Dark Sky Finder App Reviews

As a member of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada I purchased this app to see if light pollution data and information was provided for any of our Dark Sky preserves and observing sites. And of course there is none. Hope you fix that soon. Updated Review: After looking through the Light Polution settings I was able to load some data from 1997 for Canada. Not exactly current but it was a good representation. It also had our Blackfoot Observing site in Alberta as well. I will user contribute more sites soon as it is missing some of our Dark Sky Preserves. I do like how it links to Clear Sky Clock too. So overall - Nicely Done.

Bought this app specifically for use in Canada. App advertised having a light pollution map for north America, however it only extends 200km into my area of Canada. Incomplete and only worth it if you live in the continental US.

False app description. Ill update my rating once the rest of Canada is included.

This app does not have any coverage in Canada north of 50-deg latitude.

Yeah, Im another Canadian and I guess Ill have to wait for more updates. I hope this is fixed soon. Otherwise it seems pretty good.

WOW!!!! - when did Canada fall out of North America? I guess plate tectonics have been more active than I was aware of! I better go back to the app to see if California survived. Bill

I appreciate the concept behind this app, however the light pollution data is incorrect for my city and in most cases for Canada missing entirely. I am seeking a refund.

I am an astronomy journalist and public speaker who bought this app with glee, assuming the folks behind Dark Sky Finder or the original datasets had developed an app that lets you display all the data from the above locally. This would have been hugely beneficial to me as a tool to show the public how dark a site is from the site, as well as finding out for myself how dark a site Im at actually is. Sadly, the developer seems to have done nothing more but wrap the existing web page in a fancy package, throw it on iTunes, and let the $ roll in. This app doesnt even display some of the light pollution graphics/data that the online version of Dark Sky Finder does. Dark sky info for the first two dark sky preserves I zoomed in on (Kejimkujic National Park east of Halifax, and Jasper National Park, the worlds largest dark sky preserve) werent even available in this app by default (an email to the developer revealed that you can choose a map that will show all these areas, though no info is clearly provided to users for how to do this.) Most disappointingly, the app only works with Internet access - WTF?? If I had Internet access, Id just go to the Dark Sky Finder site (rather than clutter up my device with one more app Ive got to find a place for, update, etc...) To the folks who developed this app and let it rise through the Google rankings until it showed up along with the Dark Sky Finder site: Do the right thing and either offer an "offline-friendly" version or scrap this ill-conceived cash-grab. Peter

So, Canada has the two LARGEST dark sky preserves in the world (Wood Buffalo being the largest and Jasper being the largest accessible preserve) and this app doesnt include either? Weak. Apparently the developers of the app feel that the US is really the only important part of North America? Beware - if you buy this hoping to have any information about the incredible Dark Sky Preserves in Canada, you will be sorely disappointed. Im half tempted to report this app to Apple for false advertising...

Wanted Dark Sky Weather bought this by mistake. Useless! Buyer beware!

Hello James, just wanted to let you know that I am really enjoying your app. I like finding out dark skies, mainly for astrophotography reasons. I live in southwestern Ontario, Canada and if you look you will see a lot of light pollution in that part of the province. If you look more towards the north I like to go camping up in cottage country which is up by Algonquin Park, and it is right around the region where your mom stops. I have also visited Mexico, I went to Los Cabos, and if you look youll see the very tip of Baja California is outside of the Maps region. I dont know how easy it is to expand the map to include Mexico and northern Canada, but if that were to happen in the next update or so, I would get this app five stars and recommend it. I love this app, and if it covered Mexico and northern Canada the $1.99 I paid would be money well spent. Thanks again, JF

This app stinks!! Using iPhone 6 it insists I must be outside and turn on location services. Location service is turned on and I went outside. It still does not find my location. All other location based applications are working on phone but for this one. Looked good at first but after wasting my money on this there is a serious case of buyers remorse. Too bad you cant rate it as a zero. Save your money folks. Junk app.

The new world wide light pollution map was just what I was waiting for! This app rocks!

Finally a smooth, easy-to-use app that allows me to locate great places to take out my telescope! Its hard to find places devoid of light pollution, and its sure annoying to drive all the way out to a place Ive just "heard about" only to realize when I get there that there are lights everywhere. This app allows you to see for yourself, via satellite, where the darkest skies are located. You can read/write your own reviews about sites. You can also mark locations that youd recommend to other astronomers and stargazers. Great app Skidmore Apps!

An amazing app that gives you a way to easily find a place to escape the city lights! This app meets a unique need and does so seamlessly. Another great product from Skidmore Apps!

Awesome App! Im more of a casual astronomy fan but I used this app to take my girlfriend on a late night driving date and she loved it! Perfect for a romantic getaway!

This app will become more useful as more sites are added. For most users, it will not be a "dark sky finder," but an "away-from-bright-streetlights" finder, which is still a valuable service. Currently, there are only a few sites listed within a hundred miles of me. Questionable whether a sole developer can moderate entries forever, to make the app stick among astronomers. Difficult to add sites only by dragging the map and dropping a pin. Needs to be able to find addresses and lat/long coordinates.

The idea is a good one, but there are two basic problems: 1. The data the map is based on looks like about 7-8 years old. It needs to be current as of like say… last 30 days. 2. The data is not detailed enough to be useful in say, if you life in a metro country, where are the micro areas that have darker skye due to geographic shadows, or less commercial/street lighting, so that you dont have to drive hundreds of miles just to find reasonably darker skys… Somewhere in the US government, someone is actually tracking all this on a night by night basis down the 1/10 acre pixel world wide. The US Dept of Ag. and US Dept of Commerce, USGS, EPA, not to mention CIA,DHS, FBI, DOD, etc… I am sure that data set is available if the right request is made… If not, I have connections that can make that happen, but like everything dealing the the Gov., if you dont ask, you dont get...

Very well designed and easy to use. Tons of observation sites located all over the place, which is really helpful for finding dark places to watch a meteor shower with friends or go take my telescope. Seems like new locations are added daily, although some could use more detail (like is there camping available?) although many have this type of info. Spoke with the developer and maps for the entire world will be coming soon.

Excellent and easy to use. MUCH better than going onto Clear Dark Sky website and having to bounce between street map and dark sky map to find a site. Been waiting for something like this for a while! Thank you.