iPhone · iPad · Mac — Photography planner
Find the spot and the moment the Moon rises behind the tower.
The Moon rising behind a tower, the ISS skimming the lunar disk, a person silhouetted in front of the Moon — MoonAlign computes where to stand and when to shoot, then lets you verify the frame in 3D, against your own scouting photo, and in AR on site.
- Calculated with terrain and structure heights
- Shooting-spot bands drawn right on the map: gold for rise, blue for set
- Moon, sun, ISS transits, live plane watch, and the Milky Way
- Buy once, use on iPhone, iPad, and Mac — projects sync via iCloud
Plan it, prove it, then shoot it.
Plan → Simulation → Photo Check → AR Check: four steps.
At home · any device
Plan
Pick a target, pick a shooting spot from the alignment band, and get the dates and times when the Moon lines up.
At home · any device
Simulate
Preview terrain, buildings, and your lens focal length in 3D. Move the time and watch the Moon slide behind the target.
Scouting trip · Photo Check
Verify with a photo
Take one photo from the spot ahead of time, and MoonAlign draws the planned path of the Moon on it.
Shoot day · AR Check
Aim with AR
On site, hold up your iPhone: the planned path is overlaid on the live sky, so you point the camera before the moon ever appears.
Checking again on site
The simulation shows terrain and 3D buildings. Trees, cranes, and fences that aren’t on any map have to be checked on site — that’s what Photo Check and AR Check are for.
Photo Check — the path on your scouting photo
Load a photo taken at the shooting spot (with EXIF) and MoonAlign draws the planned day’s path of the Moon on it. Line up the markers with the Moon or the top of the target in the photo, and the path fits the photo.
- A sky grid over the photo — azimuth and altitude at a glance
- Check the Moon’s position across the planned time with the time slider
- Reads capture time, focal length, and location from EXIF
- Camera clock off by a few seconds? Fix it with the clock offset
AR Check — aim before the moon shows up
On site, AR Check draws the planned path over the live camera view. Before the Moon rises you can set up the tripod and see which gap in the skyline it will come through.
- The moon's (or ISS's, or Milky Way core's) track overlaid on the real sky
- Correct compass error with Align — put the Moon or the top of the target in the crosshair, then fine-tune
- Scrub through the whole time the body is up with the time slider
- Works on iPhone and iPad (needs the camera, so not on Mac)
Choose what to shoot it with
Choose what stands in front of the moon (or sun), and the flow adapts.
Structure
Hang the moon behind a tower, bridge, or skyline. Landmarks auto-fill their height.
Person
The giant-moon silhouette shot. Alignment bands drawn on the map for a 1.7 m human figure.
ISS
Lunar and solar transits forecast to the second from NASA orbit data — plus visible night passes.
Plane
Planes can't be forecast — so MoonAlign watches live traffic and sounds an alert seconds before a transit.
Milky Way
When the galactic core is visible, and the shooting spot’s light pollution (estimated Bortle class).
Anywhere on Earth
Global terrain data. 3D simulation uses V-World in Korea and Google photorealistic 3D abroad (subscription or your own key).
For before and after the shot
- Sky calendar — full moons and supermoons, lunar and solar eclipses, meteor showers, planet oppositions and conjunctions, and Moon–planet close approaches, at the times they’re visible from your reference location.
- Widgets — Today’s sky · Today’s Moon · Today’s Sun · Next shooting chance, plus Lock Screen widgets.
- Add to Calendar — put plans and sky events in your device’s calendar, with reminders the evening before and an hour before.
- Landmarks — start from landmarks around the world with researched heights; save heights you measured yourself as your own landmarks.
- Moon Exposure Table · Hyperfocal Table — starting ISO by lunar phase, and the target distance that stays sharp when focused on the Moon or stars.
- Share as link — send a plan as a single link; the recipient imports it as is in the app, or sees a summary and map on the web without it.
- Camera auto capture (Sony · Canon) — automatic burst around a plane crossing with a USB-connected camera.
Step by step, per mode.
The basic flow for each mode. Every screen is explained in detail in the user guide.
AStructure — the Moon behind N Seoul Tower
The core flow. The other modes follow the same order.
- Plan where and when the Moon will be aligned, then shape the framing you like in the simulation. No complex math. Finding the spot and the moment is easy and intuitive. Create a new project and set the subject to 'Structure'.
- Search for the target to put the Moon behind. For major landmarks, the structure height is filled in automatically. Tap the 'Target' chip below and a crosshair appears. Put the crosshair on the target and tap 'Target here'.
