GUIDES
Understanding altitude, direction, and brightness
Read the numbers in the object panel and understand what they mean outdoors.
Open the sky mapAltitude is height above the horizon
An altitude of 0° lies on the mathematical horizon; 90° is directly overhead. Negative altitude means an object is below that horizon. Orion does not include nearby buildings, mountains, or atmospheric refraction in the map position.
Azimuth tells you where to face
Azimuth runs clockwise from north: east is 90°, south 180°, and west 270°. Orion uses geographic north. Phone compasses can drift or respond to nearby metal, so check their direction against a known reference.
Smaller magnitude means brighter
Apparent magnitude describes brightness as seen from Earth. Lower numbers indicate brighter objects, including negative numbers for very bright ones. The limiting-magnitude control only filters the display; it is not a forecast of what your eyes can detect.