14 best apps for astronomy lovers

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

In order to admire the night sky, it is not at all necessary to buy a telescope and go to the roof of the house. A smartphone and an installed application are enough. One of those we are going to tell you about now.

Modern smartphones and tablets are almost as good as PCs in terms of functionality, and in some cases even surpass them. In addition, built-in sensors and gyroscopes make it possible to use gadgets as an augmented reality tool for studying the starry sky. To do this, you just need to install the appropriate application and point your smartphone to the desired place, even if there is a concrete ceiling above your head.

SkySafari

Allows you to study celestial objects from anywhere in the world in augmented reality. It is worth pointing your smartphone at this or that part of the sky, and you will see a map of this area of space. Strictly speaking, you can aim at anything: it is oriented only by coordinates and gyroscope data. So you can study the sky and read encyclopedic articles about celestial objects even in a concrete box. There would only be the Internet.

The classic map of the location of the stars in the application is accompanied by photographs from the Hubble telescope, information about the stars from the catalog and our own reference. Thus, with the help of Skysafari, you can learn about more than 700,000 galaxies and 580,000 objects in the solar system.

NASA App

If this is not enough, you can refer to the original source. In this application you can find information, photos and documents about all missions. The data is updated daily and weekly, there are news, collections of tweets from employees. You can also watch live NASA Television broadcasts right in the application and study the trajectories of the agency's satellites flying overhead.

ISS Detector

It is worth recalling that the International Space Station is a joint project of many countries. Perhaps that is why she deserved, which notifies the user about the imminent appearance of the station over his head (5 minutes before the event). With luck, the ISS can be seen with an armed or naked eye.

In addition, the app provides similar information about China's Tiangong space station, the Hubble telescope, satellites, and passing comets.

Solar walk

It is a more academic, but no less interesting program. Solar Walk is a 3D model of the solar system. True, there are only eight main planets and their satellites in the database. By changing the scale, you can see the Milky Way, but only in general terms. In addition, you can watch a selection of educational films about the structure of our star system.

Redshift

But it offers a much more interactive pastime: you become a pilot of a spaceship. When approaching planets and satellites, you can see their surface (!) And study the entire solar system. Redshift can also work as a time machine and demonstrate how the largest astronomical events took place or will take place: the fall of meteorites, the movement of stellar streams and solar eclipses. The utility regularly updates the photo base, can interact with Google Maps and the digital sky survey (DSS). The latest features allow real-time monitoring of events taking place directly overhead.

Planet's Position

As the name suggests, this app is designed to calculate the positions of planets in the night sky. You need to set your own coordinates, and voila: you can observe the position of the planets with great accuracy. You can also set the observation time: the database contains information about the position of the planets since 1900. And with the help of the built-in calendar, you can determine the time of eclipses (lunar and solar).

Planet's Position Tim Gaddis

Star Chart

Perhaps the simplest and most useful of all the apps on this list. Star Chart is nothing more than a virtual map of the starry sky. All visible stars (over 5,000) and all 88 constellations can be viewed. Each and every one has its own information card with detailed data. There is also a voice search, though only in English.

Star Chart ESCAPE VELOCITY LIMITED

Star Chart - Star Chart Escapist Games Limited

Star walk

This program is designed for a 360-degree view of space. Knows how to show planets, their satellites, stars, constellations and nebulae. As in the previous application, each object is supplied with its own card with a description. There is an interesting function - a separate view of the day and night starry sky.

Star Walk HD - Star Map Vito Technology Inc.

Star Walk - Atlas of the Starry Sky and Astronomy Vito Technology

GoSkyWatch Planetarium

A wonderful virtual planetarium for the iPad. It will be much more pleasant to admire all the known planets and stars on the big screen. True, it shows only what can be seen with the naked eye. Fortunately, you can at least read background information about each object.

Sky map

An interesting add-on for Google Maps. These maps use compass and GPS data to pinpoint the location of celestial bodies. There are several ways to apply the Sky Map. Firstly, you can simply look through your smartphone at the sky (or at the earth to see what is happening in the other hemisphere) and see the current picture behind the clouds. The second method will allow you to select the desired object, and then, using the application prompts, direct the device in the desired direction. Well, the "Time Travel" function will tell you where the selected object was or will be at one time or another.

Sky Map Sky Map Devs

SkEye Astronomy

And this app is for real astronomers. At the very least, its only function will only come in handy for those with a telescope. Synchronizing your smartphone with a telescope, you can use hints: in which direction to direct the pipe to see the desired object. The SkEye Astronomy database contains more than 180 bright objects: planets of the solar system, Messier objects. In addition, there is a Time Machine function that will allow you to schedule observations of nighttime starfalls.

SkEye | Planetarium Harshad RJ

Star & Planet Finder

This application allows you to select a specific space object from the list (planet or satellite), and then, using the main camera of the device, observe it on the screen. The app will tell you which way to point the lens. There is a big drawback: in the free version, the list of objects available for observation is very small.

Star & Planet Finder Nir Alperovitch

SkyView

Just like the previous one, just the opposite. Point the main camera of the device at the blue above you, and it will help you find out what is moving in the sky and how it will move next. You can search for specific objects, including artificial ones: the application will tell you where to point your smartphone or tablet. And there is also integration with social networks. Did you see something interesting? Submit to Twitter, Facebook or Instagram immediately.

SkyView® Lite Terminal Eleven LLC

Satellite AR

This application helps to observe not natural, but artificial objects. Satellite AR can track the trajectory and movement of satellites launched by humans. Moreover, this can be done in two ways: both by observing the specified point, and by searching for a specific object (the application will tell you where to direct the device).