MoonCalc Pro by Burning Platform (what a sarcastic name!) is one of the most advanced astronomical tools for Nokia N9 and certainly the best one for moon observations. The application shows very detailed, real-time calculated data about Moon phase, illumination, distance, size and much more. In case you can't find the moon at the night sky, there is an integrated Moon-compass.
Why would you need MoonCalc?
MoonCalc Pro adresses mainly Moon observers or (hobby) astronomers. The application provides an incredible amount of informations which are all calculated in real-time.
But also astronomy greenhorns can benefit from this complex N9 addition. Whenever you click on the question mark (in any window), you get wonderful written manuals which explain all the data you are looking at. This way you can learn a lot about the Moon and have some insights into astronomy.
It's not common that an application provides such a long, detailed and well-written in-built help.
Alternatively MoonCalc Pro is always good to find out when the Moon looks the most beautiful for a romantic date under the open sky...
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| Main menu / Location settings / Everything is nicely explained |
What can MoonCalc Pro do?
There are 5 different main windows/functions, let's have a look at all of them:
1. Moon Daily
Shows detailed information about the Moon for a selected day. Some data depend on your actual position and are obtained from the inbuilt GPS receiver (or manual entered position if desired).
Even though you might feel overwhelmed with data, their presentation is very well-arranged. Different colors are used to separate groups of informations like current Moon phase and age, distance to Earth, position on sky and moonrise or moonset times.
2. Moon Monthly
Provides monthly overviews about the lunar phases and illumination for each day (shown in percentages where 100% means full moon).
3. New & Full Moons
List of all new and full moons in a selected year.
4. Perigees & Apogees
Displays the distance of the Moon to the Earth which varies since the Moon's orbit around the Earth isn't circular but elliptical.
The two extremes are called perigees (about 356'400km distance to center of Earth) and apogees (about 406'700km distance). As closer as the Moon is to Earth, the bigger it obviously looks.
5. Moon Compass
With this compass it's easy to quickly locate the Moon on the sky. The compass doesn't differ that much from a normal one but adds the location of the Moon to the compass rose. In the same window the to the Moon closest star constellation is shown.
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| Daily information about the Moon / Distance between Earth and Moon / Moon compass |
Overall impression
MoonCalc Pro is a well made application. It's not easy to make such complex software so easy to use and understand - but the developer of MoonCalc found the exact balance.
It's also important to point out that the user interface is very beautiful and uses typical MeeGo Harmattan design elements. With the perfect use of Qt and QML I think it's not wrong to say that MoonCalc could be a role model for other developers. The only little thing it's missing is a proper Harmattan icon - hopefully the developer will correct that with the next, already announced update.
Being commercial software available at Nokia Store it costs about 5 Euros (please check Nokia Store for accurate price in your country). At first view this might be a very high price compared to other applications and probably scares many potential users away. What justifies the 5 Euros is that MoonCalc Pro is done with love and with an incredible perfection. Furthermore don't forget the built-in manual which printed out would fill several pages. Be aware, that MoonCalc Pro is only available in English.
After using MoonCalc Pro you certainly look differently at the Moon!
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| A very advanced & beautiful Moon tool |
