Hitting the app store soon: Dark Sky Meter. A SQM-like app with a lot of extra's

[nop]

Dear night sky
We are finishing our Dark Sky Meter app. It works almost exactly like a Sky Quality Meter but with a big difference: the results can be (optionally) submitted to a central server. And of course at a fraction of the price.
Resulting in a map with good places to observe and helping scientists to measure the artificial sky brightness. Currently we are teaming up with the International Dark Sky association.
The app will be released within two months. In this version only iPhone 4, 4s and 5 are supported.
You can have a sneak peek at:
http://www.darkskymeter.com
Regards!
Norbert

[Jimi Lowrey]

Very cool !

Be sure to let us know when it is available at the APP store.

[Ivan Maly]

What can be said about its accuracy - both in terms of the systematic error or unit calibration and reproducibility or random error? I don't know how accurate SQM is in terms of actual units and across the range, but my SQM-L at least seems to be quite reproducible (within maybe 0.1 mag/sq arcsec) between measurements when pointed at the same spot in the dark (21 mag/sq arcsec) sky. What can be said also about its sensitivity or range of brightness that it measures?

[nop]

We'll do Jimy. @Ivan. It's very accurate. We perform 3 measurements. Dark1 (base), Zenit and another Dark. If the results aren't within an expected range, the measurement has to be extended or done again. If the skies are very dark >21.5 more measurements are needed. Currently we are keeping a lot of statistics and the measurements are quite reproductive.

[deepskytraveler]

Wow! I imagine this is a challenging app to develop. Will be very interested in comparing how its measurements stack up against ones from a SQM. Let me know if you're looking for a beta tester. I'm already registered on TestFlight, having tested for several other iOS developers. I also have a SQM-L so I can do comparative measurements. Good luck with the app!

[Darren Drake]

I hope if it works well it will be developed for Droid users as well. It seems as though many of the high end elctronic astro gizmos that were cutting edge just a few years ago are being replaced and even surpased by these amazing apps. So cool.