How Orbit calculates your sky

Orbit uses your selected location, date, and time to calculate where supported objects appear from your observing position. Planet and Moon positions use Astronomy Engine calculations; deep-sky targets use catalog coordinates transformed to your local sky.

Altitude tells you how high an object is above the horizon. Azimuth and compass direction tell you where to look.

Data sources

Observing difficulty

Orbit translates magnitude and target type into practical guidance: Naked Eye, Binoculars, Small Telescope, Medium Telescope, Large Telescope, or Imaging Recommended. For extended objects such as galaxies and nebulae, integrated magnitude alone can be misleading, so Orbit also applies a difficulty penalty for diffuse targets, large apparent size, low altitude, and bright Moon conditions.

These ratings are guidance rather than hard aperture limits. Telescope quality, sky darkness, transparency, magnification, observer experience, and local light pollution all matter.

Accuracy & limitations

Orbit is in public beta. We are preparing formal comparisons against NASA/JPL Horizons before making a validation claim.

Actual visibility can differ because of clouds, haze, light pollution, buildings, trees, terrain, atmospheric refraction, and device-location accuracy. Comet brightness is an estimate.

Location & privacy

Orbit uses location for local-sky calculations and does not require an Orbit account. Avoid including private information in beta feedback.

Help improve Orbit

Report a problem, suggest a feature, or send general feedback. Orbit adds its version and device/browser information to help reproduce beta issues.