ABOUT
It starts with a feeling every imager knows:
A rare clear night, gear ready, and forty browser tabs of catalogues — and still no answer to the only question that matters.
What do I actually point the scope at tonight?
Tonight’s target. Decided
What’s worth shooting this time of year? What’s high overhead right now? Can I get my favourite tonight — or should I finally chase something new? And is any of it even worth hauling the gear out for?
Every imager asks these on a clear night, then loses the first hour to browser tabs answering them. I built Clear Night Coach to answer them for you instead of burying you in a catalogue — an engine that computes the real astronomy for your site and your rig, then commits to a pick and argues its case in plain English.
Two principles run all the way through it. The maths never lies to you: every altitude, window and framing number is computed deterministically — the AI only writes the words, it never invents the astronomy. And the free version is never crippled: the full, honest decision is free forever, because a coach you can’t trust to be straight with you is worthless. Pro is for the people who want that decision carried across the weeks a real project takes. It’s also what pays for the work.
A generic sky is easy. Yours isn’t
Anyone can say “personalised.” Here’s how deep it actually goes.
Your telescope. Your mount — EQ or alt-az, and that choice changes the maths either way. Your camera, your filters, your exact latitude and longitude, and where the moon sits tonight. Most tools stop somewhere around there.
But your backyard isn’t a clean horizon, and the console knows it. The tree that swallows the southwest. The neighbour’s fence that blocks everything under 40° across the north and northwest. It plans around them — so it never crowns a hero target that spends the night stuck behind a branch or a paling fence.
You get the sky you can actually reach from where you stand, not a perfect dome that only exists on paper.
That’s the difference between a generic sky and yours.
The decision. Free, every night.
Every night’s answer is free. The pick, the alternates and the reasoning behind both — none of it sits behind the paywall, and none of it ever will.
Scored the way an imager actually decides. Four honest questions, computed for your exact setup: How does it frame on your sensor? Does it clear your horizon — and can your mount actually track it there, zenith keyhole included? How many minutes of integration will you really get, once field rotation and tonight’s moon take their per-target cut? And is it genuinely within your rig’s reach? Numbers, not vibes.
Questions, bug reports, target or feature suggestions, or a photo from a night the console called right — all very welcome, and please do get in touch.
Email — support@clearnightcoach.com
Free forever. No account, no sign-up.