Midnight GMT positions (Tropical) for 1700-2100 are derived from the JPL (Jet Propulsion Laboratories) DE406 ephemerides and the US Naval Observatory equivalent for Asteroids. These are stored in a small binary database of our own devising. From that database positions for any other time/timezone are interpolated using the algorithms specified by Jean Meeus. Sidereal positions are derived by correcting the Tropical positions for the users selected or provided Ayanamsa.

iPhemeris uses a "New Style" calendar with all dates being according to the Gregorian Calendar adopted October 1582. However, be aware that some locales adopted the Gregorian calendar at other times; for example, Great Britain switched in September 1752. Therefore you may have to adjust your dates accordingly.

• Ephemeris Tables (Longitude)
• Charts: Display, Add, Edit, Rectify
• Aspectarian Calendar
• Settings and Preferences
• Chart of the Sky Now updating every 15 seconds.
• Transit Calendar showing Transits to an Event Chart.
• Ephemeris Tables of Declination and Latitude.
• Display of Houses Now updating every 15 seconds.

Tabs at the bottom of the display can be re-arranged any time you like.

• The More button brings up the More menu.
• Tap the Edit button to display the more menu (shown above).


• Re-arrange items on the Tab Bar by dragging them left or right and on or off.
• Drag items ON the Tab Bar left or right to re-arrange the order.
• Drag items onto or off the Tab Bar to add or remove functions.
• Tap the Done button to finish and save the changes.
• Functions that don't fit onto the Tab Bar are always available on the More menu.

The Settings menu offers many options for customizing iPhemeris according to your needs and preferences. You should spend a little time and review all the settings because they provide quite a bit of flexibility and control over the way it works.

• Tropical / Sidereal
  • In Tropical mode all positions throughout iPhemeris are displayed using Tropical coordinates.
  • In Sidereal mode, all positions throughout iPhemeris are displayed using the selected Ayanamsa.
  • Selecting Sidereal causes two additional rows for setting Ayanamsa parameters to be displayed.
• True / Mean Lunar Nodes - Applies to all iPhemeris features.
• Time Zone
  • Use standard Time Zone notation and time zones are entered the same way they would be for a Natal chart, with locations East of Greenwich being positive and those west being negative.
  • The Ephemeris does NOT automatically adjust for Summer/Winter time changes and will remain fixed at whatever Time Zone you set it to until you change it.
  • This setting effects ONLY the display of data on the Ephemeris and Calendar Tables.
• Hour - Sets the Hour used for the selected Time Zone. For example, if you are using GMT and this is set to 12 displayed values are for Noon GMT. If you are using local time then this corresponds to Noon in your Local Time Zone.
• Ayanamsa
  • When the Ephemeris is in Sidereal mode, 2 additional rows appear in the Ephemeris section.
  • To set the Ayanamsa tap the row titled "Ayanamsa" and you will be shown a list of pre-set Ayanamsa. Simply tap one to select it.
  • You can learn more about the degree offset for each of the pre-defined Ayanamsa on the the iPhemeris website on the Symbol Reference page. The values shown there are for the Epoch starting in the year 1900. iPhemeris will correct this to the correct value for the date of the Chart or Table you are currently looking at. It does this using the the mean rate of annual precession (0.013911111 degrees per year).
  • Custom Ayanamsa - To use your own value for an Ayanamsa:
    • Select the row titled Ayanamsa and scroll to the bottom of the Ayanamsa list. Select "Your Ayanamsa".
    • Return to settings.
    • Select the row titled "Your Ayanamsa" and enter a value using the keyboard.
    • The value entered must be the value for midnight Jan 1, 1900. iPhemeris will adjust accordingly for the date of whatever is being viewed.
    • To calculate the correct value: Value_now - (Current_Year - 1900 * 0.013911111).
  • In Sidereal mode the selected Ayanamsa is used by all features throughout the App, including: the Ephemeris, Calendars and Charts.

• Precision - Toggles display of Ephemeris positions between DD.MM.SS and DD.MM.
• Ephemeris Colors - choose a color scheme for Ephemeris Tables.
• Chart Colors - choose a color scheme for Charts.

• Ephemeris - Turn on/off planets & points shown on Ephemeris pages.
• Aspect Calendar - Turn on/off planets & points shown on Aspectarian Calendar.
• Transit Calendar - Turn on/off planets & points shown on Transit Calendar.
• Charts - Turn on/off planets & points shown on Charts & "Sky Now".

