Haneke Design’s latest project helps serious stargazers plan viewing parties and find the optimal spots to watch celestial fireworks light up the night.
What happens when the Earth passes through the path of a comet? A meteor shower, that’s what! When this gigantic ball of cosmic ice streaks past the sun, the debris in its wake explodes in one of the greatest celestial fireworks displays one can witness from our planet. And it’s all free! Wouldn’t you want to gather up your friends and family and stare up at the night sky to marvel at this extraterrestrial spectacle?
Well you are not alone. Mark Myers, who loves to camp and enjoy the great outdoors, is passionate about organizing his camping trips around meteor shower events. He began searching for mobile apps that would identify when the showers were taking place, help him plan viewing trips, and give him the best locations from which to view them. Unfortunately, nothing he found online met his needs. So he did what any other smart meteor shower lover in need of a great app would do – he turned to Haneke Design and asked them to create one.
“The astronomy and meteor shower apps I found on the market weren’t terribly user friendly and lacked key features that I wanted, such as a one-stop information hub about all things relating to a future meteor shower and notifications about upcoming meteor showers that would give me enough time to plan a viewing party,” said Mark Myers, President of Westcoast Media Group Inc. “Haneke Design listened to all of my critiques and concerns about the existing products, and produced the perfect app for meteor shower enthusiasts like me. Thunderstones is information rich and easy to use, which makes it ideal for veteran meteor shower enthusiasts and beginners alike.”
The Thunderstones app features an aggregate visibility score representing all of the major environmental factors that affect the visibility of a meteor shower. These factors – such as Moon Phase, Cloud Conditions and Light Pollution – are categorized individually and displayed with engaging graphics on a single screen. The app’s Radiant Point indicator points toward the position of the origin of the meteor shower, to help the viewer locate the optimal spot for viewing it.
“We learned from working with Mark that the ability to plan viewing parties far in advance was a top priority,” said Jody Haneke, president of Haneke Design. “Thunderstones lists all meteor showers anticipated for the next five years, identifies peak days for viewing, and delivers push notifications to remind app users about upcoming events. Now people can plan trips and parties years in advance, a huge bonus for those who want to convene extended family members and friends to share memories of pretty spectacular cosmic events.”