- The yellow band shows where the Moon aligns with the target at moonrise, the blue band at moonset. Zoom in on the band and pick a spot to stand. Somewhere with a clear view ahead, like a riverside, works best. Set this point as the shooting spot. Even within the band, the alignment time and framing vary from spot to spot, so check them in the simulation.
- Preview the shot in the simulation before you go. Move the time slider to watch the Moon pass the tower, and check that the framing is what you want.
- What happens if you move a little? Let's see how the framing changes. Let's move the spot. Tap the 'Shooting spot' chip below and the crosshair appears again. Pan the map to put the crosshair where you want to stand. Tap 'Shooting spot here' to move the spot. The alignment time and the Moon's altitude change with it. Check the framing from the new spot. This time the Moon sits halfway up the tower.
- What about other nights? Let's find the dates when the Moon aligns from this spot. The app finds the dates when the Moon aligns with the tower from this spot. Each date shows the time, moon age and visibility at a glance. Just pick the night you like. Pick a date and the plan switches to that time.
- Check the framing for the chosen date in the simulation. Change the focal length to preview the expected field of view for that lens.
- The right time and the right spot, found for you. Your projects sync over iCloud to iPhone, iPad and Mac.
BPerson — a silhouette in front of the Moon
Stand far back, zoom long: the person stays small while the moon grows huge.
- A person standing in front of the Moon. Not a composite: a photo planned for the right spot and the right time. First, find a spot like a ridge where the sky opens up behind the person. That's where the Moon can line up. Start a new project.
- Switch the subject to 'Person' and set the ridge where the person will stand as the target.
- Switch to the satellite map to look for trees or buildings that might block the view between the person and the photographer. Confirm the actual line of sight on site.
- A band of shooting spots appears where the rising or setting Moon lines up with the person.
- Lower the camera and more sky shows behind the person, so the Moon lines up more easily. Let's switch to a prone shooting height.
- Check the framing in the simulation. The Moon moves faster than you'd think. The overlap is brief, so if it's off, the photographer moves, not the person.
- At longer focal lengths, it's harder to get both the person and the Moon sharp. Whether you can depends on the focal length, the distance and the aperture. Change the aperture and the app shows where to focus, or tells you when a single shot can't get both sharp.
- The right time and the right spot, found for you. Your projects sync over iCloud to iPhone, iPad and Mac.
CISS — a transit across the lunar disk
The whole event lasts about half a second. MoonAlign forecasts the transit time from NASA orbit data.
- Predict when the space station will cross the Moon, and photograph it.
- With the subject set to 'ISS', you can find where a transit will be visible before choosing a shooting spot. Switch to the satellite map and look around Sydney. Transit predictions are searched around the map you're viewing.
- Tap 'Find transit spots' and the predicted transit areas for the next 14 days are drawn on the map as bands. Only night transits with the Moon clear of the horizon are listed expanded.
- Pick the early-morning transit on September 25, close to full Moon, and the map moves to that band. With the Moon at 41°, terrain is unlikely to block it, but check for trees and buildings on site. Scan along the band for a wide open space. This looks good — tap the 'Shooting spot' chip and set the crosshair point as the shooting spot.
- The band only tells you where. With the spot set, 'Search 14 days' shows the predicted transit time from here in detail, and whether it crosses the Moon's disk.
- Pick one and it's saved as a project.
- In the simulation you can check it in 0.1-second steps. Preview where it crosses the Moon. Even at 800mm, the ISS is only 2% of the Moon's diameter — a tiny dot. This transit lasts 0.5 s, which is why you need burst shooting. Move the slider in 0.1-second steps to see where it crosses the disk.
- Even when it isn't crossing the Moon, it lists the times you can see the station as a bright point crossing the night sky. Pick the 3 a.m. pass on September 16 and that time window becomes the plan. This pass stays low near the horizon, peaking at 14°. The simulation shows the path across the night sky — the bright stretch and the point where it fades into Earth's shadow. Switch the focal length to 20mm and the whole sweep across the sky fits in one view. Move the time and follow where the ISS appears and where it disappears.
- The ISS orbit is adjusted from time to time, so predicted times can shift. Search again the day before you shoot.
DPlane — caught live, not forecast
A plane crossing the Moon can’t be known in advance. MoonAlign watches live air traffic and sends an alert and countdown seconds before a crossing.
- You only know a plane will cross the Moon a few seconds ahead. The app buys you those seconds.
- Set the subject to 'Plane' and set the shooting spot.
- Start the live watch at the shooting spot. It keeps tracking aircraft in the sky around you.
- For aircraft that might cross, it shows the predicted time and how close they'll pass to the Moon (separation). The smaller the separation, the higher the grade.
- When 'Transit expected' appears, you get a banner and a sound. A 10-second countdown — that's when you fire a burst.
