Above

Look up. Know what’s there.

Point your iPhone at the sky and Above labels what you see on the camera view: the airliner crossing the Moon, the ISS, a Starlink train, Jupiter, a star 25 light-years away.

Coming soon to the App Store What leaves your phone

iPhone, iOS 17 or later. Free, with an optional Above Plus subscription.

The Above sky view: constellation figures in blue, labelled stars, orange aircraft chevrons above the horizon line, and dimmed labels and dashed constellation lines below it.
From the app, captured in the iOS simulator.

Overhead

An example evening. Not live data.

An example of what Above lists overhead on one evening: each object with its bearing, height above the horizon, distance and status.
Object Kind Bearing Alt° Distance Status
ISS Satellite 232° southwest 41° up 612 km bright pass
Jupiter Planet 118° east-southeast 27° up 4.9 astronomical units rising
Moon Moon 205° south-southwest 33° up 384,000 km waxing
UAL560 Airliner 292° west-northwest 18° up 31 km in flight
Starlink Satellite 266° west 22° up 540 km a train of 20
Balloon Balloon 330° north-northwest 61° up 24 km rising
Vega Star 315° northwest 58° up 25 light-years visible
Sirius Star 158° south-southeast 12° below the horizon 8.6 light-years below the horizon

Every row is something Above labels on your camera view.

The board’s columns are the answers to the three questions you ask when you see a light.

What is it?
Airliners with their route and photo, the ISS and about 12,000 other satellites, the Moon, planets, comets, stars, constellations, weather balloons and drones that broadcast Remote ID.
Where do I point?
The bearing is the compass direction, clockwise from north. The altitude is how many degrees above the horizon. Above draws the label right there on the camera view, and an arrow leads you to anything you search for.
How far away is it?
From a drone down the street to a star beyond the scale. A slider on the edge of the screen filters the sky by distance, so a crowded view becomes one layer at a time.

Then find it, tap it, and learn what it was.

Find anything
Search for Jupiter or the ISS and an arrow leads you to it.
Tap for details
An aircraft’s route, type, altitude, speed and photo. A satellite’s owner and launch date. A star’s distance and constellation.
What was that? Above Plus
Rewind to when you saw a light, point where it was, and Above tells you whether it was a Starlink train, a plane or something else.
Passes and alerts Above Plus
Know when the ISS and bright satellites pass over you. Alerts are worked out on your phone.
Transits Above Plus
Find the moment a plane or the ISS crosses the Sun or the Moon, for photographers.
Tonight
Moon phase, cloud cover from Apple Weather, the aurora forecast, rocket launches and meteor showers, for where you are.
See through the Earth
One tap shows what is below the horizon, dimmed, like the last row above, so you can find where a planet will rise or where a satellite just set.
Made for the dark
A red-on-black night mode keeps your eyes adjusted, and widgets and Live Activities Above Plus keep the next pass on your lock screen.

Your sky stays yours.

Read exactly what leaves your phone

Coming to the iPhone.

Coming soon to the App Store

Questions before then, or something to report? Write to us.