Luminos 9

FAQs

Is Luminos 9 being discontinued?

Yes, beginning January 2023 Luminos 9 will no longer be offered in the App Store.

Will the copy I purchased still work?

Yes it will still work. The only thing that will change is that new customers will not be able to buy Luminos 9.

Will there be updates and fixes?

Luminos 9 will continue to be updated for the next year, including ensuring that it’s compatible with iOS 16. Compatibility with iOS 17 and beyond is not guaranteed, but Luminos 9 is likely to continue working with future OS updates.

It is also likely however that eventually an OS update will break Luminos 9,. That won’t affect your ability to run it on earlier versions of the OS, but it will affect your ability to run it on new devices after that point because new devices always come with the newest OS.

Will I still be able to install Luminos 9 on new devices?

Yes, you will always be able to install or re-install Luminos 9, even after next year, as long as Luminos 9 is compatible with the new OS on your new device.

The product page will no longer be in the App Store after next year, so you won’t be able to search for Luminos 9 and install it using the product page, but it will continue to be listed under your “Purchased Apps” in the App Store and you’ll be able to install it from there whenever you need to.

Will the rest of my family still be able to use Luminos 9?

Yes, Family Sharing will still work and family members will still be able to use Luminos 9. When they want to install it, they’ll find it under your purchased apps in the App Store and not their own purchased apps, but they will be able to install it from yours.

Will installable options like the UCAC4 catalogs still work?

Yes, UCAC4, Hipparcos, and Tycho, will continue to work and be installable, even after Luminos 9 is no longer available in the App Store.

Satellite categories will continue to work unless someday Celestrak changes their address or formats for that data. Custom TLE addresses will work regardless and can be used to add new Celestrak categories or replace existing categories if they move.

Minor Planet Center (asteroid and comet) data will also continue to work until the day the MPC changes their addresses or formats.

Neither Celestrak nor the MPC have significantly changed their addresses or formats for many years, so this is unlikely to be an issue any time soon.

Will new surface features still be added?

No, surface features (craters, mountains, plains, etc.) will freeze in their current state once Luminos 9 is no longer updated. I will be updating them one final time before discontinuing so that they are as up-to-date as possible.

What will happen with Jupiter’s Great Red Spot predictions?

The prediction data for the GRS will be updated before Luminos 9 is discontinued, but because the GRS is actually a chaotic storm it will not stay predictable for more than a couple of years. I intend to add the ability for you to adjust the GRS longitude yourself before I discontinue Luminos 9 so that you can maintain accurate predictions yourself.

Will planet positions and eclipses stay accurate?

Yes, Luminos 9 uses full-series VSOP tables for planet positions, which is accurate for thousands of years past and future. The eclipse tables are also accurate for thousands of years and will stay that way without needing updates.

Will moons stay accurate?

The major moons (including our own) use high-precision formulas and their positions will stay accurate for hundreds if not thousands of years.

Minor moons use mean orbital data, which will not stay accurate for more than a few years without maintenance. Those minor moons will still show accurate orbit shapes and sizes, but the exact position within their orbit will slowly drift.

Will telescope control still work?

Yes, all telescope control features will stay the same and will continue working.

Will my equipment still sync through iCloud?

Yes, equipment will still synchronize through iCloud. Last year I ported the equipment management code from Luminos Pro into Luminos 9, which moved Luminos 9 from Apple’s deprecated CloudKit technology and onto iCloud Drive, which Apple actively supports. This should ensure that synchronization will work for many years after Luminos 9 is discontinued.

Will 3D terrain still work?

Yes, the 3D terrain data will still be downloaded automatically even after Luminos 9 is no longer available in the App Store.