Subsections of App Dialogs

Main

Main Dialog Main Dialog

Location

Suntimes displays the location name and coordinates in the action bar.

User-Defined Location User-Defined Location Current Location Current Location

Tap to change the location.

Tap to update the current location.

Tap to show the location on a map. Visibility of the map button can be changed from Suntimes -> Settings User Interface -> Show Map Button.

Current Time

Suntimes displays the current time and time zone in the upper left.

Current Time Current Time

Tap the time zone, or use : -> Set Time Zone to change the time zone.

Tip

Suntimes will display an info icon when daylight saving (or a similar rule) is in effect.

Suntimes will display a warning icon when the time zone disagrees with local mean time. This is a common misconfiguration.

Tip

Suntimes will announce the time (and other changes to the UI) when using verbose TalkBack. Suntimes -> Settings User Interface -> Verbose TalkBack.

Next Event

Suntimes tracks the time until the next event in the upper right.

Next Event Next Event

Tap the event field, or swipe left or swipe right, to step through events.

Sunrise, Sunset, Twilight

Suntimes displays today’s sunrise, sunset, and twilight times.

Twilight Times Twilight Times

Use : -> View date to scroll to a specific day, or swipe left or swipe right to see past and future days. Tap or to reset to today.

Tap the column headers to show the time until sunrise or sunset.

Tap noon or the lightmap to open the sun dialog.

Tip

Suntimes can also display custom events. Suntimes -> Settings User Interface -> Manage Events

Tip

Visibility of the twilight fields can be changed from the User Interface settings. Suntimes -> Settings User Interface -> Display. The lightmap can be toggled from User Interface -> Show Light Map.

Suntimes can also put emphasis on one of the fields. This can be changed from User Interface -> Emphasize Field.

Moon

Suntimes displays moonrise, moonset, phase and illumination. Tapping this info opens the moon dialog.

Moon info Moon info

Tip

Visibility of the moon info can be toggled from the User Interface settings. Suntimes -> Settings User Interface -> Show Moon.

Solstice, Equinox

Suntimes displays the next solstice, equinox, or cross-quarter day. Tapping this field opens the solstice dialog.

Solstice, Equinox Solstice, Equinox

Tip

Visibility of solstice tracking can be toggled from the User Interface settings. Suntimes -> Settings User Interface -> Show Solstice / Equinox.

Data Source

Suntimes displays the data source in the lower right. Tapping this field opens General settings.

Data Source Data Source

The use elevation option can be toggled from the lower left. Altitude-based refinements will be applied when enabled.

Tip

Visibility of the data source can be changed from the User Interface settings. Suntimes -> Settings User Interface -> Show Data Source.

Sun

Sun Dialog Sun Dialog

Current Position

Suntimes displays the sun’s current azimuth and altitude, azimuth at sunrise and sunset, and altitude at solar noon.

Sun Position Sun Position

Light map

Suntimes can display a graph of daylight and twilight periods.

Light map Light map

Tip

Use Suntimes -> Settings User Interface -> Show Light Map to show the light map view on the main screen.

Altitude Graph

Altitude Graph Altitude Graph

Use : -> Altitude Graph to toggle the altitude graph, and : -> Options to change the graph’s options.

  • Grid
  • Labels
  • Axis
  • Filled Path
  • Show Moon
Note

Changes to the graph options are also applied to home screen widgets.

Seek Altitude

Suntimes can find the time when the sun will be at a given angle in the sky.

Use : -> Seek Altitude to specify the angle.

Tap to find the rising time, or to find the setting time.

Seek Altitude Seek Altitude

Tip

Tapping the sunrise, noon, or sunset areas (next to the altitude field) will seek to the time of those events.

Play (animation)

Play controls Play controls

Suntimes can animate the light map and altitude graphs at different rates:

  • 5m the frames are 5 minutes apart.
  • 1d the frames are 24 hours apart.

Tap and to step through frames one at a time.

Tap to play the animation, to pause it, and to reset to the current moment.

View Date

Use : -> View date to open other dialogs at the selected date/time.

Object Shadow

Suntimes can find the length of the shadow cast by an object with a given height.

Use : -> Object Shadow to change the height.

Tap to reduce the object’s height, and to increase it.

Object Shadow Object Shadow

The object height can also be changed from Suntimes -> Settings User Interface -> Object Shadow.

Note

The length of the shadow will be ∞ when the sun is below the horizon.

Moon

Moon Dialog Moon Dialog

Phase, Illumination, and Position

Suntimes displays the moon’s current phase, illumination, azimuth, and altitude.

Moon position Moon position

Tip

Use Suntimes -> Settings User Interface -> Show Moon to show this info in the main table.

Playback

Use : -> Playback to show the controls.

Tap and to step through positions at 5 minute intervals. Tap to reset to the current time (on the selected day).

Moonrise, Moonset

Suntimes displays the time of moonrise and moonset.

Swipe left or right to scroll to past or upcoming days, or tap to reset to today.

Moonrise, Moonset Moonrise, Moonset

Tip

The month views will scroll automatically to show dates around the selected day.

Show Lunar Noon

Suntimes can also display the time of lunar noon and lunar midnight.

