The night sky, for your city

Know when
to look up.

Skyward tells you if tonight is worth going out and at what time — for a meteor shower, the Moon or a bright planet — after clouds, moonlight and city glow. Then it turns you to exactly where to look.

Download on the App Store

Free sky map. No account, no ads. Calculated on your iPhone, works offline.

Skyward Today in New York on the night of the Geminids: now’s the time, about 24 meteors an hour with 10 % cloud, the night strip with the best window 23:00–06:00, Where to look, and the Moon, Venus and Jupiter in the sky tonight
The live sky map: the Geminids radiant in Gemini with the constellation drawings of Gemini and Auriga, Capella, Aldebaran, Betelgeuse and Procyon over the Milky Way

What it does

From “is it worth it?” to “there it is”

Tonight’s verdict

Now’s the time, maybe, or not tonight — for your place, after clouds, the Moon, twilight and city glow.

An honest meteor count

How many meteors you will really see in an hour from where you stand — not the headline number for a perfect dark site.

The night in one strip

Twilight, moonlight and the darkest hours drawn as one line, so you know when to set out and when to head home.

Where to look

One tap turns the sky to the radiant, the planet or the Moon, with an arrow when it is off screen.

A live sky map

Hold your iPhone up: stars, planets, the Moon, the Sun and all 88 constellations with their drawings, right where they are.

A card for every object

When it rises, how high it climbs and the best time to look tonight — with a photo and a short story.

An alarm for the peak

A real iPhone alarm for the best hour of a meteor shower. It rings in silent mode and with the Sleep Focus on.

Widgets

Tonight’s dark hours, the next sky event and the Moon on the Home Screen and the Lock Screen.

In 32 languages

Skyward speaks 32 languages, and you can switch inside the app, whatever language your phone is in.

Tonight

Worth going out?
One line says it.

The same sum the app runs for your place: how high the radiant climbs hour by hour, when twilight ends, when the Moon sets, how dark your sky is and how cloudy it gets. Try it on a real night — the Geminids over Almaty, 13 December 2026.

Tonight · Meteor shower

Geminids

The strongest shower of the year

Worth going out after 20:00 Up to ~23 meteors an hour · clouds 10 %
Meteors an hour, for you

Your sky

Clouds tonight

The headline “150 an hour” is for a perfect dark site with the radiant overhead. From a city you will see a fraction of that, and Skyward says so honestly.

The Geminids event screen: peak around 02:30, the radiant 79° up in the southwest, now’s the time with about 24 meteors an hour, a chart of meteors per hour with the best window 23:00–06:00, and Where to look with an alarm at 02:30

Sky events

Every shower, hour by hour

Open an event and the night is laid out for you: meteors per hour from your place, the peak, the best window and where the radiant stands. Then one tap — Where to look, or an alarm for the peak.

  • The Perseids, Geminids, Quadrantids and ten more showers
  • Lunar and solar eclipses, planets at opposition and close conjunctions
  • Calculated for your place, years ahead
  • One notification on the right evening, not a stream of alerts

Sky map

A planetarium you hold up to the sky

Point your iPhone and the sky labels itself, or drag it with a finger. Pinch in until Saturn shows its rings and Jupiter its moons — and a faint smudge turns into a real photograph of a nebula.

~9,000
stars, with names and distances
12,000
galaxies, nebulae and clusters
126
real photos of nebulae and galaxies
×2000
zoom, down to the moons of planets
Zoomed in on Orion at ×69: the Orion Nebula and Mairan’s Nebula as a real colour photograph, with their names on the sky
Jupiter in the crosshair with its card open: a gas giant, southeast, 44° up, highest at 04:22, visible now until dawn, a chart of its height through the night and buttons In the crosshair and Wake me at 04:22

Search and cards

Tap anything. Know when to look.

Type a name or a designation — Jupiter, M31, NGC 7000, α Ori — and the sky turns to it. Every object has a card with what matters tonight.

  • When it rises, how high it climbs and the best time to look
  • A chart of its height across the night
  • Wake me at its best hour, or a quiet reminder
  • A photo, a short story, its distance and brightness

Wake me up

Sleep. It will wake you for the peak.

