Solar Eclipse Timer 4+

Solar Eclipse "Talking" Timer‪!‬

Foxwood Astronomy, LLC.

Designed for iPad

    • Free
    • Offers In-App Purchases

Screenshots

Description

This app is essential for the 2024 solar eclipse! It "talks to you" and tells you what to do! Countdowns, observations, glasses off and glasses on, all spoken out loud!

The Solar Eclipse Timer app was developed by me, an expert eclipse chaser and eclipse educator, to help people get the most enjoyment out of observing and photographing a total solar eclipse. It's a free download to test and learn the features with an in-app purchase of only $1.99 to buy the 2024 eclipse. Equal to the cost of a single pair of eclipse glasses and just as important!

The app's unique feature is that it announces the countdowns to the contact times out loud. It makes announcements to remind you to observe interesting eclipse phenomena like temperature changes, lighting changes, animal behavior, shadow bands, umbra approach, and more. It tells you when it is safe to take your glasses off and when to put them back on. There are spoken reminders for the MAX eclipse, looking for planets and stars, and observing the horizon. You won't miss a thing because I become your personal eclipse astronomer, talking you through the eclipse!

It is so easy to use! Basically a "Two Tap Setup." Get into the path; 1 Tap to Geolocate. 2. Tap to Load the Contact Times. That's it! The app geolocates to find your position in the path and then calculates your precise contact times. It does not require internet access to do this. You are now timing the eclipse with me as your personal astronomer guide!

In collaboration with Fred Espenak (Mr. Eclipse), there is a new feature for 2024 called Photographer's Mode. In this mode, all spoken announcements are about the eclipse timing relative to the contact times. There are only three other essential reminders: two remove your solar filters, max eclipse, and replace solar filters. This mode was designed specifically for eclipse photographers.

#1 ECLIPSE TIMING APP It was the #1 eclipse timing app used during the 2017 total solar eclipse that crossed the United States. It was used successfully for solar eclipses in 2019, 2020, 2021, and, most recently, 2023, in Australia. It was featured in Sky and Telescope Magazine in 2002, 2003, 2017, and 2022.

FREE DOWNLOAD TO TEST AND ONLY $1.99 FOR THE 2024 ECLIPSE
Know its benefits for Eclipse Day. Watch a built-in app tutorial that explains all of the app's functions. Watch a built-in eclipse observation site practice session to hear the app working during an eclipse!

WORKS IN REMOTE LOCATIONS
The app does its calculations internally. It does not require cell service or an internet connection to work. It only requires a GPS signal or manually entering GPS coordinates for the calculations to occur.

I PROVIDE THE TWO BEST TOOLS FOR ECLIPSE PREPARATION!
The Solar Eclipse Timer app is coordinated with my solar eclipse preparation book, "Eclipse Day - 2024 and More! How to enjoy, observe, and photograph a total solar eclipse." This unique book has its chapters organized by the progression of the eclipse on eclipse day, and the chapters also follow the sequence of announcements by the app. See my website, www.solareclipsetimer.com, for more information about the book.

OTHER FEATURES
Partial Eclipse Timing Mode - It can also time the eclipse as a partial eclipse if you are not in the path of totality. It displays your maximum percent coverage and then continuously shows the progress of the eclipse. The announcements are altered to be appropriate for your maximum eclipse percentage.

This app Is Ad Free! This app DOES NOT track user data in any form.

ALWAYS USE EYE PROTECTION DURING THE PARTIAL PHASES OF A SOLAR ECLIPSE! OR EVEN WHEN IT IS BRIGHT! NOT DOING SO CAN CAUSE EYE DAMAGE!
We are NOT liable for misuse of the app causing inaccurate timing or the lack of eye safety precautions during the observation of a solar eclipse.
The "glasses off" and "glasses on" statements are guides based on the calculated contact times. The timing can be affected by your phone's clock and the shape of the shadow due to the edge of the lunar limb. Use the Adjust buttons for Lunar Limb variation times adjustments. Glasses should be ON if it's bright!

What’s New

Version 4.0.30

A reminder that after purchasing the 2024 you need to tap the 2024 eclipse line to choose this data set to time the eclipse.
A reminder that Daylight Saving Time will adjust the local time conversion time.

