Beta Release Notes

These release notes apply to the Photo Ephemeris Web beta site only (see also the production version release notes.) Please send feedback and observations via the Help button at the bottom right of the page.

3.14.1 Sep 5 2024

• NEW: the approximate day/night terminator line is shown on the map at lower map zoom levels (<8). This indicates the transition from day to night across the globe.
• NEW: the sub solar point is shown on map at lower map zoom levels (<8). This indicates the point on map where the Sun lies directly overhead at the given date/time.

3.14.0 August 30 2024

• NEW: the Moon azimuth line remains visible until an altitude of -5 degrees, to enable easier planning for locations where the observer is elevated above the local horizon
• NEW: the Sun and Moon azimuth lines remain fully visible (higher opacity, greater width) while the altitude is above the dip of the horizon. (The dip of the horizon is greater than zero when you enable the correction for elevation above the horizon.)
• UPDATED: the app should prompt to reload in the event that a modules cannot be successfully loaded. This is instead of the default "Something went wrong" error screen.

3.13.5 July 8 2024

• URL scheme now also supports visual search filters
• Visual Search params and filters are now saved and restored from your local browser when starting a new session. Note: some browsers (e.g. Safari) delete browser local storage after 7 days if you don't revisit the site, so consider this a convenience rather than safe storage for your search settings.
• When sharing a URL, if Visual Search settings have been changed from the defaults, the shared URL will include the search parameters and filters, if any.

3.13.4 July 4 2024

• NEW: Support for Visual Search parameters in the URL scheme. The new parameters are documented here
• The Visual Search CSV export now additionally includes a `url` parameter that includes these new settings. Additionally the search parameters are included in the individual results export. (Note that the start date for the search is the date of the result itself, rather than the date from which you may first have executed the search.)
• There's further discussion around this functionality on the forum.

3.13.3 June 30 2024

• NEW: Visual Search parameters, filters and results can now be exported as CSV files. See the download tab in the Visual Search Panel:
• If you have the Range option checked in the Target section of the Visual search form, then each result will have both starting_ and ending_ entries in the resulting CSV. When unchecked, each result includes only a single time and set of circumstances
• You may wish to download the search parameters and filters as well as the results and manually combine them in a local file. The Export options to CSV are provided separately so that each download is a valid CSV format without any additional header information or text, which can make processing the data harder after download.
• Exported CSV files are named with the prefix 'vs', followed by the download type, then a date/time string to millisecond precision (for uniqueness). You can open the files in a text editor or tools like Excel for further processing.
• Each result includes 1 or 2 URLs linking back to Photo Ephemeris that can be used to view the exact timing and circumstances.

3.13.0 June 29 2024

• UPDATED: geodetics line now shows white background for improved legibility (particularly on satellite maps)
• NEW: axial composition guides are displayed for both map pins when geodetics is enabled and the map is zoomed to level 15 or higher. These are shown orthogonally (i.e. at 90 degrees) to the geodetics line. They can be used to visually check that a shooting position is on-axis to a building (important in architectural photography) and to easily see what times the elevation of a building can potentially receive direct sunlight
• FIX: sightline and geodetics panel position would sometimes stay too far right in the window
• FIX: sightline controls styling

3.12.1 May 9 2024

• UPDATED: timeline tips are positioned so as not to obscure any of the individual event details.
• UPDATED: the Settings page no longer includes Sun/Moon/GC/Meteor controls - use the display settings drop down on the Map and 3D pages to manage which astronomical bodies are shown
• UPDATED: the Settings page now shows an option to control whether or not timeline tips are displayed when hovering over the timeline

3.12.0 May 7 2024

• NEW: the events list and timeline now include the Moon's maximum and minimum declination. At these times, moonrise and set occur at their most northerly or southerly azimuths in the current draconic month (which runs from the Moon's passage through its ascending node to the next). With the major lunar standstill reaching its peak in 2024-25, these additional events can be used to help identify opportunities to shoot the Moon in alignments that only occur every 18-19 years. Requires PRO subscription.
• NEW: explanations for each timeline event plus photography tips are shown when hovering the mouse over any event in the timeline.
• UPDATED: the events list now shows extended titles for each listed event, making it clearer what is being shown
• UDPATED: when geodetics is enabled, the sightline chart can now be toggled on/off entirely using the new chart button at the right hand side. This may be useful for users with limited screen real estate

3.11.9 Apr 25 2024

• FIX: visual search for the Moon in parts of Alaska would sometimes incorrectly fail to generate results

3.11.8 Feb 18 2024

• UPDATED: added a 'try it' button to the eclipse simulator when viewing a future eclipse without a PRO subscription
• FIX: occasionally on navigating to the date of a solar eclipse the new eclipse path would not load first time. This update implements a change that hopefully will resolve this
• Updated software packages/libraries

3.11.7 Feb 6 2024

• UPDATED: we now ensure that visible sightline points form a minimum of one line segment, such that they are always visible on the chart without requiring detailed 'scrubbing' with the mouse to identify.
  
