ArxSilex MapTools
Calculate Sun and Moon events, twilight and the position of bright celestial objects for a selected place and time, entirely offline.
Offline orientation
The view combines astronomical day data with a compact orientation aid for outdoor use.
Shows rise, set, upper transit, altitude and azimuth. The Moon phase also appears graphically with its illuminated fraction and waxing or waning state. A real image of the Moon’s near side from NASA’s Clementine mission sits beneath the dynamically calculated light-and-shadow mask; rendering remains entirely offline.
The table and local timeline always show daylight together with civil, nautical and astronomical twilight.
Five planets, 17 bright stars plus Cassiopeia, the Southern Cross and the Pleiades provide altitude, azimuth, events and visibility status.
The Pro layer projects up to five labelled celestial objects with thin bearing lines from the selected position onto the map. Automatic selection considers only targets that are currently useful; alternatively, up to five objects can be selected together manually. Bright planets and objects visible later can be included optionally.
The map layer combines the Sun position with active local elevation data. A date-and-time control moves the calculated mountain shadow across the visible map area; point analysis shows the terrain horizon, actual first sunlight, direct-sun intervals and the onset of shadow. This is time-dependent terrain shadow, not static hillshade. For small and medium views, MapTools prefers a 5 m calculation grid when elevation data and memory allow it. The viewport, a 500–20 000 m movement buffer and the terrain sector toward the Sun are cached together; for large views or limited memory, the app automatically switches to 10 m, 20 m or coarser and displays the grid in use. Panning or zooming recalculates the layer automatically. A refresh button can start another calculation, with progress shown as a percentage. Areas without elevation data remain unchanged. A size-limited local GeoTIFF cache reuses elevation blocks already read. Large views first receive a labelled coarse preview before the finer result. Loading, shadow calculation and a previous result still on display are distinguished. Coarse grids can miss narrow terrain features; transparent data gaps mean unknown, not sunlit. Astronomy distinguishes missing elevation data, data disabled in this slot, inaccessible files and partial coverage. Suitable imported sources can be activated directly for this slot; the user chooses when several match. A tappable map hint opens details and data management. Background maps do not automatically supply elevation data; there are no automatic downloads.
Plan with Sun, Moon and terrain
The calendar, area shadow map and time-based route analysis answer different questions. MapTools therefore keeps astronomical events and terrain obstruction visibly separate.
For every local calendar day, the monthly view shows sunrise and sunset, moonrise and moonset, Moon phase, illuminated fraction, and waxing or waning state. Day length and civil twilight are optional; sharing and CSV export are included. No elevation data is needed.
Golden Sun and light-blue Moon directions, the Moon path, terrain horizon and area shadows can be planned together for a place and time. Automatic mode uses the Sun while it is above the horizon, otherwise the Moon—provided it is above the horizon and passes the selected phase filter. Manual Moon mode also supports daytime geometry planning.
An optional second route analysis marks direct sunlight, terrain shade, Sun below the horizon and unknown sections. Planned routes use estimated arrival times from departure, pace and breaks; recorded tracks use their timestamps. Daylight phases and direct terrain sunlight remain separate results.
App view
The screenshots come directly from the completed app running on the Android emulator.
Pro layer on the map
The screenshots show the offline layer from emulator build 2.36.0. It can only be enabled and configured in the Astronomy menu.
Route planning with daylight
Navigation calculates the light conditions for departure time, pace and breaks entirely offline. Map markers show the onset of twilight and night in the evening as well as first light and the transition to daylight in the morning. This helps estimate whether a viewpoint can be reached before sunrise or in time for the blue hour – useful for hiking, mountaineering and photography.
Use and limits
Results always refer to the selected point, its local time zone and the chosen time.
Choose the map centre or GPS position, date, time and optional elevation. The IANA time zone is resolved from bundled offline data.
Filter objects above the horizon, only very bright objects or all entries. A visible target can be shown as a temporary direction arrow on the map.
The regular astronomy status evaluates the mathematical horizon. The optional terrain shadow accounts for distant terrain obstruction from HGT, DEM GeoTIFF, ASC or DTED. A DTM contains terrain only; buildings and vegetation require a suitable DSM. Clouds and weather remain outside the calculation. The feature is available in Free and Pro; your own local elevation data is required.
