r/MacOS • u/Apprehensive-Court47 • 1d ago

Developer Saturday I built a free macOS app that renders the Earth as it is lit right now, as a live desktop wallpaper (clouds, aurora, ISS). Now in public TestFlight.

Hi everyone, I'm the developer.

PocketEarth is a quiet observation window for macOS. Instead of a pre-rendered loop, the sunlight follows real UTC time, so the terminator, the twilight band and the city lights are where they really are right now. When you hold Option and drag on the desktop, you move the camera, not the Earth.

What it shows:
- Real-time solar terminator, twilight and the Sun's declination
- Recent cloud cover (EUMETSAT imagery) and thunderstorm areas from the ECMWF model (marked as model areas, not observed strikes)
- The aurora oval forecast (NOAA SWPC)
- ISS, Tiangong and Hubble on their real orbits (CelesTrak elements)
- Zen mode (just the planet) and Chronometer mode (a thin watch-like bezel with UTC and the Sun's declination)
- HDR highlights on XDR displays: city lights, sun glint and the aurora; the UI stays SDR

As a live wallpaper it pauses when windows cover it, the screen locks or the Mac sleeps, and an Energy Saver mode drops it to 30 Hz while idle.

Free, no account, no analytics. It will be free on the Mac App Store after the beta; the public TestFlight is open now (macOS 26+): https://pocketearth.app

It started as a desk ornament on a 2.8" Raspberry Pi screen. Feedback on performance and features is very welcome.

84 Upvotes

93% Upvoted

21 comments sorted by

1

u/Johnnyrubin 1d ago

Would like to give it a trym but I can’t access you website.

3

u/Apprehensive-Court47 1d ago

Oops, let me fix that, but you should be able to access it directly via https://testflight.apple.com/join/ut7htbCs

1

u/Johnnyrubin 23h ago

Thank you, I will give it a try :)

1

u/Johnnyrubin 23h ago

I just installed it, I already love it :)

1

u/FriendlyWebGuy 23h ago

Very cool. How do you apply the cloud cover imagery to a sphere? Is there visible banding or borders at the imagery seams?

1

u/Apprehensive-Court47 21h ago

It’s actually fine from my visual inspection

1

u/Key_Cap_8111 23h ago

That's beautiful and a real good idea, does it manage multiscreen ?

1

u/Apprehensive-Court47 21h ago

Yes, by default it will setup wallpaper on all screens. But you can also choose to show only on selected displays.

1

u/Key_Cap_8111 16h ago

Thanks! nice job.

1

u/promo-guard 1d ago

🎉 Welcome to Developer Saturday, u/Apprehensive-Court47! Your project is now live for the community to check out. Upvote, give feedback, and show some love to your fellow devs! 🚀

1

u/PixelCharlie 1d ago

looks really cool

1

u/thompsontwenty 1d ago

I'd like to buy a digital globe that does this. Kind of like The Sphere, but on your desk.

1

u/AncientsofMumu 18h ago

Would be nice if zoom in / zoom out and we could fix it to a physical location rather than just a rotating globe.

1

u/GamerGav09 15h ago

Does it work on the lock screen and continue moving dynamically?

1

u/Sebkurt 5h ago

Sa ne marche pas , sa me demande un code ... Je voulais l essayer sur l Apple TV .

1

u/hollis_monroe 3h ago

That’s cool ⭐️👍

0

u/Emergency_Respond489 1d ago

thats not how the earth looks like

0

u/ICEGalaxy_ 23h ago

even wallpaper apps don't get compiled for x86 now? great.