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  1. TESIGN / RADAR
  2. 2026.10.05
  3. Nightwatch

Nightwatch

Astro-imaging forecast in the menu bar

WHO USES ITAmateur astronomers who image the sky with a small telescope.

Install to use

A silent macOS menu-bar app that tells you when tonight is clear enough for a long imaging session and what to point at.

INSTALL
START IN 5 MINUTES ↓
The Nightwatch Targets window: categories on the left and tonight's plan with an altitude chart on the right.
The Nightwatch Targets window: categories on the left and tonight's plan with an altitude chart on the right.
The Nightwatch Targets window: categories on the left and tonight's plan with an altitude chart on the right.

TESIGN TAKE

When two forecasts disagree it marks the night 'Less certain'.

Activity and discovery evidence
★ 2▲ 1 HN

2 stars · checked on GitHub · no 7-day star increase observed (GH Archive) (as of ) · 1 Show HN points observed

NEW 1h OLD WHEN SEEN

AT A GLANCE

LICENSE
MIT
USAGE
Use, change and redistribute, commercially too. Keep the notice.
LANGUAGE
Swift
PLATFORM
macos
ACTIVITY
last commit within 24 h () · latest release [unconfirmed]
COMMUNITY
contributors [unconfirmed] · open issues [unconfirmed] · made by: [unconfirmed] Reference time unavailable
SOURCES
Show HN
OPEN SOURCE
YES
FIRST SEEN
CATEGORY
SCIENCE

A summary, not legal advice.

WHY IT MATTERS

A trip to shoot the sky is wasted if clouds roll in. Nightwatch works out the clear window, the Moon and darkness, alerts you an hour before sunset, and lists targets that are up in that window.

BUILD FROM THIS

  • Tonight's plan with best times and an altitude chart, a week-ahead view of up to ten nights, favourites, and catalogues of nebulae, galaxies and clusters. Astronomy is computed locally and only forecast and sky-survey requests leave your Mac.

WHO IT'S FOR

Amateur astronomers who image the sky with a small telescope.

START IN 5 MINUTES

# Download Nightwatch.dmg from the README and drag it to Applications.

CAVEATS

  • macOS 14 or later only. A brand-new project with 2 stars that depends on external forecast services.

RECEIPT

FIRST SEEN
AT SOURCE
KEPT
CREATED → FIRST SEEN
1h
WHEN FIRST SEEN
2 ★
SOURCES
Show HN

The same facts in machine-readable form — View as Markdown · JSON

SIMILAR TOOLS

Up to five from SCIENCE by ★ total: edited entries first, then repository cards; this entry is highlighted. Drawn from the same stored snapshot as the rankings — a comparison, not a recommendation.

IMAGENAME★ TOTAL▲ 7dLICENSEPLATFORMLAST PUSH
A frame from the README GIF: a 3D globe seen from orbit, overlaid with tracked-object labels and an orbit line.
gods-eye-viewLive satellite globe in your browser★ 47.1k▲ +44Licence unconfirmedunconfirmedweb · windows · macos · linux
OpenResearch landing page: 'Autoresearch on your machine' on white, with Windows (beta) and macOS download buttons.
OpenResearchResearch agents for researchers★ 6.5k▲ +4MITpermissivemacos · linux · windows · cli
The AIPOCH Open-Science workspace: project and session list on the left, agent conversation and tool activity in the centre, generated tables and figures with the Provenance panel on the right
AIPOCH Open-ScienceAI research workbench for scientists★ 5.4k▲ +2Apache-2.0permissivemacos · windows · linux · cli
The Look4Sat map view: the ISS position and ground track over Europe, with azimuth, elevation, altitude and distance listed underneath.
Look4SatSee when a satellite passes overhead★ 1.5k—GPL-3.0copyleftandroid
The Nightwatch Targets window: categories on the left and tonight's plan with an altitude chart on the right.
NightwatchAstro-imaging forecast in the menu barTHIS ENTRY★ 2—MITpermissivemacos

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  3. FIRST SEEN BY TESIGN
  4. Published on TESIGN

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