Email Support
For bug reports, feature requests, or account questions, email us at support@astrohelm.app. We aim to respond within 2 business days.
Support
Need help with AstroHelm? Start with the common issues below, or reach out directly.
Frequently Asked Questions
Section titled “Frequently Asked Questions”Why isn’t plate solving working?
Section titled “Why isn’t plate solving working?”Plate solving requires a clear, dark sky with at least 8 visible stars in frame, and the phone must be mounted steady — it will not work handheld.
- Make sure no artificial lights (streetlamps, buildings) are in the camera’s view. The star extraction step can mistake bright point sources for stars and produce a false pattern.
- If you have a multi-lens iPhone, try switching to the telephoto lens for better star detection in less-than-ideal conditions.
If the problem persists, enable Save Debug Images under Settings → Advanced → Diagnostics. AstroHelm will save every captured frame to On My iPhone → AstroHelm → solve_images (this folder is cleared each time the app launches). Review the saved images to see exactly what the camera sees, then email them to support if the cause isn’t obvious.
Objects aren’t aligning with what I see in the eyepiece
Section titled “Objects aren’t aligning with what I see in the eyepiece”- Confirm you have aligned the reticle against a real-world landmark before observing. See Quick Start for instructions.
- Re-trigger plate solving by tapping the status indicator in the top-left corner.
- Verify your device clock is set automatically: Settings → General → Date & Time → Set Automatically.
Contact & Feedback
Section titled “Contact & Feedback”App Store Review
Love the app? A review on the App Store helps other astronomers discover AstroHelm and takes less than a minute.
Privacy & Data
Section titled “Privacy & Data”AstroHelm performs all plate solving on-device. No images, sky coordinates, or observing logs are transmitted to external servers.