SkySafari 7 Pro is the best stargazing app for use with a telescope because of everything else it does. Not only does it allow tracking with Celestron StarSense telescopes, but it has new LiveSky and SkyCast features, too.
The Night Sky 11 stargazing app is best for iOS Apple device users. In fact, it should work on iPad, Mac and Apple TV (though we haven't tested the Apple TV version). It has a detailed user interface and is capable of adjusting for light pollution. We gave it nearly full marks in our full review because how easy it is to use, especially for beginners.
SkySafari 7 Pro is the best stargazing app overall, according to our extensive full reviews. We think it's the best stargazing app for Android devices, but it's also compatible with iOS devices and it won't disappoint on either platform.
Having one of the best stargazing apps installed on your phone is a great idea if you're interested in the night sky. These powerful tools have many uses, whether you're a novice skywatcher, a seasoned astronomer or an avid astrophotographer.
Every stargazing app is a little different in one way or another, with each app having unique features and tools. Generally, however, they're all helpful in learning about the night sky, pinpointing particular celestial objects or as a tool to help when setting up a telescope.
Now's a particularly good time to invest in one of the best stargazing apps, however: We're just a few weeks away from the total solar eclipse, which will be visible in North America on April 8. Where an app has specific features that will help in viewing the solar eclipse, you'll find it mentioned below.
Stargazing apps can be helpful when setting up one of the best telescopes or the best telescopes for deep space and have offline functionality, which means you aren't reliant on the internet to keep them working in remote areas. They use the GPS on your phone to guide you, so you should be able to point your phone at the sky and get started.
For astrophotographers particularly, setting up one of the best cameras for astrophotography often means going off-grid to avoid light pollution. The best stargazing apps can help you to find your shot without weighing you down with unnecessary (and heavy) kit, as they run conveniently on a smartphone, so as long as you have your phone on you, you'll have access to their guidance.
Jase Parnell-Brookes is an award-winning photographer, educator and writer based in the UK. They won the Gold Prize award in the Nikon Photo Contest 2018\/19 and was named Digital Photographer of the Year in 2014. After completing their Masters Jase has spent a good chunk of two decades studying and working in photography and optics shooting and writing all over the world for big-name brands and media outlets. Now the Channel Editor for Cameras and Skywatching at Space.com their speciality is in low light optics and camera systems. "}), " -0-10/js/person.js"); } else console.error('%c FTE ','background: #9306F9; color: #ffffff','no lazy slice hydration function available'); Jase Parnell-BrookesChannel EditorJase Parnell-Brookes is an award-winning photographer, educator and writer based in the UK. They won the Gold Prize award in the Nikon Photo Contest 2018/19 and was named Digital Photographer of the Year in 2014. After completing their Masters Jase has spent a good chunk of two decades studying and working in photography and optics shooting and writing all over the world for big-name brands and media outlets. Now the Channel Editor for Cameras and Skywatching at Space.com their speciality is in low light optics and camera systems.
SkySafari 7 Pro is a must-have app for all serious astronomers. It features a huge database, nifty telescope control and a sleek planetarium. It also lets you plan your stargazing trips and share your results with your friends.
PhotoPills is the ideal companion for astrophotographers. It helps you to work out the exact time and location to shoot from to get the perfect shot of your target celestial object. You can also share your amazing photos with the community.
Offering an easy-to-use planetarium and nice AR overlays, this is a great app for those who want to be able to point their phone straight at the sky and learn more about what's above them. Since it works indoors, you can even stargaze from your living room!
The NASA app is completely free and has lots to interest space enthusiasts. You'll find a gallery of recent NASA images, a NASA TV feed, information on all the latest missions and a handy ISS tracker.
Stellarium Mobile Plus features a particularly comprehensive map and database that will impress anyone who wants to learn more about the night sky. It has beautiful visuals and very realistic depictions of the stars.
Star Walk 2 is a great option for beginners looking to learn more about stars, constellations and planets. It also has a satellite tracker and appealing AR overlays even on the free version, with a very affordable upgrade.
