Milky Way Planner
    What's new

    Changelog

    Updates and improvements to Milky Way Planner, most recent first.

    • Location search now finds parks and places even with slightly different spellings — e.g. "Great Smoky Mountain" now finds "Great Smoky Mountains National Park".
    • New blog post: Lyrids 2026 — everything you need to know to photograph the April meteor shower.
    • Changelog page added — you can now see a history of updates at milkywayplanner.com/changelog.
    • Click anywhere on the map to instantly see the light pollution level (Bortle class) for that spot.
    • Dark Sky Parks overlay — see IDA-certified dark sky areas displayed directly on the map.
    • Light pollution level is now saved with each of your favorite locations so it shows up without a lookup.
    • Bortle class badge now appears in the planner header as soon as you enter a location.
    • Fixed several stability issues on iOS and Safari.
    • New blog post: Scout Now, Shoot Later — how to plan locations months in advance.
    • Light pollution overlay — toggle a color-coded map of light pollution levels on top of any map on the site.
    • New page: /light-pollution with an interactive map and guide to understanding dark sky conditions.
    • New blog post: Understanding dark sky maps, light pollution, and the galactic core arc.
    • Improved mobile layout for the annual Milky Way calendar heatmap.
    • Learn section launched — 8 free lessons covering astrophotography technique, from camera settings to processing.
    • Trip planner: weather forecasts added to each stop so you can see conditions at a glance.
    • Trip planner: drive times and route lines between stops shown on the map.
    • Trip planner: share your trip publicly with a link so others can view it.
    • Trip planner: climate-aware packing checklist generated based on your destinations.
    • Trip planner: shooting quality score for each night, combining moon, Bortle class, and galactic core timing.
    • Moonrise and moonset times added to the shared trip view.
    • Locations page loads faster with better search and pagination.
    • Trip planner: Bortle class badge on each stop card.
    • Trip planner: shooting quality score included in Excel and CSV exports.
    • Trip planner: best-night highlights and trip summary now show shooting quality.
    • Forgot password flow added.
    • Welcome email sent when you create an account.
    • Fixed redirect after a successful upgrade to Premium.
    • Premium subscriptions launched — unlock unlimited planning for your location.
    • Export your calendar to a spreadsheet (XLSX) with moon phase and visibility ratings.
    • Moon phase percentage and visibility rating added to the calendar.
    • Typeahead location search — start typing and matching cities appear instantly.
    • About page added.