Xasteria+ is a modified version of the free Xasteria astronomy weather iOS app. Xasteria+ is normally included in the Polar Scope Align Pro app and is now available as a stand-alone iOS app because, as developer Dimitrios Kechagias notes, not everyone needs a polar alignment app. The regular version of Xasteria is still free and will continue to get more features.
Apart from borrowing features from Polar Scope Align Pro (night mode, lunar calendar, location manager), the fact that Xasteria+ is not completely free ($0.99US) allows Kechagias to add non-free weather sources (Dark Sky currently), and to also use the funds to add servers to the free 7Timer! weather service, which provides a number of unique benefits for astronomical-oriented weather forecasts.
7Timer! is mainly derived from the NOAA/NCEP-based numeric weather model, the Global Forecast System (GFS) and gives a forecast for the entire globe with a resolution of about 20km at 3-hour intervals. You can use your device’s GPS for a forecast of your location, choosing any location in the world. Xasteria+ also uses the hourly Dark Sky forecast for better short-term predictions.
7Timer! was created in 2005 as an exploration product under the support of the National Astronomical Observatories of China and had been regularly updated and enhanced since that time. Currently it is supported by the Shanghai Astronomical Observatory of Chinese Academy of Sciences. It was firstly designed as a weather forecast tool for astronomical purpose, as the author himself is a long-term star gazer and was always “annoyed by fluky weather conditions”.
7Timer! significantly differs from many other astro weather websites in that it covers the entire globe (not just the main cities) with high spatial resolution (~20km) and is delivering forecasts for over 1.5 million locations.
The 7Timer! data includes:
-Sun/Moon rise/set & twilight times.
-Moon phase.
-Cloud cover.
-Astronomical seeing.
-Atmospheric transparency.
-Temperature.
-Humidity.
-Rain/Snow.
-Atmospheric instability.
-Wind.
-Wind Direction (Dark Sky).
-Visibility (Dark Sky).
-Dew Point (Dark Sky).
Xasteria+ provides a choice of 3 visualization modes for the data: The 7Timer! ASTRO graphics, color-stripe graphics similar to some other astro-forecast services and a raw text mode.
In addition to the capabilities of 7Timer!, Xasteria+ also offers quick access to astro-weather web sources like Clear Outside and Meteoblue. The latest water vapor satellite images are also provided, as well as Clear Sky Charts. In addition, ISS passes and Iridium flares for your location are available.
Xasteria+ is available in English, Greek and French. The app is available from the Apple App Store.
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