Alignment Searches

An alignment is the moment the sun, moon, or Milky Way core lines up with a landmark — the moon kissing a summit, the sun rising behind a lighthouse. GoldenLight has three searches in Map Scout and an Alignment Window in Horizon Profile to find those moments. This guide shows you which one to reach for, and how each works.

First, the pins

Every search is built from a couple of pins on the map.

Which search do I use?

Match what you already know to the button. All three live on the right side of Map Scout — same + icon, different color.

The three search buttons as they appear in Map Scout

“I know where I'll stand and what I'm shooting.”

When does something line up from this exact spot?

Align

“I know the date and the subject.”

Where do I stand for that day's rise or set?

Event

“I only know the subject.”

Find me the best camera spots, any date this year.

Scout

Align — from where you stand

Sweeps the next 365 days from your camera spot

Use when: you've found your composition — camera spot and subject both chosen — and want to know every date the sun, moon, or Milky Way lines up behind the subject.

1. Place a Camera pin where you'll stand and a Subject pin on your landmark.
2. Tap the blue Align button. (No subject yet? The app asks you to place one, then runs automatically.)
3. In the sheet, choose the body — Sun, Moon, or Milky Way — and adjust the alignment window: how close to the summit counts as a hit.
4. Tap Find Alignments. The app sweeps a full year of sky positions against the real terrain between you and the subject.
5. Browse the list of dates. Each shows a precision tier — ⭐️ Perfect · ★ Great · Good — based on how tightly the body kisses the subject.
6. Tap a day for the exact minute, then Save as Plan.

You get: a calendar of alignment dates for the coming year, from the exact spot you'll set up your tripod.

Event — pick the date, find the spot

One date, one rise or set — a line of places to stand

Use when: a specific date matters — a full moon rising behind Mt. Hood next Tuesday — and you need to know where in the valley to stand.

1. Place a Subject pin on the landmark.
2. Tap the green Event button and pick the date, the body (sun or moon), and rise or set.
3. Optionally choose a disk anchor — should the top, center, or bottom edge of the disk touch the summit?
4. Tap Find Spots for This Date.
5. A teal line of dots appears on the map. Every point along that line is a valid camera spot — closer dots put the body higher above the subject, farther dots lower. Each spot has its own exact time.
6. Tap a dot: the time scrubber jumps to that spot's alignment moment, and a card shows distance, body altitude, and time — with buttons to Open in Horizon Profile, Save as Interest Pin, or Save as Plan.

You get: a line on the map — pick your standoff distance, drive there on the date, and the body meets your subject on schedule.

Scout — start from the subject

Ranks the best camera locations within your radius

Use when: you love a subject but have no spot and no date. Scout searches the terrain around it and ranks where to stand.

1. Tap the purple Scout button and place the purple Scout pin on your subject.
2. In the sheet, pick a search radius — 15, 30, 60, or 100 miles — and the body you're after.
3. Tap Find Camera Locations. The app grids the landscape, checks a year of alignments from each point, and verifies the sightline isn't blocked by terrain.
4. Teal candidate dots appear, ranked by Shot Score (0–100) — a blend of alignment precision, telephoto compression, how often it aligns, and a clear sightline.
5. Tap a dot for its score, rank, and distance. Preview shows the full score breakdown.
6. Tap Set as Camera Pin to commit — the camera pin drops there, the scrubber jumps to the next alignment date, and the other dots stay so you can compare spots. Or go straight to Save as Plan.

You get: a ranked shortlist of shooting locations you may never have considered — including the 50-mile telephoto compression spots.

Alignment in Horizon Profile

Horizon Profile is the 3D view — real terrain rendered from your camera pin, with the live sun, moon, and Milky Way. Open it with the mountain button on the right side of Map Scout.

The Alignment Window

Draw a box in the sky — find everything that passes through it

Use when: you're framing visually — “I want the moon in this notch between the peaks” — rather than aligning to a single pinned subject.

1. Open Horizon Profile and pan the view to your composition. Pinch to match your lens' field of view.
2. Turn on alignment mode — a gold box appears in the sky. Drag it anywhere; pull the corners to resize. It stays glued to that patch of sky as you pan.
3. Pick a date range and body, then tap Search.
4. The results list shows every pass of the sun, moon, or Milky Way core through your box. Tap a pass and the whole 3D scene scrubs to that moment so you can see it.
5. Tap the gold Save on any pass to keep it as a plan.

Two more tricks: the −15s / +15s buttons nudge time in fine steps for landing the moon exactly on a summit — and the bookmark button in the top bar instantly saves whatever moment you're looking at as a plan.

Good to know