SkyView excels at locating and offering very detailed descriptions of different objects and constellations in the night sky. With its interactive map and low price point, it's ideal for those just starting out.
With a slick and easy-to-use interface, Sky Tonight is particularly impressive when it comes to its AR functionality. It's a truly immersive app to start exploring the night sky with, and it comes in a free and paid version.
SkySafari 7 Pro is one of the more expensive stargazing apps on the market, but if you're serious about the night sky, it's well worth the asking price. As we discovered in our SkySafari 7 Pro review, this app is an absolute powerhouse. It provides details on millions of stars, galaxies and other space objects. The planetarium page syncs seamlessly with the night sky whatever way you're holding your phone and also offers an impressive AR overlay option via your phone's camera.
Furthermore, its latest update has made SkySafari 7 Pro ready for the total solar eclipse: You can use the app to find the best places to view the eclipse from, simulate the event before it happens, and know exactly what to expect beforehand.
There's a wealth of features in the app, but one of the best for astrophotographers is the Observing Planner. You can use it to choose the type of celestial objects you'd like to observe (think galaxies, globular clusters or nebulas) then sort results by their location, to find the ones visible closest to where you are.
We're also fans of the 'Tonight's Best' feature, which lists all the best viewable objects on a particular night. It's great for planning a shooting schedule, and very handy when viewing with a telescope, too.
Seasoned stargazers will appreciate SkySafari 7 Pro's ability to control Celestron StarSense telescopes via WiFi. The app also adds a social element to stargazing with OneSky, which shows you the most popular object currently being viewed by other users, and SkyCast, which lets you share your observations with another user.
Keep an eye on prices because you can sometimes get all these features for an even lower price than the previous SkySafari 6 Pro, as well as being treated to a slicker user interface and a greatly expanded database. The only thing to be aware of is that this app takes up a large amount of storage space on your device.
If you're planning your total solar eclipse viewing, PhotoPills' built-in Planner will come in super-handy. Not only does it have a list of every solar (and lunar) eclipse between now and 2050, it allows you to view on a map where will be the best places to view. It's also capable of tracing the path of the solar eclipse over time.
If you're not an astrophotographer, many of the tools in Photopills may be overkill, but if you're serious about night sky photography and like the idea of being able to plan your shoots well in advance, this is a game-changing app.
Sorry, Android users, you'll have to sit this one out: Night Sky is a stargazing app designed especially for iOS. Along with working valiantly on your iPhone or iPad, there's also a new version of the app that works with Apple Vision Pro.
If you are an iPhone user, though, you'll find Night Sky to be a helpful and nifty stargazing app that packs in many of the features you'd expect. You can point your phone towards the sky to have it provide details about the stars, constellations and galaxies, for example, and it's bolstered by some very helpful AR features.
We love that using Night Sky inside will project an overlay of the sky onto your ceiling. If you subscribe to the app's Plus version, you'll be able to make use of Planetary Portals, a tool that allows you to essentially "step through" a portal to view the night sky from a new perspective. Super cool.
Whilst much of this is available on the generous free tier, unlocking the full 1.7 billion star count and some of the more advanced features will require an upgrade to Night Sky +, though you can take advantage of a month-long trial before you commit.
We can't exactly describe the NASA app as a stargazing app, but if you're interested in the night sky, this is still an absolute must-have. Rather than a traditional stargazing assistant, the NASA app is an absolute treasure trove of information directly from NASA, filled with articles, videos, daily updates, podcasts, information and sighting opportunities.
The app's interface is pretty intuitive, with all the information organized into several key categories. You can jump to content to watch for example, or see all latest articles with just one click. Hit the 'view' tab, and you'll see NASA's image of the day and astronomy picture of the day, which provides some seriously inspiring viewing.
With the total solar eclipse coming up, the NASA app unsurprisingly has some useful information. You'll find information about how to prepare for viewing, with events happening between now and the eclipse in early April. Doing a search will also bring up various press releases relating to the solar eclipse, so there's plenty of useful reading.
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