Moon Atlas

Everyone can enjoy all of these atlases as works of art as well as reliable references. They are easy to use and fill the needs of astronomers of all ages. They are well worth the modest fee. It’s an investment in program improvements, and hopefully the creation of atlases for other planets.

Pros: + Takes into account libration and viewers position + Dynamic labeling based on zoom (clearest labeling I’ve seen among apps!) + Provides extra data (including libration plot), not just the map itself! + Has upside-down & mirror mode, and night vision (red) mode. + Full 3D globe if you want or explore from other angles. + All imagery has a good (though static) lighting angle such that terrain relief is clear. Cons: + This turned out to be a BIG one for me: Lowest resolution imagery or any of the moon maps. When out observing with my small (130mm) reflector Telescope, I can clearly see much smaller details than shown in this image. Indeed, the in app chart is such low resolution that I had a hard time identifying craters because identifying details were missing. I ditched for another app that, while worse at showing labels, gave me the detail necessary to identify features accurately.

I wish I could love this app a little more, but there is potential. You can spin the moon and zoom in on anything. Looks great but the images get blurry pretty quickly. I don't expect a google earth degree of detail of course, but a higher degree of resolution should be available. Also, the zoom and pan features are really touchy. It can be frustrating when zooming in or out as the screen will just jump and you lose what you were looking at. More information on key structures would be nice. You only get a couple of lines on The Sea of Tranquility and Appalo 17. Taping on these labels should give you a lot more info and some photos. This app have the potential to be a lot more then a virtual telescope (and a tempermental telescope at that). But, overall, it is still a wonderfull and useful app. The Mars Atlas on the other hand, is a complete mess. Crashes within 5 seconds of launch every single time. Still waiting for a reply on the e-mail I sent the developper. Very disappointing...