  Additionally, a secondary sightline is calculated allowing a 1% optimistic margin for the visibility check. This is allow for cases where vertical error in the source digital elevation model might otherwise result in a segment of the sightline being marked as not visible when in fact it is. The secondary optimistic sightline is shown in a lighter grey than the primary sightline (which use the elevation data as is, allowing for no margin of error).
  
  Our working assumption is that for the purposes of landscape photography, a false negative (something shown as not visible, when in fact it is) is worse than a false positive.
  
  The net effect is that the sightline are very slightly more optimistic than before.

3.11.5 Feb 6 2024

• NEW: we've overhauled the geodetics function to add a sightline analysis chart (requires PRO subscription)
• The sightline analysis chart is similar to that found in TPE for iOS. It shows the elevation profile from red pin to grey pin when geodetics is enabled. The parts of the sightline that can be seen from the red pin are shown in a solid line. Areas that are obstructed by terrain are shown in a dotted line.
• The sightline analysis accounts for any elevation offset you have entered for the map pins. For example, if you are flying a drone at 300 meters above ground height, you can enter that as the red pin offset and the sightline analysis will show what is visible along the path to the grey pin from that height. Similarly, if you are shooting a building at the grey pin position, you can enter an offset equal to the height of the building and check if the top is visible from the red pin (or vice versa).
• As you move the map over the sightline chart, a legend indicates the distance, elevation and altitude angle from the red pin. Additionally, the corresponding location is displayed on the map, so you can associate features in the elevation profile with the corresponding terrain.
• If the Sun, Moon or Galactic Center azimuths are within ±5° of the geodetics bearing, a line indicating the apparent height above the ground of the body at distance of the grey pin, as seen from the red pin, allowing for any primary elevation offset, is displayed. You'll see these lines move as you adjust the time of day.
• Additionally, for the Sun and Moon, a thicker vertical line is displayed at the right hand side of the chart which indicates the apparent size. As the distance from red to grey pin increases, the apparent size of the Sun or Moon increases also. If you're juxtaposing the Moon behind the Empire State Building from 14 miles, you can use this feature to see that a full Moon appears to be around half the height of the building itself. All you need now is a large telephoto lens with a teleconverter to shoot it with!
• The geodetics chart can be expanded or collapsed using a the arrow button at right. The chart has an opaque white background when the mouse hovers over it for legibility. Otherwise, it is shown with some transparency so you can still get context from the map underneath.
• Moving the mouse over the chart shows the distance, elevation and apparent altitude angle from the red pin, plus a visibility indicator.
• NOTE: the elevation data used for the profile is the same as that used for the 3D terrain. The dataset is derived from multiple sources and may not be an exact match for your selected elevation model, but is usually very close.

3.10.5 Jan 27 2024

• NEW: link to our new community forum is shown for signed in users. Sign up is free - use the link to view the invite code
• Bug fixes

3.10.2 Jan 13 2024

• IMPROVED: loading display for 3D page
• IMPROVED: instructions and reload button shown if 3D map fails to load (replaces the 'bomb' icon for map tile load errors)
• IMPROVED: clear warning message displayed if app cannot contact api.radiantdrift.com to obtain elevation, time zone data

3.10.1 Jan 11 2024

• Bug fixes

3.10.0 Jan 6 2024

• UPDATED: major version upgrades to multiple libraries
• CHANGED: account sign in is required to access the Search form and Events list
• CHANGED: lines of the sphere representing key bearing have been removed to reduce visual clutter
• IMPROVED: graphics performance on 3D page while adjusting the time slider should be noticeably smoother
• FIXED: on setting the primary pin from a saved location, the elevation was not updated (believed to be a regression in 3.9)