The Transits Calendar displays a monthly calendar of Transits to the selected Chart in your Chart library. Starting with Version 8.4 of iPhemeris this is the ONLY way to set the event chart used by Transit Calendar.

• Transits For A Chart - Tap the row to be shown a list of charts in your chart library. Select one and the Calendar will show daily Transits to that Chart.

Chart defaults are used when setting up new Charts. To change settings for existing charts, edit the chart details from the Charts tab.

• House System - the default house system used on new charts.
• Latitude and Longitude
  • Used to pre-populate location for new charts.
  • iPhemeris is shipped with a default location of New York City.
• Use Internet Atlas
  • Requires an internet connection to work.
  • When On iPhemeris displays the Map interface for finding and setting Latitude and Longitude.
  • If an internet connection is not available or if you are geographically challenged, turn this Off and you can manually enter Lat/Lng.

iPhemeris has 2 default settings for independently controlling the Progression style used for planets and house cusps (Angles). These apply to new charts but can be changed for individual chart by editing the chart details from the Charts tab (see the section on chart drawing for details).

• Secondary - Standard day for a year, and fraction thereof, since natal date. Planets are shown in their position at the implied Secondary progressed date and time.
• Solar Arc in Longitude (Solar Arc Directed) - Standard degree for year, and fraction thereof, since natal date/time. Everything is moved by the same amount of degrees of longitude the Sun moved.

iPhemeris currently supports the most common Progression techniques. More will be added soon.

• Orbs can be set for each of the 4 Features that use them:
  • The Aspect Calendar
  • The Transit Calendar
  • Charts & "Sky Now"
• The icons correspond to those shown on the Tab of the feature they control.
• To set Orbs for one of the aspects:
  • Tap the row of the aspect you want to set.
  • Spin the wheel corresponding to the feature you want to set an Orb for.
  • To turn OFF display of an aspect in a feature, set its corresponding Orb value to "--".

The Sky Now and Houses Now features are real time Astrological clocks updating every 15 seconds and which show respectively a Chart of the the sky with Aspect Grid, and a Table of Houses for your current location and time.

By default these use the devices location and continuously update latitude and longitude. If you prefer you can lock them to the location specified in the Latitude and Longitude fields, for example the New York Stock Exchange.

• The latitude and longitude values are used when Location Services are not available or when the location is locked by setting Always Use This Location to On.
• Always Use This Location locks the location used by Sky Now & Houses Now.
• Note: when the switch is in the Off position they revert to using device location.

The House system used by Sky Now and Houses Now.

Setting up new charts is fastest if you enter the data in the order of the fields.

• Enter data top to bottom.
• After Name, Date and Time has been entered, when you select latitude or longitude you'll be presented with the Map View to lookup the location.
• The Map view supports search or scrolling to the location.
• After you've positioned the crosshairs over the location use the Clock looking button in the upper right corner to lookup the Time Zone.
• Time Zone lookup uses the international Time Zone database available on the internet and will figure out War Time, Day Light Time etc. for the location on the date and time.
• You must have internet access for the Map and Time Zone lookup to work.

• Ephemeris pages displays a full month.
• Data is grouped into weeks and weeks start on Sunday.
• The date column shows day # and day of the week.
• Two Lunar values are included:
  • This first corresponds to the values the Ephemeris is set to in Settings.
  • The second is that position +12 hours.
• GST column displays Greenwich Sidereal Time for the Ephemeris settings.
• Bodies beyond the Moon obey the Settings for precision (DMS & DM).
  • DMS: 11!45"R = 11 degrees, 9 minutes 45 seconds of arc, in the sign of Aries. The Planet is Retrograde.
  • DM: 12+1.9 = 11 degrees, 1.9 minutes of Arc in the sign of Aquarius.

Navigation:

• Navigate around table displays using the various touch gestures.
• Use ONE finger to move the various views around and see parts not on the screen.
• Use TWO finger swipe gestures or the left/right arrow buttons to go back/forward a month at a time.
• Use Pinch or Finger Spread gestures to zoom in and out.
• Use the Search button (center left) to goto a specific date.
• Use the Now button (center right) to return to the current month.

• The Declination and Latitude page shows two columns for each body.
• Displayed values obey the DMS & DM Settings for precision.
  • DMS: 25 n 28' 59" = 25 degrees North, 28 minutes, 59 seconds.
  • DM: 25 n 29 = 25 degrees North, 29 minutes.