Use : -> Show Lunar Noon to toggle this option.

Moonrise, Moonset Moonrise, Moonset

Synodic Month

Suntimes displays the time/date of the moon’s major phases (synodic month), and labels the “Super Moons”.

Swipe left or right to scroll to future or past months, or tap to reset the view.

Synodic Month Synodic Month

Columns (phases)

Use : -> Columns (phases) to change the number of columns displayed.

Anomalistic Month

Suntimes displays the time/date of the moon’s apogee and perigee (anomalistic month), and the moon’s current distance.

Swipe left or right to scroll to future or past months, or tap to reset the view.

Anomalistic Month Anomalistic Month

More Options

Tap on a field to show the context menu button.

Use : -> Set Alarm to set an alarm for the selected event.

Use : -> View Date to open other dialogs at the selected date/time.

Use : -> Share to copy text to clipboard.

Solstice, Equinox

Solstice / Equinox Dialog Solstice / Equinox Dialog

Solstices, Equinoxes (tracking)

Suntimes displays the solstices and equinoxes, and can track the number of days until or since those events.

Summer Solstice Summer Solstice

Use : -> Track to change tracking to the recent, nearest, or upcoming event.

This option can also be changed from the User Interface settings. Suntimes -> Settings User Interface -> Solstice Tracking.

Tip

Tracking can be enabled in the main view using Suntimes -> Settings User Interface -> Show Solstice / Equinox.

Cross-Quarter Days

Suntimes can display the midpoints between each solstice and equinox (the cross-quarter days).

Cross-Quarter Days Cross-Quarter Days

Use : -> Cross-Quarter Days to toggle this setting.

This option can also be changed from the User Interface settings. Suntimes -> Settings User Interface -> Cross-Quarter Days.

Note

Changes to the Cross-Quarter Days setting are also applied to home screen widgets.

Tropical Year

Suntimes displays the length of the tropical year.

Tropical Year Tropical Year

More Options

Tap on a row to select it and reveal the context menu button.

Use : -> Set Alarm to set an alarm for the selected event.

Use : -> View Date to open other dialogs at the selected date/time.

Use : -> Share to copy text to clipboard.

World Map

World Map World Map

Maps

  • Basic
  • Blue Marble
  • Polar (North)
  • Polar (South)
  • Azimuthal Equidistant (Phoenix)

Map Options

Use : -> Options to change the map’s options.

  • Sunlight (shadow)
  • Moonlight
  • Location (dot)
  • Graticule (minor grid lines)
  • Major Lines (equator, tropics, arctic circle)
Note

The map options are also applied to home screen widgets.

Play (animation)

Suntimes can animate the world map at different rates.

  • 15m the frames are 15 minutes apart.
  • 1d the frames are 24 hours apart.

Tap and to step through frames one at a time.

Tap to play the animation, to pause it, and to reset to the current moment.

Tip

Long pressing the map will also play the animation, and tapping it again will pause.

Share (Record)

Suntimes can share individual frames, or record all frames in an animation.

Use : -> Share to share the current map view.

To share an animation, long press to start recording. When finished, tap (where the play button was previously) to share the frames (as .zip).

View Date

Use : -> View date to open other dialogs at the selected date/time.

Set Background

Suntimes can be configured to display a custom world map background.

Use : -> Center -> Set Background to change the map’s background image.

World Map (:) World Map (:) World Map (Center) World Map (Center) World Map (Set Background) World Map (Set Background)

Subsections of World Map

Creating Backgrounds

  • The background image should be a png or jpeg, with recommended dimensions 1024 x 512 or 1024 x 1024 or greater (will be scaled to fit the screen).
  • The default maps use vector data from Natural Earth, and raster data from Blue Marble: Next Generation.
  • The default maps use a white foreground (landmasses), and transparent background (ocean). The final coloring is determined by the app’s theme.
  • The graticule and other markings are drawn behind the background image (requires transparency).
  • The background image must have the appropriate map projection, center, and aspect ratio to align correctly.
World Map Aspect Projection Center proj4
Basic 2:1 Equidistant Rectangular [0,0] +proj=eqc +lat_ts=0 +lat_0=0 +lon_0=0 +x_0=0 +y_0=0 +a=6371007 +b=6371007 +units=m +no_defs
Polar [north] 1:1 Equidistant Azimuthal [90,0] +proj=aeqd +lat_0=90 +lon_0=0 +x_0=0 +y_0=0 +datum=WGS84 +units=m +no_defs"
Polar [south] 1:1 Equidistant Azimuthal [-90,0] +proj=aeqd +lat_0=-90 +lon_0=0 +x_0=0 +y_0=0 +datum=WGS84 +units=m +no_defs"
Azimuthal Equidistant 1:1 Equidistant Azimuthal [LAT,LON] +proj=aeqd +lat_0=LAT +lon_0=LON +x_0=0 +y_0=0 +a=6371000 +b=6371000 +units=m +no_defs" where LAT and LON define the center of the projection.

A GIS application (e.g. QGIS) can be used to create new map backgrounds. The map data needs to be re-projected or warped (see proj4 definitions), and exported to an image with the appropriate aspect ratio. The final image should be optimized to reduce its size (e.g. pngquant).