SunScout - Photo Light Planner

New in 1.4: star chart, sky calendar, peak ID, AR finder, light-pollution map, tides & aurora. Plan the light — and the dark — on real 3D terrain.

SunScout tells you the one thing no other app can: the exact window when YOUR spot is actually in direct sunlight. Drop a pin on real 3D terrain, scrub the timeline, and watch the ridge shadow retreat — "this slope lights up at 6:41, 22 minutes after sunrise" — before you drive hours to find out the hard way. When the sun goes down, the same timeline plans your night: Milky Way, moon phases, eclipses and meteor showers over the same real terrain.

KNOW THE LIGHT

• Per-spot "in direct sunlight" window: the exact minutes your location is lit, computed against the real ridgeline (not just sunrise time)
• Real-time sun position and terrain shadows for any time and any date
• Golden-hour bands on the timeline + golden-hour push notifications
• Day timetable: sunrise/sunset, all three twilights, golden & blue hour, moon and galactic-core events in chronological order

PLAN THE NIGHT (Pro)

• Milky Way planner: galactic-core arc over the 3D terrain with rise/set and the dark-sky visibility window
• Sky calendar: moon phases, meteor showers and solar/lunar eclipses month by month (embedded eclipse catalog)
• Star chart: stars, constellations, planets and Messier objects on a live fisheye planisphere
• Dark-night finder: rank upcoming nights by moonlight vs Milky Way

FRAME THE SHOT

• FPV viewfinder with true focal-length framing (14–400 mm), tripod or drone height
• Line-of-sight check: know if a ridge blocks your subject
• AR field finder: sun, moon and peak markers over the live terrain horizon (Pro)
• Peak identification: name, distance, height and bearing for every summit on your horizon (Pro)

FIELD TOOLS

• Ten photo calculators: exposure, ND filter, light meter, timelapse, depth of field, hyperfocal, field of view, panorama, star trails and star exposure (NPF/500 rule)
• Sky compass: a live azimuth dial for sun, moon and galactic center
• Light-pollution heatmap with a Bortle class & SQM estimate for your spot (Pro)
• Hourly + 10-day weather and the planetary-Kp aurora outlook at your spot (Pro)
• Astronomical tide curve with high/low water and the spring/neap meter (Pro; equilibrium model, not a surveyed tide table)
• Rainbow & moonbow position with a cloud-distance estimate (Pro)

DRONE SIMULATION (planning only — SunScout cannot control drones)

• Ground / drone camera modes, 0–120 m hover height, five consumer drone presets
• Orbit-path terrain pre-check and wind suitability vs your drone's official limit
• Local rules reminder for the US, UK, Australia, Canada and the EU

SCOUT ANYWHERE

• Real 3D terrain on demand, 60°N–56°S, with satellite imagery draped over it
• Search by name, pick on a map, or type coordinates; save your favorite spots
• Export shot plans and KML for Google Earth and drone apps (Pro)

FREE VS PRO

• Free: the 3D light preview, sun & moon arcs, day timetable, sky compass, photo calculators and the dark-night finder. No account, no ads, no tracking.
• Pro (one-time purchase, yours forever): sky calendar, star chart, peak identification, AR finder, light-pollution map, weather & aurora, tides, rainbow, reminders, unlimited saved spots, KML export and global terrain.

No account. No tracking. Your saved spots stay on your device. (Terrain, imagery and weather data stream from public map services — see our privacy policy.)

SIMULATION ONLY: SunScout is a planning and pre-visualization tool. It cannot connect to, command or control any drone. Height, wind and terrain warnings are advisories, never flight commands. Always follow local drone regulations and check official airspace sources before flying.