Frequently asked questions
The sun / moon overlay in the AR scout looks slightly off — how do I fix it?
Almost always it’s the compass. The AR scout points the sun, moon and Milky Way using your phone’s magnetometer, which is accurate only when it’s calibrated.
- Let your phone calibrate. If iOS shows the figure-8 prompt (a red arc asking you to roll the phone in a figure-8), do it. That’s what gets the bodies onto the real sky.
- Move away from magnets and metal. Cars, speakers, magnetic mounts and magnetic phone cases pull the compass off true north. Step away and let it recalibrate.
- Micro-adjust if a small offset remains. In the scout, tap the scope button, drag the sky until a body sits on the real one, and tap Done — the scout remembers that nudge on this device.
It’s a planning guide, not survey-grade: even calibrated, expect alignment within a few degrees. See AR Celestial Scout → Accuracy & compass calibration.
Why does the AR scout ask me to wave my phone in a figure-8?
That’s iOS calibrating the magnetometer. The compass drifts over time and near magnetic interference; the figure-8 motion re-references it to true north. Doing it whenever prompted keeps the overlay accurate.
Why does the terrain horizon in the AR scout need a connection?
The scout can hide the sun and moon behind ridgelines so the overlay matches the real skyline. That terrain shape is computed from elevation data on our servers, so it needs an internet connection — the app tells you clearly when it isn’t available rather than drawing a wrong horizon. The rest of the scout (arcs, time-scrubbing, planning) works offline. See Offline behavior.
Does the app work without a connection?
Yes — capturing spots, your library, notes and planning all work offline. The parts that need a connection are the ones backed by our servers (live weather and conditions, the AR terrain horizon, and syncing/backup to your other devices). See Offline behavior.