A well-designed app made to optimize your viewing of the total solar eclipse on Tuesday has surged to the top of the App Store. With 140,000+ lifetime downloads across iOS and Android, a simply named The Eclipse App offers a complementary experience for viewing the astronomical event, including cloud cover forecasts, guides that pinpoint when totality will occur at your exact location, and information about local events, parks and viewing sites in your area.
The app itself was born out of a partnership between independent space interest organization The Planetary Society and The Eclipse Company, a tech company formed around the time of the 2017 Great American Eclipse to help more people witness total solar eclipses.
Image Credits: The Eclipse App
The companies first put out a user-friendly eclipse map to help people find a viewing spot for the annual eclipse on October 14, 2023.
The Eclipse App, released in the U.S. and Canada in February, currently generates revenue through in-app purchases that allow users to pay $3 for a livestream. There are now roughly 9,800 paying users as of Monday, according to data from app intelligence firm Appfigures. The app began its App Store climb late on Sunday, gaining 35,000 downloads on the App Store and starting to move up the charts. Google estimates are delayed by a couple of days, the firm tell us, so the total downloads are likely well past 140,000 by now.
The app is currently ranked first in its category (Travel) and ninth Overall in the U.S. App Store and eighth in its category via Google Play.
What’s more, the app doesn’t appear to be gaining traction from any Apple Search Ads campaigns, but rather via organic searches.
Reviews are mostly positive on the App Store: There are 40 five-star reviews versus 22 one-star reviews, Appfigures says. There seems to be more consumer dissatisfaction with the Android version.
The company promises that the app will offer the ability to explore U.S. states and Canadian provinces across the path of totality as well as community events in search states. Plus, you can use the timer to know when the moment of totality is for your exact location, so you can put on your eclipse glasses and watch. You can also check your local forecast and subscribe to local events and check out other local points of interest. Parking information for many events is also included.
Another app from the same company, Solar Snap, also made it to No. 3 on the Top Charts for its handy photography assistant for shooting photos of the eclipse.
How to watch the eclipse, just in case
If you’re not able to watch the eclipse in person, or don’t have the special glasses, check out the official NASA livestream of the event below.