How to observe the starry sky via iPhone and Android: 20 best apps

Dmytro Ivancheskul Life15.05.2023 16:57

The night sky can be truly spectacular

For those who love stargazing, there's nothing better than seeing a bright new star or recognising a beautiful constellation. Luckily, with the advancement of technology, you don't need a sky map to confidently point to a shining point and name it. Many useful apps have been released for Android and iPhone smartphones that will help you feel like a real astronomer.

The best thing about them is that there are many high-quality and free apps that work in point-and-click mode. To name the star you are looking at, you just need to point your smartphone with the app running and read the name.

Such apps also allow you to enter the name of a star, comet or planet and find out exactly where to look for it in the night sky. Here again, you don't need to have any special knowledge, as you just need to turn your smartphone in the direction the cursor in the app points.

How to find a star or comet

If you want to find out where the Big Dipper is located, or you're wondering what that reddish dot above your head is, use Star Walk 2 or Sky View. Both apps are very easy to use, convenient, have an augmented reality feature and intuitive search.

If you want to find more celestial objects without paying too much, use Night Sky (available for iOS only). With this app, you can find most celestial objects for free. For Android, there's Stellarium, where you can find asteroids, comets, deep-sky objects, satellites, and more for free. Stellarium is also available for iOS, but only its paid version.

The best apps for stargazing

To determine which app is the best (or most convenient for you), you'll need to explore a few of them and read reviews from other users. Alternatively, you can download a few of the top-rated free apps and evaluate them yourself.

For those who don't want to figure it out on their own, Vito Technology has published the top 20 apps for stargazing

Star Walk 2

Available for iOS and Android. A free app containing in-app purchases. There is also a paid version of the app. The content and features are the same, but there are no ads.

Star Tracker

Available for iOS and Android. Free app that can be upgraded to the professional version for $2.99.

SkyView Lite

Available for iOS and Android. Free app with in-app purchases.

Night Sky

Available for iOS only. Free app with an optional Night Sky Premium subscription for $4.99/month.

Sky Map

Available for Android only. Originally known as Google Sky Map, it is now a free open source app.

SkySafari

Available for iOS for $2.99 and free for Android.

Stellarium Mobile

Stellarium Mobile Free is available for Android for free (with in-app purchases), but there is also Stellarium Mobile PLUS, which will cost you $19.99. For iOS users, there is only a paid version for $9.99.

Nightshift

A free app available only for Android. Offers in-app purchases.

Sky Live

Available for iOS users only. Free app with in-app purchases.

Mobile Observatory Free

Only available for Android. This is a completely ad-supported, free app. The paid app without ads will cost $7.49.

Star Walk

Available for iOS and Android. This free app is the first version of Star Walk 2 and contains in-app purchases.

Solar Walk 2

The free version available for Android is called Solar Walk 2 Free; iOS has Solar Walk 2 Ads+.

GoSkyWatch Planetarium

Available only for iOS. This is a $3.99 paid app.