
See it -
The whole sky, laid flat
A flat chart of the entire sky lays the ecliptic out in one line, and the seasons globe now turns on a slider.
The Ecliptic -
An atlas page for everything in the sky
Every constellation, named star, deep-sky object, asterism and planet with a story now has a page of its own, under Atlas.
Open the Atlas -
Guides to eclipses, comets and meteors
Four new guides: Eclipses, Comets, Meteor Showers and The Moon's Month — each drawn on the sky, with the next dates for where you are.
Browse the guides -
Charts that grow out of the sky
Guides can now turn the stars into a chart and back, from the analemma to the equation of time. Tonight plots the night ahead too.
The Analemma -
A smoother sky
The map draws at your screen's full rate and labels no longer judder. To save battery, cap it at 30 fps under Display.
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Tidier map controls
One Sky panel holds the layers and looks, beside a six-button bar. On a phone, tools open as sheets.
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Six guides on how the sky moves
The Analemma, The Sun's Year, Eclipse Seasons, The Plane of the Galaxy, Ophiuchus and The Wandering Equinox.
Browse the guides -
Back up your progress
Save the guides you have done to a file and restore them on another device, from the Your progress button.
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Your clock, and no location prompt
Tap the clock to switch between 12- and 24-hour time. The sky starts from a place guessed from your time zone, and asks for your location only when you do.
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Star trails
Leave the shutter open and watch the stars draw circles round the pole. The sky is now drawn as a planetarium draws it.
Open the sky map -
Moonlight, dusk and the view underground
The Moon now lights the sky, dusk brings the Earth's shadow up in the east, and with the ground off you can see what is below the horizon.
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Stories on the map, and a field guide
Tap into the stories behind the stars, and look up any word the map uses in the field guide.
Open the field guide -
Other cultures' skies
Six guides to how others read the same stars: the Chinese sky, Polynesian wayfinding, shapes in the dark and more.
Polynesian Wayfinding -
Step off the Earth
Pull back to see the Earth turning under you and the planets on their orbits, then fly home to your own patch of ground.
Open the sky map -
Moon phases, galaxy shapes, more satellites
The Moon shows its real phase, galaxies their real shape, and Tiangong and Hubble passes join the ISS. The zodiacal light is there too.
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Guides that wait for you
Nothing moves until you press play, some steps are yours to do by hand, and every star a step names stays in view on a phone.
Browse the guides -
Install it, use it offline
Add WhatTheStar to your home screen and it works in a dark field with no signal. Thousands of cities to observe from are built in.
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Daylight, twilight and every planet
The Sun rises and sets on the map, twilight fades in to the second, and all seven planets can be tapped like any star.
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A truer sky
Stars drawn at their real brightness and colour, and positions checked against NASA JPL Horizons.
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April 2026
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Tonight
Tonight's standout sight, the week ahead, ISS passes, meteor showers and reminders, planned for where you are.
Open Tonight -
Red night mode
Turn the whole screen red to keep your eyes adapted to the dark.
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Search and tap anything
Search for a star, tap it for its story, and explore the Milky Way, nebulae and galaxies around it.
Open the sky map -
Guides that move the sky
Step-by-step guides fly the sky for you while you read, starting with the North Star, Orion and the Big Dipper.
Finding the North Star
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