Clear Night Coach
— your guide to epic nights & better images
The oldest question in astrophotography, answered
What do I shoot tonight?
Trusted by Astrophotographers around the World
Images from nights when the Coach said GO
How it works
How Clear Night Coach works
From setup to capture in three steps.
01
Set your site
Drop a pin, then draw the horizon you see
02
Set your rig
Telescope, camera, mount and filters. Smart scopes are one pick.
03
Get your decision
One target for tonight, plus five alternates, each with its reason. No huge lists to create indecision. Even offline.
Features
Explore different features
Deterministic engine — built on JPL ephemerides
GO / MARGINAL / NO-GO
Is tonight worth setting up for? Cloud, wind, dew and seeing across your dark window, called without fuss, with the reason in one line.
The shortlist
One pick, up to five backups behind it, each with its own line of reasoning. No endless list. Don't like the shortlist? Search your own.
Seasonal planner
Any target, twelve months ahead: dark hours, moon and altitude from your site, with the best fortnight named. Geometry, not guesswork.
Smart scope ready
Built in
Enjoy numerous features
The features keep coming
It remembers
Shown targets rest for a fortnight, so the list rotates itself. Pro rests what you've shot for three months; finished projects never return.
Comets
Which comets are well placed over your site tonight, computed from Minor Planet Center orbits and shown beside the deep-sky picks.
Image guidance
Every target gets tonight's prime window, plate scale for your rig and the filter to use. Pro adds the full exposure recipe.
Session log
Pro logbook: mark what you shot, attach your photo as the target's thumbnail, and see the hours mount against your goal.
Supernova
When a bright supernova appears within reach of your sky and scope, you hear about it; its host galaxy climbs the list.
Personalised narration
A plain-English case for every pick, written for your rig and sky. Built-in voice free; Pro adds a live AI rewrite nightly.
Reviews
Watch it put to work
YouTube reviews
Adventures in Astronomy
Martin
Watch on YouTube
View into Space
Sascha Wyss
Watch on YouTube
Pricing
The free console decides, pro is how you act on it
The full decision — hero pick, shortlist, honest verdict — is free forever.
FAQs
Frequently asked questions
Short answers. Longer ones on request.
How is this different from a planetarium or a planner I already use?
Planetariums show you everything. Planners rank a thousand rows. Either way you're still second-guessing a spreadsheet at 11pm. Clear Night Coach isn't a bigger catalogue — it's the one thing a catalogue never gives you: a decision, with its working shown so you can trust it or overrule it. Use it alongside your planetarium, not instead of it.
How accurate is it — where do the numbers come from?
Altitudes, dark windows and framing are computed on your machine from JPL ephemerides. The weather is a forecast and treated as one. The AI only writes prose; a wrong figure is caught before display.
Is it really free? What's the catch?
Yes. The pick, shortlist, verdict, reasoning and Check a Target are free forever. No account, sign-up or trial timer. Pro is optional and keeps the lights on.
Do I need an account? What happens to my data?
No account, no sign-up, no telemetry. Settings and logbook live in a folder on your machine and export as one backup file. Internet is used only for the forecast and Pro's live narration.
Can I use Clear Night Coach without internet?
Yes. Your saved settings and logbook stay on your machine, and the core observing tools work at the dark site. You’ll need a connection to refresh the weather forecast or use Pro’s live narration.
Which platforms does it run on?
Windows, Mac and Android. The Mac version runs on Apple Silicon Macs (M1 or later) with macOS 14 or later, and the Android app is on Google Play. There is no iPhone version yet; one is in the works.
Get started
Install Clear Night Coach for free
Free, with no account or trial timer. One Pro key covers both apps.
No credit card.
Windows: 10/11
Mac: Apple Silicon (M1 or later), macOS 14 or later.