Ratings and Reviews

4.2 out of 5
320 Ratings

320 Ratings

Colb20130210 ,

No voice, followed directions

Saw this on SmarterEveryDay, and used it for the 2017 eclipse in Oregon. Well done. But the voice never came on. I saw ticker tape messages, which were great, but despite following all instructions on my iPhone SE (mute off, volume up, all notifications enabled, this app only one running after restarting it) I got no voice prompts. The only thing I did that might (but shouldn't) have caused an issue was switching to camera and back to this app.

The word "Stop" does not look like a button, rather just plain title text, so it took me a long time to figure out I could tap it.

The main screen has to scroll (not obvious) so the critical Check Position button (which DOES look like a button unlike the Stop "button") is hidden off the bottom of the screen, so you just stair at the main screen wondering what to do with a dead timer app.

The "Check Position" button leads to another counterintuitive screen where you "Get My Location" (that sounds different than "check location") and "Calculate Contact Tines"). Why do I have to press these manually? Can't the contact times update automatically? It feels clunky, like Excel with auto calculate turned off. Further, I have to "Load Contact Times". Load from a disk drive? How about "apply" or "use"? The terminology on the page is a bit confusing.

I love the developer's engagement and contribution to science. I look forward to improvements, and of course 2024.

Developer Response ,

Thanks for your comment. You points are noted and I am making a list of things to do to improve the next version.

RGP002 ,

Great app, very accurate

Like many others, I saw the app and Dr Telepun with Destin on SED, and downloaded immediately. I didn't do a ton of advance work, but did familiarize myself with the functionality for thirty minutes and a few practice runs, and corrected the times for lunar limb profile at my location. I don't know how difficult that would be to integrate into the app, but allowing the calculation to occur as an option within the app would be nice -- although there are websites that do most of the heavy lifting on the calculation now anyway. On the day of the eclipse, I used a Bluetooth earbud to hear the vocal cues, and kept my eyes in the sky (and my kids). Great app, very accurate with the times once corrected -- which was very easy to do. Helpful verbal reminders, too.

I found the app very easy to use, and sufficiently comprehensive if a bit utilitarian. But as an engineer, utilitarian is as much a complement as comprehensive is. You might not confuse the GUI for a pretty Apple produced piece of software, but it's every bit as functional as one.

I was in Chile earlier this year -- and having an app like this at least makes me think about wanting to go back for the eclipse in 2019. Good work to the developer and team. Apps like this are the fantastic part about the smartphone world we live in.

Developer Response ,

Thank you for your thoughtful review! I am happy the app helped you with the eclipse! I will be updating the elements for the upcoming eclipses including Chile. I am happy that you did corrections for lunar limb adjustments, the vast majority of users would not. But I believe I have the only app out that there that even discusses it and then provides the adjust ability to the contact times to correct for it. I don't think I will be able to provide the function to have the times corrected automatically. Even Xavier Jubier, who has done extensive work on this subject does not include it in his bass calculations, he provides the data separately for those who want to adjust. I am beginning a list of things that I will do to improve the app in Version 2. Thanks again!

KigerKat ,

Awesome app!

We used this during the eclipse today just into the path of totality in SC. We didn't have an exact plan today, so being able to check our position was great. The built in announcements of when eclipse events were occurring were right on cue! We noticed temp changes, wildlife behaviors, and solar bands!

The only things I would change about this would be to have the choice for military time, as many people prefer not to use it. Also, I would like to see a digital countdown for each occurrence such as first contact, second contact... Another useful feature would be to know exactly what percentage of the eclipse you will see based on GPS location.

Another nice feature would be to know what percentage of the eclipse we are currently viewing during the eclipse. We would often look up and guesstimate about what percentage was covered and look around at the amount of light. It would be kinda of cool to know exactly what percentage of sunlight we were experiencing. It's crazy how much daylight the smallest sliver of sun can produce!

Again, amazing app with just a few convenience features missing. I'm looking forward to using it again in 2024!

Developer Response ,

Thanks for your comment!

App Privacy

The developer, Foxwood Astronomy, LLC., indicated that the app’s privacy practices may include handling of data as described below. For more information, see the developer’s privacy policy.

Data Not Collected

The developer does not collect any data from this app.

Privacy practices may vary, for example, based on the features you use or your age. Learn More

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