Photographer's New App Takes the Guesswork Out of Milky Way Photography

A star-filled night sky with the Milky Way galaxy glowing above rugged, rocky cliffs in the foreground. The scene highlights bright stars, cosmic dust, and soft, colorful nebulae stretching across the horizon.

Many photographers love photographing the Milky Way, but few enjoy all the hassle that comes with it. Unpredictable seeing conditions, bad timing, and a pesky Moon are common friction points that prevent astrophotographers, especially novices, from succeeding. A new app, Milky Way Tonight for iOS and Android, is designed to streamline the entire process and take the guesswork out of Milky Way photography.

“At its core, Milky Way Tonight tells you whether or not it’s a good night to photograph the Milky Way. And if it’s not, when the next good night will be,” app creator, photographer Jack Fusco, tells PetaPixel.

Fusco says the app starts by analyzing the timing of the Milky Way core being above the horizon based on the user’s selected location. It then references the lunar phase, when the Moon rises and sets, and the hourly cloud forecast relative to the time when the Milky Way’s best shooting window is. The app then delivers a quick go/no-go verdict.

A mobile app screen shows a stargazing forecast for Arches National Park, Utah, on June 15, 2026, with an “Excellent Viewing” rating, moon and sky details, and interactive tools for sky viewing, dark sky sites, and a 7-day forecast.

A screenshot of a photo planning app shows detailed plans for night photography sessions in June and July, including dates, locations, times, equipment, and notes for each outing.

A dark-themed app screen titled "Milky Way Tonight" displays mountains under a starry sky. Users can enter a city or coordinates to search for a Milky Way forecast, with options for weather, dark sky, and GPS location.

A weather app screenshot shows excellent visibility for stargazing on Monday, June 15, with a truly dark sky class, no clouds, and minimal moonlight from 10:45 PM to 3:45 AM. Blue hours are listed at the bottom.

A dark-themed app screen shows a 7-day Milky Way and cloud forecast, including sky clarity, temperature, and moon phase. There are sections for exploring sky maps, darker sky locations, and upcoming MW nights.

The app can also pull light pollution data for a given location using Dark Sky Finder, which can also be used to find a nearby dark area with a better cloud forecast.

Milky Way Tonight is more than just an astro-focused weather forecasting app. Fusco has also given his app useful astrophotography tools such as a composition planner, an exposure calculator, and a monthly Milky Way visibility calendar. The app also includes an area to save Milky Way photography plans.

A digital sky map app interface shows the Milky Way galaxy with the "Galactic Center" labeled, various menu icons on the right, date and time controls below, and starry clouds across the dark background.

A screenshot of an exposure calculator interface for astrophotography. It shows camera and lens settings: Sigma BF, 24MP, 14mm focal length, f/1.4 aperture, and suggests shutter speeds of 18.7s (NPF rule) and 36s (classic rule).

A built-in Sky View function can highlight regions of the sky with strong H-alpha emission, adding a lovely red and pink color to the night sky when using a camera modified for H-alpha. Sky View can also be used to visualize where and when the Milky Way will align with a specific composition, and users can save a reference photo in the app for future use.

“My hope, and goal, while working on this was to ensure the app stayed very easy to use and understand while giving you all the information needed,” Fusco explains. “So, while you can view all the critical info at a glance, you can tap in to get a very detailed view of all the data, too.”

A rocky desert landscape under a clear, star-filled night sky. The foreground shows textured, pale rock with scattered stones, while layered rock formations stretch across the horizon.

A surreal desert landscape features swirling rock patterns in the foreground, rugged cliffs on the horizon, and a star-filled night sky with the Milky Way arching above.

People with tripods and cameras stand in a desert landscape at night, photographing a brightly lit, star-filled sky and the Milky Way above jagged rocky formations.

Tall rocky spires rise from a desert landscape under a night sky filled with stars and the glowing colors of the Milky Way, with soft clouds near the horizon.

Milky Way Tonight is available now on iOS and Android for a lifetime license cost of $7.99. There are no in-app subscriptions or add-ons.

The app can work very well alongside existing guides on PetaPixel about photographing the Milky Way, including this comprehensive guide written by landscape photographer Ross Schram von Haupt. A significant part of the planning process in the detailed guide involves determining the Moon phase, finding dark skies, and aligning the Milky Way for the perfect composition. These are all things that Fusco’s new app can help photographers with, both when planning at home and shooting in the field.

Image credits: Jack Fusco, Milky Way Tonight

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