3.9.14 Dec 19 2023

• FIX: regression in 3.9.12 related to Google Maps not loaded

3.9.12 Dec 16 2023

• UPDATED: further improvements to sign in form layout
• IMPROVED: avoid unnecessary recalculations on changing selected map style
• FIX: bad elevation data requests on first loading the site when Google elevation service is selected

3.9.11 Dec 14 2023

• UPDATED: improved sign in form layout
• Library updates and script loading sequence fixes

3.9.9 Nov 16 2023

• UPDATED: improved help widget suggestions on eclipse simulator page

3.9.8 Nov 16 2023

• UPDATED: the solar eclipse simulator in outline mode, now shows an at scale representation of the chromosphere when Baily's beads exposure is set to high. This allows you to see when exactly the chromosphere can be photographed and where on the Sun's limb.

3.9.7 Nov 15 2023

• FIX: crash on selecting oceanic time zones on 30 minute boundaries, e.g. Etc/GMT-5.5, Etc/GMT-9.5
• FIX: incorrect time until/since non-existing C3 contact time for partial solar eclipses

3.9.6 Nov 14 2023

• In the solar eclipse events list, you can now select either Set Date to set the application date/time to that of the selected eclipse but to leave the map and pins alone, or View to change the date/time, map and pin to the approximate point of greatest eclipse - this is the easiest way to get a quick overview of the entire eclipse path.

3.9.5 Nov 13 2023

• Minor fixes

3.9.4 Nov 13 2023

• NEW: we're now offering both eclipse paths and local circumstances for all eclipses to all users free of charge. PRO users can access the simulator with Baily's Beads for all future eclipses. Non-PRO users can try out the Baily's Beads functionality for historical eclipses (e.g. to check against to archive photographs or for research purposes)
• NEW: the events list now includes a new tab dedicated to Solar Eclipses, making them much easier to find and navigate to. Each entry includes key data from NASA's Five Millennium Catalog of Solar Eclipses, with some enriched data, such as the general present day area and time zone of the location of greatest eclipse. To view an eclipse, select the entry from the list, and click View. Be sure to adjust the map and selected time of day to view the eclipse simulator. Eclipses are currently listed for the years 1600-2500.
• NEW: a site tour for the eclipse simulator full page has been added - click 'Start Tour' to view it, or the info button at the lower left.
• UPDATED: the controls on the full page eclipse simulator have been updated and consolidated in the lower left corner, so that all the 'moving' numbers are now in one area of the screen.
• NEW: when Baily's beads are enabled via the exposure slider, you can toggle between showing them just at the relevant area of the limb (i.e. where the Sun's limb lies in close proximity to the Moon's limb) or enable them for the full limb (to better match what you might see visually in real life - however, this can be demanding on your computer's GPU!)
• UPDATED: the default solar radius used by the simulator is now 959.95 arc seconds, which is a better match to visual observations of Baily's beads according to researchers. We also added the most recent value for the solar radius from Konrad Guhl's 2023 research.
• FIXES: multiple eclipse related fixes: don't use unverified or negative elevation values; fix ASE2013 simulator; fix ASE2012 simulator

3.9.3 Nov 4 2023

• Further updates to solar eclipse functionality
• UPDATED: Baily's beads are now viewable in the default full simulator as well as the outline simulator view
• NEW: you can select the value of the solar radius (semidiameter) used in the eclipse simulator by selecting a different value at the top right of simulator page. Many expert eclipse observers have concluded that a larger value such as 959.95″ (Quaglia et al., 2022) is a better match for the as observed appearance of Baily's beads than the traditional value of 959.63″ (Auwers, 1891).
• NEW: when high or maximum resolution is selected for the Baily's beads simulation a yellow or red warning icon is displayed to indicate that this may result in high or very high GPU utilization, which may cause your computer to run warm and/or drain the battery more quickly than normal.

3.9.2 Nov 2 2023

• FIXED: certain hybrid or annular eclipses would show geometrically incorrect arcs for the parts of the Sun's limb where Baily's beads are possible, (e.g. ASE2035, HSE2071). 
• Be sure to read the release notes for 3.9.0 and 3.9.1 for full details of what's new in the beta vs the current production version!

