Turning Your Screen Red for Astronomy

Astronomers prefer dim red lights to white lights, because dim red light helps preserve night vision. This can make all the difference between seeing or not seeing a very faint target.

It is possible to use the Accessibility features of your phone to add a red color filter to your screen, which you can easily turn on or off as needed.

There is some setup involved, but the main idea is to go to the Settings page, then under Accessibility turn on Color Filters and adjust the Hue to Red and lower the Intensity.

To keep from having to do this every time you want it you can add this to an Accessibility Shortcut that will turn it on or off. In the Accessibility settings menu find "Accessibility Shortcut" and select "Color Filters".

The Accessibility Shortcut is different on different kinds of phones and tablets. On an iPhone or iPad with a Home button you press the Home button three times quickly. On an iPhone without a Home button you press the side button three times quickly.