The best hour of a meteor shower is often at three in the morning. Skyward sets a real iPhone alarm for it — one that rings even on silent.

  • At the peak, at the start of the best window, or late in the night
  • An alarm that rings in silent mode and Sleep Focus — or a quiet notification
  • From an event, or from the card of any planet or star
Wake me up: 02:30, the Geminids peak, southwest and 79° up, with 05:00 to choose instead, With an alarm that rings even in silent mode, or With a notification
Calendar for December with the Moon phase on every day and dark nights marked, and the night of December 14: the Moon until 21:45, a dark sky from 21:45 to 05:30, Venus and Jupiter

Calendar

The year in the sky, already planned

The Moon phase on every day, the dark nights without it, and every meteor shower, eclipse and planet at its best — each marked for your place: visible, or the Moon is in the way.

Share

Show them what’s up there

Turn tonight into a picture: the real sky at the best moment, how many meteors and where to look. As a story, as a post, or as a link.

  • A story 9:16 or a post 4:5, straight to Instagram
  • A link with a preview in Telegram, WhatsApp, X and iMessage
  • With Skyward installed, the link opens that object right in the sky
The Share sheet: a picture of the Geminids over New York with about 24 meteors an hour at the peak, story or post, Instagram, Save and More, and a link for Telegram, WhatsApp, X and Threads

Free and Pro

The sky map stays free. Pro opens the depth.

Free

Everything you need to see tonight’s sky

  • The live sky map: stars, planets, the Moon and the Sun
  • 88 constellations with their drawings and the Messier objects
  • Tonight’s verdict, meteor showers and the calendar
  • Where to look, search and object cards
  • Widgets and one notification on the right evening

Skyward Pro

The whole sky, and the night planned for you

  • 12,000 galaxies, nebulae and clusters, with real photos up close
  • The moons of planets and zoom up to ×2000
  • Travel in time: the sky on any date from 1950 to 2050
  • Clouds for your place in tonight’s verdict
  • The alarm for the peak
  • The sky over the camera, and saved places

Monthly or yearly — the yearly plan starts with a free trial — or one payment forever.

FAQ

Questions, answered

Do I need a telescope?

No. Skyward is about what you can see with your own eyes: meteor showers, the Moon, bright planets, an eclipse. The deep catalogue and the zoom are there for curiosity, or for binoculars and a small telescope if you have them.

How does it know if tonight is worth it?

It works out where the radiant, the Moon and the planets are for your place, hour by hour, then weighs in twilight, moonlight, how dark your sky is (city, suburbs or countryside) and, with Pro, the cloud forecast. The meteor count is an estimate for your sky, not the headline number for a perfect dark site.

Does it work without the internet?

Yes, the sky itself does: positions, times and directions are calculated on your iPhone. The cloud forecast and some object photos and stories need a connection.

What happens to my location?

It stays on your iPhone and is used only to calculate the sky for where you stand. To show the name of your town, the iPhone asks Apple Maps for it. You can also pick a city by hand and never share your location at all.

Will the alarm really ring on silent?

Yes. It is a real iPhone alarm, so it rings even in silent mode or with the Sleep Focus on. If you would rather not be woken loudly, choose a quiet notification instead. The alarm is part of Pro.

What does a shared link open?

Your friend gets a link with a preview of the object or the event. If they have Skyward, it opens that object right in the sky. If not, the page shows what it is and where to get the app.

What is free and what is in Pro?

The sky map is free: stars, planets, the Moon and the Sun, constellations, Messier objects, tonight’s verdict, meteor showers, the calendar, Where to look, search, object cards and widgets. Pro adds 12,000 galaxies, nebulae and clusters with real photos, the moons of planets and zoom up to ×2000, the sky on any date from 1950 to 2050, clouds in the verdict, the peak alarm, the sky over the camera and saved places. Pro is monthly or yearly with a free trial, or one payment forever.

Which languages and devices?

Skyward speaks 32 languages, and you can switch inside the app, whatever language the phone is in. It needs an iPhone with iOS 26 or later.

The next clear night is yours

Download Skyward and never miss a meteor shower again.

Download on the App Store