LunarMap HD

[The Admiral]

I quite like observing the moon, and ideally I wanted an app that I could put on my Samsung tablet. The problem I find with apps is that there is often a very superficial description, and the only way to find out how good an app is, is to install and try. In another thread, Knighty2112 suggested Moon Atlas, but this is only an iOS app. Looking around for an alternative for Android I found a few, but this one I thought worth pursuing. It is LunarMap HD by Omega Centauri Software, and is under £1.

As it comes, you get a zoomable moon, from here:

to here at max zoom:

This uses the USGS grayscale relief map, which comes pre-loaded. However, you can open the folder and select a different rendition:

I chose the LRO mission WAC hi-res (best) option, and that required an additional download of about 30MB. At the same magnification of the same area:

However, this is not the maximum zoom for this data set, and at that point looks like this:

You don't get true terminator and shadows, just a real-time line where the terminator is, and there is an option to switch this off.

I haven't found a night-view button, but then again, if you're viewing the moon, dark adaptation isn't likely to be a priority.

So far it seems to be a very useful app worthy of greater exploration. I can see this being a handy beside the 'scope.

Ian

[laudropb]

Very nice looking App. Thanks for the heads up.

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

Very interesting. Will give it a go

[Knighty2112]

Looks very good. Glad your sourced a decent one and didn't have to pay too much. At least with just £1 if it was rubbish (which it isn't) you could shrug it off. Paying for SkySafari (either the Plus or Pro version) and then finding it wasn't suitable would have been much harder.

Enjoy the app. Looks very detailed, especially with the extra views you can download.

[The Admiral]

Thanks. Just to add that you can tap on a legend and it will bring up an information pane. The information is minimal, but there is a Wiki link. On my tablet, I have to use the return button in order to remove the pane, rather than just tap elsewhere on the screen. A little niggle really, it's just a question of getting used to it.

At some zoom levels the legends get a bit crowded, but a bit more zoom and they re-display at a more reasonable density. I also find that in order to drag the view around I have to start with a double-tap.

Still, all these are minor issues. At mapping lunar features it does it very well in my opinion.

Ian

[John]

I downloaded this app just the other day. Seems pretty good for the 64p that the download cost

[Oli]

Same. Thanks for the tip!

[Knighty2112]

For any IOS users I found another good moon atlas too called MoonGlode HD. That has some really good features too, but the best thing about it is you can move the terminator with a scroll key to any position on the map, and the lighting will change to reflect what the views are from full sunlight to when it is near the terminator. Only cost 79p, but you need an Apple device (phone or tablet) to use it.

[hgjevans]

...

At some zoom levels the legends get a bit crowded, but a bit more zoom and they re-display at a more reasonable density. ...

If you tap on that little circular icon next to the map folder it brings up a little slider that will allow you to change how much object labelling you get at each zoom level. You can also customize the font size in the settings - all in all I have found it remarkably configurable for such an inexpexsive app. I do wish it would show a simple scale though.

[The Admiral]

For any IOS users I found another good moon atlas too called MoonGlode HD. That has some really good features too, but the best thing about it is you can move the terminator with a scroll key to any position on the map, and the lighting will change to reflect what the views are from full sunlight to when it is near the terminator. Only cost 79p, but you need an Apple device (phone or tablet) to use it.

image.png

That looks a good app if you've an Apple device. And cheap too.

If you tap on that little circular icon next to the map folder it brings up a little slider that will allow you to change how much object labelling you get at each zoom level. You can also customize the font size in the settings - all in all I have found it remarkably configurable for such an inexpexsive app. I do wish it would show a simple scale though.

Ah, that's what that tool does! I didn't realise it was a slider, I just thought the bar was an inaccurate scale! Seems to work in a bit of an odd way though.

Ian

[Joseki]

I've been using LunarMap HD for a while, the terminator line is basic like you say but still very handy for planning observations.