3.9.1 Nov 1 2023

• NEW: much improved Baily's beads visualization. To view this, enable the outline view (circles button at top right shown in the full eclipse simulator page - just click expand in the simulator window from the Map page)
• By default, this is disabled with the Beads 'exposure' slider set to -16.6EV (the equivalent of photographing them with a solar filter on your lens). Increase the exposure to see the visual 'flare' of the beads, as shown below.
• In addition the beads simulation, one or two yellow arcs are shown which highlight the areas of the Sun's limb in which beading is theoretically possible. The arcs grow larger as you approach totality or annularity, and then recede again afterwards. For certain eclipses (e.g. the broken ring annular eclipse shown below) beading is possible at all points on the Sun's limb, hence the appearance of the yellow circle.
• When exposure is increased above -16.6EV, you will also see a slider the control the resolution of the beads. This applies only to the 'flare' effect, not to the raw pixels of the exposed solar disc. The lunar limb profile contains 1800 points at a resolution of 0.2°. When the resolution is set to maximum ('H'), the full 1800 points are considered when drawing the flared beads.
• A useful keyboard trick: you can use the left and right cursor keys to change the selected time by first clicking the handle of the time slider to select it. Each key press changes the time by ±0.1s (much finer grained than on the main map page, where the resolution is ±10s)
• NOTE: the beads simulation is demanding on your computer's GPU, ESPECIALLY when set to max resolution. We recommend leaving it at a low or medium setting, unless you need to view the most detailed simulations.
• FIXED: the app would crash when the year 1970 was selected (regression bug in our astronomy library)

3.9.0 Oct 20 2023

• NEW: lunar limb profile included in solar eclipse simulator (requires PRO subscription).
  • When you view the solar eclipse simulator, Baily's Beads are now shown. For example, at third contact of the Oct 14 2023 eclipse, beads are visible around the 6 o'clock position:
  • 
  • The time shown in the above graphic is a few seconds before the 'classical' (smooth limb) calculated contact time. The ability to visualize Baily's Beads allows photographers and other eclipse observers to determine exact times to concentrate their shots or viewing. It also allows different potential locations to be evaluated with respect to maximizing the visibility of Baily's Beads.
  • NEW: the eclipse simulator can now be expanded to a full screen view by clicking the expand button shown at the top right of the simulator.
  • The full screen simulator shows a miniature map at the lower right corner so you can view the location for which eclipse circumstances are displayed. You can pan and zoom the map, and also drag and drop the map pin to easily evaluate alternate locations. You may find it useful to use the 'c' keyboard shortcut to re-center the map pin on the map when in this mode - this allows you to maintain a higher map zoom level while looking for the desired location and then just press 'c' to move the map pin to the center of the map. You can easily return to the Map page by using the expand button at the top right of the mini-map.
  • NEW: you can now pan the eclipse simulator. On mobile devices, use a two-finger drag. On desktop, hold down the Shift, Control or Command key, then click and drag. You can also zoom using a pinch gesture or two-finger push up/down (on mobile or trackpad). This is particularly useful when you want to focus in on a particular area of the lunar limb to examine Baily's Bead visibility around the times of C2 and C3.
  • NEW: there is a new outline display mode included in the simulator. Use the outline mode button at the top right of the full screen simulator to toggle this on and off.
  • The outline view shows the Sun and Moon in a simplified graphical form, without photo realistic effects, so the relative motion can be clearly seen. Additionally, for PRO subscribers, the lunar limb profile is shown with exaggerated vertical relief (orange line) against the reference classical smooth limb (blue line). Both are shown 1.2× the actual lunar semidiameter, so they don't visually obscure the true scale Baily's Beads:
  • 
  • UPDATED: one to file under "you shouldn't notice, but you might", the entire build toolchain for the app has been swapped out to something more modern. Think of it like swapping the engine and suspension on a car - it should run as before, but you might notice some subtle changes. But if anything is broken - let us know!

3.8.0 Aug 7 2023

• NEW: lines of partial eclipse are now shown for PRO subscribers:
  
• Note: we're still working out a few path glitches affecting certain eclipses (they're pretty obvious if you run into them and don't affect the 2023 and 2024 events)
• NEW: In the Share form, PRO subscribers now have access to a built-in link shortener with the option to create custom links in the share page, e.g. https://ephemer.is/TSE2024-NM80 links to Photo Ephemeris Web Beta showing a location on the 80% partial eclipse line at the time of max eclipse in New Mexico for April 8 2024.
• IMPROVED: In the Share form, PRO subscribers may now choose whether to link to the /start page (recommended for links shared to social media) or to the default map page (as before)

