This application has only one function
Last week, designer Matt Webb introduced a new iPhone app called Galaxy Compass. It has the function of always pointing to the center of the Milky Way galaxy, regardless of the position of the Earth. The app can be downloaded for free from the App Store.
Describing the operation of the Galaxy Compass, Matt Webb explains that the user should place their iPhone on a flat surface, a large green arrow will appear on the screen indicating the direction to the Galactic Center. This is the core of the Milky Way spiral galaxy, where the black hole Sagittarius A* is located.
Webb's path to creating the «Galactic Compass» began ten years ago as an offshoot of his love for everyday astronomy. «About 10 years ago I learned to point to the center of the galaxy. I lived in an apartment with a great view of the stars, and used augmented reality apps to identify them, and so gradually learned to navigate the sky, — Webb told us.
Over time, the author learned to always find the center of the galaxy. He described how he visualized himself on the surface of the Earth, understanding the ecliptic as a line across the sky, and the center of the galaxy as a point moving through the constellation Sagittarius, which lies on the line of the ecliptic. By visualizing the Earth's orbit for a year and determining his orientation in space, he honed his abilities through daily practice and comparison with an augmented reality application.
The creation of the application was made possible thanks to the help of ChatGPT. With it, Webb created a simple application interface and integrated complex calculations to determine the location of the galactic center, which includes calculating the user's azimuth and altitude.
«For now, the phone needs to be held level for the app to work, because my math doesn't work when the phone is upright. I will fix this in future versions», — Webb said.
The application took 87th place in the travel ranking of the American App Store. In this case, the spaceship «Earth» travels through the galaxy.