The night sky of a tomb ceiling
Tap the stars painted on an ancient Egyptian ceiling: Sah, Sopdet, the Imperishable Stars. Then flip to Modern View to see what astronomers know today, and where the match is still a question.
The same four steps as the map tour inside the app
Tap a star or a symbol to open its card. Pinch to zoom, then drag to move around the ceiling.
Ancient View shows what Egyptians wrote and drew. Modern View shows what astronomers know today and marks uncertain matches.
The legend explains every mark, including dashed figures whose stars are still debated.
Browse six collections, take short lessons with questions, and save favourites to My Sky.
Everything works offline, with no account
Twelve signs from Egyptian sky maps, from Sah and Sopdet to the 36 decans and Nut herself, drawn in gold leaf. Pinch, drag and tap.
One switch turns gold figures into the stars, ecliptic and pole that astronomers chart today. Uncertain matches wear a question ring.
Every text is marked Historical Evidence, Mythological Belief or Modern Science, with a symbol and never by colour alone.
Stars and Decans, Gods of the Sky, Cosmic Myths, Temples and Astronomy, Time and Calendar, Ancient vs Modern. Search topics, cards and stars.
Three to five minutes each: three pages, then two questions. A wrong answer is explained and never blocks the lesson.
Favourites, recently viewed signs, unfinished lessons and progress by collection. Light or dark appearance and adjustable text size.
Tap a sign, then flip the view. This is the app's own map.
The ceiling is a schematic. Places show the order of the ancient sky, not measured positions.
What the sources say, what the myths tell, what astronomy knows
Take Sopdet, the star whose return before dawn marked a new year. Midnight Atlas keeps each kind of knowledge on its own line, so you always know which one you are reading.
Sopdet is shown as a woman with a star on her head, or as a cow lying in a boat. A papyrus from Illahun notes the date of its first dawn rising, and the Decree of Canopus of 238 BCE ties that rising to the calendar.
Sopdet was linked with Isis and with the coming of the Nile flood that brought the fields back to life.
Sirius is a double star 8.6 light years away: a bright white star with a faint white dwarf companion. After weeks hidden in the Sun's glare it reappears low in the east before sunrise, its heliacal rising.
Three to five minutes each
Each lesson has three pages and two questions. Every answer comes with its explanation, and you can replay any lesson.
Cards cite the scholarship behind them, from Neugebauer and Parker's star tables to the Pyramid Texts.
Questions, a correction to a card, or a star you would like to see on the ceiling? We read every message.
Or email us directly at inbox@brimlet.cfd.
Free for iPhone. No account, no ads, and every star is already on board, so it works anywhere, even under a truly dark sky.
Download on theApp StoreMade for quiet nights and curious minds.