3.7.8 Aug 3 2023

• UPDATED: attempt to optimize loading and layout of /3d page (to avert the mysterious ResizeObserver error)

3.7.7 Aug 2 2023

• FIXED: false positive time zone error display on first load
• FIXED: false positive elevation error display frequency 
• FIXED: 💣 display in 3D sphere on switching to page when default map is not available at the current zoom level. You may still see the bomb icon in case of actual error response from the map tile provider or other network errors
• IMPROVED: reduced network API calls on first load
• IMPROVED: higher contrast to indicate when geodetics button is enabled

3.7.6 July 27 2023

• IMPROVED: reduced page layout shift on first load

3.7.5 July 27 2023

• FIXED: PRO badge styling (regression in 3.7.4)

3.7.4 July 26 2023

• FIXED: the Yallop crescent moon visibility code was incorrect in some circumstances (regression bug)
• UPDATED: UI refinements and fixes

3.7.3 July 25 2023

• NEW: if you share a link from the web app, the link now opens at the /start page, which provides a simplified view of the key sun and moon information. If you visit the site on a mobile phone, you'll see this page by default (the site is designed for use on desktop or laptop computers)
• FIXED: a few UI bugs that crept in during the updates for 3.7

3.7.2 July 23 2023

• NEW: a site tour is available - click Start tour to begin
• UPDATED: the 'Sphere' page has been renamed to '3D'
• UPDATED: sign in and sign up forms are now displayed as overlay modal forms (in most cases)
• UPDATED: 3D controls have been redesigned and simplified. The option to enable/disable the map has been removed (there seems little reason to disable the map nowadays)
• IMPROVED: UI clean-up in various places

3.7.1 July 15 2023

• UPDATED: web app users visiting the site for the first time without signing in are shown a location derived from their IP address, rather than being left in Timbuktu; in cases where the IP address cannot be geolocated, Timbuktu remains the fallback default location.

3.7.0 July 14 2023

• UPDATED: we've removed the account sign-in requirement for basic usage of the site. This was introduced back in 2020 when operating costs for the site had become an issue. Now, you can use some free features of the site without an account, although we still recommend signing in (to save your Settings, Locations, and to access PRO and Skyfire subscription features).
• UPDATED: we've made solar eclipse information for 2023 and 2024 available to all users, with no subscription required.
• UPDATED: time zone and elevation queries are now routed via a proxy. You should see improved network response times (~33% improvement is typical)
• IMPROVED: when navigating to a place name or address search result, the map bounds and zoom level now better match the search data

3.6.13 July 1 2023

• UPDATED: Skyfire features list
• FIXED: Nature First links (thanks Michael Lauer)

3.6.12 June 29 2023

• UPDATED: Skyfire forecast selection UI

3.6.11 June 11 2023

• FIX: applying filters in Visual Search when Range was unchecked would result in a crash (regression in 3.6, fixed here)

3.6.10 June 9 2023

• FIX: rarely a solar eclipse could display one day off the correct date (May 10 2013 was the only known example, but there were likely others)
• IMPROVED: two-finger drag on the timeline no longer risks navigating one page back in browsers. Fixed for most browsers except Safari, which does not support the override behavior

3.6.9 June 8 2023

• FIX: solar eclipse obscuration value for annular eclipses was incorrect at certain times
• UPDATED: translations into supported languages
• UPDATED: while the solar eclipse paths are not directly coupled to our web app releases, since the previous release, we've made improvements to the path calculations, in particular adding support for eclipses passing over polar regions. Some glitches and edge cases remain to be resolved (of upcoming eclipses, particularly for Aug 12 2026), but the great majority of paths are working well.

3.6.8 June 2 2023

• FIX: Yallop new moon visibility codes were not displayed (regression in 3.6)

3.6.7 May 28 2023

• FIX: incorrect Skyfire forecast displayed (regression in 3.6)

3.6.6 May 26 2023

• FIX: crash on Safari 14.1 fixed (hopefully - please test!)
• FIX: console error messages ('t.t0 is null' or similar)
• UPDATE: open eye safety page in new tab when link clicked

3.6.5 May 24 2023

• UPDATED: add eye protection warning symbol and link during partial and annular phases of a solar eclipse
• Time to next contact updates with 1/10th of a second resolution
• Don't show the eclipse simulator after sunset
• Add link to Help Center article (not yet published)
• Fixes to timeline logic to determine if an event occurs when the sun is risen
• Updated German translations

