The Motion button activates your device's motion sensors to move around the sky, the Earth, or your selected satellite.
Please note: this feature is available on the iPhone, iPad, and Android versions of Orbitrack, but not the MacOS version.
You can also activate your device's motion sensors by tilting your device upward toward the sky.
Tap the Motion button again, or touch any part of the sky chart, to turn your motion sensors off.
With motion turned on in Sky view, Orbitrack can use Augmented Reality (AR) to blend the sky chart with the real sky, captured from your device's camera. Tap the Camera icon for AR! Note: this feature is only available in the iOS version of Orbitrack currently, and is planned for addition to the Android version soon.
With motion sensors on, you can physically move your device to move:
In Sky View, Orbitrack uses your device's compass to center the sky chart on the direction you're holding your phone. You can also use it to find your selected satellite in the sky. With motion sensors on, tap the Locate button. An arrow appears, leading you toward your selected satellite. Follow the arrow with your phone to center the satellite on screen. When the satellite is centered, the arrow disappears, and your phone will be pointing toward the satellite in the sky.
A note on accuracy: the solid-state compass built into most mobile devices is not very accurate, and easily affected by interference. It can easily be wrong by ten degrees or more. Some devices (like the iPod Touch) do not have a compass at all, so the motion sensors are not accurate.
In Sky view, Orbitrack can show you an Augmented Reality (AR) view of the sky. AR blends the simulated sky chart with a real view of your surroundings, captured from your device's camera.
To use AR in Orbitrack, go to Sky View, and turn on your device's motion sensors. A small Camera icon appears above the toolbar. Tap it to turn on your device's camera. To turn off the camera, tap the Camera icon again.
During daylight hours, point your device at an area of clear blue sky. Orbitrack will fill that area with a sky chart. At night, point your camera at a black sky area. Orbitrack will draw the star chart only over the sky area - not walls, buildings, or trees, etc.
You can increase or decrease the amount of sky chart blending with the camera's video image by swiping up or down. At maximum blending, the star chart is drawn everywhere above the horizon, not just in clear sky areas.
You may find that the simulated objects in the sky chart don't quite line up correctly with the real objects shown by the camera. This is due to the inaccuracy inherent in your device's digital compass. To fix this problem, swipe the chart left-to-right. This way, you can align objects drawn in the chart with their images shown by the camera. The Moon is a great object to align on. The planets and brightest stars should also be visible in the camera and can be used for AR alignment.