- Have an ADS-B receiver? Connect it for 1 s updates with no session limit.
- Don't wait on a hunch. Let the data tell you.
Photorealistic 3D abroad — with a subscription, or your own Google key.
Shooting spots in Korea are fully covered by V-World 3D, no key needed. Outside Korea, a subscription shows photorealistic 3D buildings with no setup. Prefer not to subscribe? Bring your own Google key instead (optional) — it takes priority over the subscription and is mostly free within Google's monthly allowance. Your own key also unlocks the “Google Maps” source on the Plan map; that source is not part of the subscription because 2D map tiles are billed per tile. Here is how to get one.
- Sign in to the Google Cloud console. console.cloud.google.com — any regular Google account works.
- Create a project.
Project picker at the top → “New project.” Any name (e.g.
moonalign-3d). - Link a billing account. Map APIs require a card on file. You won't be charged within the free monthly allowance, and new accounts get free credits on top.
- Enable the Map Tiles API.
“APIs & Services → Library,” search
Map Tiles API, press Enable. Photorealistic 3D Tiles are part of this API. - Create an API key. “APIs & Services → Credentials → + Create credentials → API key.” Copy the key string.
- Restrict the key (recommended).
Edit the key → “API restrictions” → allow
Map Tiles APIonly. If the key ever leaks, it can't be used for anything else. Leave “Application restrictions” at “None” — a key restricted to iOS apps won't work in MoonAlign. - Paste it into MoonAlign. Plan screen → gear (Settings) → “Google API key.” It takes effect from the next simulation load.
Your key is stored in iCloud Keychain — shared across your own Mac, iPad, and iPhone, sent only to Google, and never to us.
Worried about cost? Set a budget alert in the console (“Billing → Budgets & alerts,” e.g. $1/month). Planning use — a few dozen simulations a month — stays within the free allowance. Allowances and pricing are Google's and can change; check their billing page.
The app is $9.99, once. Only overseas 3D is a subscription.
The app ($9.99) includes everything — planning, 3D simulation, ISS, planes, the Milky Way, AR, and Photo Check — on iPhone, iPad, and Mac together. Only photorealistic 3D buildings outside Korea are a subscription ($1.99/mo · $11.99/yr), and you can subscribe just for the months you travel. With your own Google key you don't need it at all.
| App — $9.99 once | Overseas 3D subscription — $1.99/mo · $11.99/yr |
|---|---|
| Moon & sun alignment planning — structure, person, no subject | Photorealistic 3D buildings outside Korea in Simulation, no key needed |
| Alignment dates up to 90 days ahead | Subscribe only for the months you travel, cancel anytime |
| ISS transit & pass search · plane live watch & alerts | Applies on iPhone, iPad, and Mac together |
| Milky Way alignment planning | Your own Google key gives the same result without subscribing — your key takes priority |
| AR Check on site · Photo Check from scouting shots | The Plan map's Google Maps source still needs your own key — not part of the subscription |
| 3D simulation — V-World with buildings in Korea, terrain abroad | |
| Save image to file or photo library · projects with iCloud sync | |
| Sky calendar, widgets, Add to Calendar · landmarks · Moon Exposure and Hyperfocal tables · share as link |
Frequently asked questions
How accurate is it?
The error in computing the Moon’s or Sun’s position itself is tiny. Most of the error in a real result comes from terrain data and the heights you enter. Terrain data can be off by meters to tens of meters depending on the place, so a scene rising over a wooded ridge can come later than shown, and in narrow cases such as person mode a few meters can change the result. For an important shot, check again with the simulation and with Photo Check and AR Check on site.
Why does it ask me to search the ISS again?
The station adjusts its orbit from time to time. Forecasts use NASA’s published orbit data (OEM), and each data set has a validity period. A forecast is only right when recalculated with fresh orbit data, so search again the day before you shoot.
Where does the live plane data come from?
By default, adsb.lol community data (ODbL 1.0), updated every 30 seconds and stopping automatically after 2 hours. If you run your own ADS-B receiver (readsb/dump1090), enter its LAN address for 1-second updates with no time limit.
Does it work outside Korea?
Yes. Alignment calculations and terrain cover the whole world (Copernicus terrain data). The 3D simulation uses V-World in Korea; elsewhere it shows photorealistic 3D buildings with the subscription or your own Google key. Without either, you still see the Moon’s path and the terrain.
Which devices and languages are supported?
iPhone, iPad, and Mac (macOS 14 or later), all with one purchase. Projects sync through iCloud. AR Check needs a camera, so it’s iPhone and iPad only. Languages: English, Korean, and Japanese — follow the system setting or change it in the app.