3.6.4 May 23 2023

• UPDATED: additional information is presented in the eclipse simulator
• Instantaneous magnitude of the eclipse (a unitless value representing the fraction of the solar diameter covered by the Moon). This is <0 when no eclipse is in progress, between 0 and 1 during partial or annular eclipses, and >1 during totality
• Obscuration: a percentage representing the proportion of the Sun's disk that is obscured by the Moon. 0% when no eclipse is in progress, 100% during totality, otherwise a value between 0% and 100%
• Time to next contact: this is a convenient way to see the duration of different phases of the eclipse. For example, if you set the time to that of second contact (C2 - the start of totality or annularity), the next contact will be C3 (end of totality/annularity), the the duration shown is the observable length of the total eclipse
• Delta T: we display the value adopted in the Besselian elements used to calculate the eclipse circumstances and path. This is provided primarily for comparability of our results with other sources.

3.6.3 May 20 2023

• NEW: paths of totality for solar eclipses are now displayed on the map when a date with a total or annular solar eclipse is selected. The central line of the eclipse is indicated by a heavy pink solid line. The thinner lines and the pink shaded areas to the north and south show the area in which totality can be observed.
• Pink is used as we don't use that color anywhere else in the app, and it is chosen to match the color of the sun's chromosphere and prominences observed during a solar eclipse; it also tends to stand our clearly against various map types.
• Paths are calculated for an observer at sea level. If you're observing at a location significantly above sea level, the path locations may shift by a few hundred yards/meters north or south, depending on the circumstances. Path locations are also sensitive to the value of deltaT used in the Besselian Elements. Inaccuracy in deltaT may result in shifts of the eclipse path eastwards or westwards (i.e. Earth rotated into place either slightly before or after the time expected in the eclipse prediction, so to speak).
• If you are planning to observe an eclipse from a location on the edge of the path of totality, it would be prudent to consult multiple sources to validate your plans. An error in the wrong direction may result in you not quite observing totality. Lunar limb profiles, deltaT assumptions and elevation above sea level are all significant considerations at path edge locations.
• Eclipse paths do not require a PRO subscription
• Known issues (work in progress):
  • Paths are not displayed for non-central (partial only) eclipses
  • Some eclipse paths are currently missing, incomplete or rendered incorrectly (e.g. Feb 17 2026, Aug 12 2026)
  • With default maps (Leaflet), certain eclipse paths which span the anti-meridian (e.g. Apr 20 2023) may be positioned in a way that does not permit the map pin to be dropped reliably on all parts of the path
  • The beginning and end of the path (at sunrise or sunset) may be slightly curtailed in some cases. The maximum error in longitude should not exceed 0.1 degrees.
  • Paths are not currently displayed for partial eclipses.

3.6.2 May 14 2023

• NEW: solar eclipse simulations (requires PRO subscription). If you select a time and location for which a solar eclipse is predicted (e.g. the annular eclipse of Oct 14 2023, or the total solar eclipse of Apr 8 2024), a simulation of how the eclipse is expected to appear is displayed at the lower right of the map.
• You can independently animate the simulation by clicking the play button (three playback speeds are available).
• You can zoom in or out to control the size of the sun/moon using two fingers on a trackpad, or the scroll wheel on a mouse.
• You can choose a contact time (C1, C2, Max, C3, C4) to control the displayed instant. For total and annular eclipses, you can click the arrow to the left of C2 or to the right of C3 to view from 5 seconds before or after the actual contact time (typically, this is when the 'diamond ring' would be visible in a total eclipse, or when the moon moves 'in' or 'out' of the sun's disk for an annular eclipse). For partial eclipses, the arrow to the left of the 'Max' indication sets the time to 2 minutes before the eclipse reaches its greatest magnitude.
• The simulation accounts for: passage of the moon in front of the sun, with positions and semidiameters derived from the Besselian elements; display of the diamond ring effect at the predicted contact position angles; a simulation of the corona, chromosphere and solar prominences; darkening and lightening of the sky; the position of the horizon for eclipses near sunrise or sunset; changes in the parallactic angle and the physical ephemeris of the sun over time.
• The simulation does NOT account for libration and variations in the lunar limb profile. These factors can affect predicted contact times by a few seconds and position angles by a few degrees, and also the appearance of Baily's Beads.
• The images used for the simulation come from the 2017 total solar eclipse (credit: Alison Craig and Stephen Trainor). The actual appearance of the corona and solar prominences varies over time and will not exactly match the simulation. The appearance, shape, and brightness of both the diamond ring and corona vary significantly based on your shot exposure.
• Further refinements and visualization enhancements to come...
• NEW: improvements in accuracy of sun and moon calculated coordinates. The improvements are in the order of 2-3 hundredths of a degree, which is significant during solar eclipses.
• FIXED: incorrect sunrise and sunset times displayed in conjunction with Skyfire forecasts in the Location page.