The Aspectarian shows the relationship between bodies in the sky on a particular date. For example the Sun relative to Saturn on the same date.

• It uses a calendar like format.
• The display J0.0* @ R1.0* is read as Sun at 0.0° of Capricorn is conjunct Uranus at 1.0° of Capricorn.
• Planets & Asteroids shown on the Aspectarian can be turned on/off in the Planets section of Settings.
• Aspects are shown (or not) according to their respective settings in the Orb section of Settings.

• It uses a calendar like format.
• The position on the left side of the aspect glyph shows the position of the indicated planet in the sky on that date.
• The position on the right side of the aspect glyph shows the position of the indicated Event Chart element.
• The Event Chart used is set in Settings, in the Transit Calendar section. It must be one of the charts in your Chart library.
• You control what points are displayed (or not) on the Transit Calendar from the Planets section of Settings.
• The display J0.0* @ R1.0* is read as Sun on the Calendar date at 0.0° Capricorn, conjunct transiting Uranus at 1.0° Capricorn on the user specified Transit Date/Time.
• Set Orbs for aspects shown on the the Transit Calendar (or turn one off completely) in Settings - Orbs section.
• Due to the large number of Lunar aspects, these are currently NOT included in the Transit Calendar.

• Sky Now uses the location and House System specified in the the Sky Now section of Settings.
• When location services are available it will use your current location.
• When Location Services are not available or you have locked it to a fixed location, it uses the latitude and longitude set in the Sky Now section of Settings.
• iPhemeris is shipped with a default location set to New York City, you can change that in Settings.
• The display updates every 15 seconds.
• Note: If the location is not updating and you think it should, check that you have allowed iPhemeris to get your location in the iPhone Settings.

• Houses Now uses the location and House System specified in the the Sky Now section of Settings.
• When location services are available it will use your current location.
• When Location Services are not available or you have locked it to a fixed location, it uses the latitude and longitude set in the Sky Now section of Settings.
• iPhemeris is shipped with a default location set to New York City, you can change that in Settings.
• The display updates every 15 seconds.
• Note: If the location is not updating and you think it should, check that you have allowed iPhemeris to get your location in the iPhone Settings.

• If "Use the Internet Atlas" is turned on in Settings, you will see the Map interface for selecting Latitude & Longitude.
• The Map based Atlas is far more accurate than most Astrological Atlas which generally return location of a city "center". The Map atlas can be positioned to an exact address or street corner and can be quite helpful if there are cuspy issues with a chart.
• Find a Charts lat/lng by scrolling, pinching and zooming, or use the Search Bar. The Search Bar is smart and can even find locations using abbreviations like "NY", "San Fran", "London" or "Paris".
• Set the lat/Lng by positioning the cross hairs over the location you want. Setting either, sets both.
• Use the button with a clock on it look up a time zone at the current position of the crosshairs. For that to work Date and Time must already be entered.
• If you've turned off the Internet Atlas in Settings then you see wheels for manually setting the Latitude and Longitude.

• You can lookup Time Zones from either the MapView or the Time Zone View.
• To do so requires internet access and that Latitude and Longitude values have been set for the Chart.
• When looking up a TimeZone the GeoNames database attempts to get the Time Zone for the given location and if Day Light Savings time was in effect or not.
• You can also use the Local Mean Time button to calculate a Time Zone derived from longitude.

It is possible to move the iPhemeris chart database between iOS devices, however you must be careful when doing this else you will render your charts unusable.

To move data to another device follow these steps:

• Connect both devices you want to move data between to a Mac running iTunes.
• Open iTunes and sync both devices.
• Select the device you want to move data FROM in the left sidebar of iTunes.
• On the main panel where the Device Summary panel is showing, select "Apps".
• Scroll down to the "File Sharing" section.
• Select iPhemeris in the list and you will see a file called iPhemeris.sqlite on the "iPhemeris Documents" panel.
• Copy that file to your desktop using the "Save" button.
• Then select the other device that you want to move your charts TO and navigate to the same panel.
• Use the "Add" button to move the iPhemeris.sqlite database you previously saved to the desktop to your other device.
• After the second device is Sync'd it will have all the charts from the first device.

WARNING: When you do this you are completely replacing the charts on second device with charts from the first.