3.6.0 Apr 24 2023

• NEW: app now includes solar eclipse events in the events list and local circumstances in the timeline (requires PRO subscription). Some examples: the annular eclipse of Oct 14 2023 as viewed in Belize, or the total solar eclipse of Apr 8 2024 which crosses Mexico, the US and northeast Canada.
• The events list shows the time of greatest eclipse globally. To view local circumstances for the eclipse (what you see depends on where you are located), selected the date of the eclipse and see the timeline. Events shown include the four contact times (C1, C2, C3, C4, where C1 and C4 represent the start and end of partial eclipse, C2 and C3 the start and end of totality) and the time of maximum eclipse, when the sun is most obscured by the moon.
• UPDATED: the disc size of the moon is now relative to average rather than minimum, so "super moons" will appear to be around +7% rather than +14%. This feels like a less sensationalist approach.
• UPDATED: as part of this release, we've completely rebuilt the internal astronomical algorithm library. There should be virtually no detectable differences to the end user, although the new version results in a smaller download size for the site, and benefits from some subtle fixes along with an expanded test suite to make sure we're getting the right results. You may notice some improvements to Visual Search results (the new library appears to avoid both incomplete results for range searches and most duplicate result cases that would occasionally happen previously)
• UPDATED: the timeline events now occupy whatever width is required to display the title text (previously this was truncated in some cases)

3.5.4 Feb 13 2023

• FIXED: sharing URLs were not correctly generated - now fixed (regression in 3.5.2)

3.5.2 Feb 11 2023

• IMPROVED: better handling of query parameters in URLs (app no longer 'swallows' all query parameters upon loading)
• Bug fixes

3.5.0 Jan 21 2023

• NEW: adds PlanIGN and OrthoIGN map types for PRO subscribers. These are, respectively, a regional combined street + topographic and satellite maps focussed on France (up to zoom level 19). Reduced maximum zoom levels available outside of France

3.4.3 Jan 21 2023

• FIXED: occasional crash on enabling Skyfire layers
• FIXED: stray '0' displayed near elevation value; misaligned text at top right of page

3.4.1 Jan 18 2023

• NEW: PRO subscribers can now include elevation offsets in saved locations, making it easy to store particular shooting locations (e.g. the observation deck of a particular skyscraper) or subjects (e.g. the height of the tip of radio antenna). Any elevation offset greater than 2m will be displayed in the locations list.

3.4.0 Jan 17 2023

• CHANGED: primary pin elevation offset is now taken into account when observer elevation above the horizon is calculated. For example, if you're shooting from the 71st floor of a skyscraper, you can set the elevation offset for the primary pin (enable geodetics, then edit the offsets, PRO account required), then enable Height above the Horizon. Rise/set times are now adjusted for the observer (i.e. camera) elevation above the horizon. This also means that Visual Search can now account more easily for situations where the camera is elevated above the ground and the target altitude is a negative value.
• IMPROVED: UI cleaned up for elevation at horizon controls/form
• IMPROVED: If elevation offset is set for primary pin (via Edit Geodetics form), the value is displayed next to the primary pin elevation above sea level when Geodetics is disabled
• CHANGED: Visual Search on/off switch has moved to the top right of the Sphere display to make room for the additional horizon and primary elevation offset data display
• CHANGED: Magnetic north control has moved to the Settings page to de-clutter the Map page UI. Also added a link to the Help Article page explaining when magnetic north should be enabled (short version: very rarely)
• CHANGED: minimum altitude in Visual Search has been changed to -5 degrees. This should account for pretty much any situation and should also reduce the incidence of form validation warnings without affecting the search results. -5 degrees corresponds to the greatest negative horizon altitude that is ever likely to be encountered (unless you're in outer space).