Ever looked at a unanimous object in the sky and couldn’t get it out of your mind? Fortunately, we are born in an advanced tech age, which gives us the privilege to quench our curiosity right from our smartphones. From meteor showers to gazing at the celestial objects in the night sky, here are the best stargazing apps for iPhone and iPad to help transform your smartphone into a portable planetarium.
Time to feed your curiosity!
- NASA
- Star Chart
- Sky Safari
- SkyView Lite
- Classic Sky Map 2
- Night Sky
- Pocket Universe
- Redshift Sky Pro
- ISS Detector
1. NASA App
This app is perfect to not only dig deeper into space but also have every real-time update from NASA. You have access to 19000+ images directly captured by NASA’s resources and understand the space objects better. Besides, you can also watch every NASA event in real-time and get live updates.
NASA also has a podcast, which can be accessed using the app. Consider giving it a try if you are curious about the organization and the research that follows with the stars and their discovery.
Price: Free Download
2. Star Chart
One of the best applications of Augmented Reality is utilizing it for admiring the night sky. And Star Chart does the job for you. I have been an admirer of the app from the time I used it for the first time. If I were to rate it based on its UI, I would give it a 5-star.
All you have to do is open the app and hold up your device to the sky, and the app will track your movements. You can also look around using finger gestures. Currently, the apps help you study a whopping 120,000 stars across the northern and southern hemispheres! Press the download button already!
Price: Free (In-app purchases start from $2.99) Download
3. Sky Safari
As the name suggests, this app utilizes AR to develop a simulative view of the sky. It blends the sky chart with your surroundings and gives you a view to cherish for a lifetime. The app works incredibly well for observing deep-sky objects, located far far away from us.
The app saves all your data so you can access it using any device later or with their web interface LiveSky.com. Sky Safari also supports basic Voice Search so that you can shout ‘Jupiter’ to your iPhone, and the app will take care of the rest. Discovery at its best, eh? Download this app to unleash 120,000 stars from your iPhone.
Price: $2.99 Download
4. SkyView Lite
A perfect stargazers’ companion, the app lets you admire the delights sky has in store for us. An intuitive stargazing app that uses your camera to sport the celestial objects precisely, SkyView Lite has been in this saga for a long time now. The app is accessible through your iPhone, iPad, and also your iPod Touch.
What’s the cherry on the cake? It does not require a working internet connection or GPS to function. Thus, you might be camping in the Amazon rainforest and can still manage to find details about the star that kept you awake the whole night. You should consider downloading this app for this one feature that lets you time-travel. It lets you capture a picture of the sky and compare it to the past and future placements and study the bodies.
Price: Free (In-app purchases from $0.99) Download
5. Classic Sky Map 2
Another user-friendly app in the list, Classic Sky Map 2, believes in simplifying astronomy for its users. Explore constellations, stars, and planets at a tap or two and get the tiniest details about them. Connect the app to a compass on your iPhone to know the alignment of celestial objects.
The app also comes with a Live Earth Map to let you jump from one city to another and observe them closely. Best of both worlds is the right term, my friend! Don’t forget to try the personalized option to customize the view and stars according to your needs.
Price: Free (In-app purchases from $2.99) Download
6. Night Sky
Night Sky is the perfect companion to your sleepless nights with a plethora of features within the app. Superzoom up to 1.2 Billion stars using the app and take a closer look. The app also comes with Aurora Mapping to give you information about the nearest Aurora location and sufficient information regarding them.
AR back up the night sky to dive deeper into the constellations and wander around them, observing them closely. The highlight has to be a breakdown of planets to study their internal structures. Ever wondered that an app could help you study the galaxy with excruciating details? Download Night Sky today, and see the difference yourself.
Price: Free (In-app purchases from $4.99) Download
7. Pocket Universe
Voted as the ‘Best Educational iPhone App’ by AppAdvice, Pocket Universe is an easy to use application that better helps you understand the constellations.
Use your iPhone to view the sky, and the app will add the names of the planets in there. Ever wondered how the surface of Mars and Moon may look like? Pocket Universe will help you participate in virtual walks across the space bodies to help you feel them in real-time.
Staying true to its name, Pocket Universe indeed brings the universe in your pocket; you just have to hit the download button and witness the outer world yourself.
Price: $2.99 Download
8. Redshift Sky Pro
No celestial body will remain hidden with Redshift Sky Pro. This iPhone application lets you experience more than 100,000 star, over 10,000 deep sky bodies, and thousands of other celestial objects. If the solar system is your fantasy, then experience the planets in-depth with the 3D models designed with precision.
Follow comets and meteors, stay updated with the latest information about them and make astronomy interesting with this application. Don’t forget to check the in-app purchases for an in-depth understanding of the objects.
Price: $8.99 Download
9. ISS Detector
Remember those Physics classes when we studied about International Space Station and Hubble Telescope? ISS Detector will get you back to those times. The app claims to help you see ISS with naked eyes and witness their movements in real-time.
It will also guide you about the right time to use the application by monitoring the weather for you. The app notifies its users of a clear sky and accurate satellites’ movements so you can view them with a clear sky and witness the human brain’s brilliancy in space. Isn’t that a surreal experience to have?
Price: Free (In-app purchases start from $0.99) Download
Which is your favorite stargazing app for iPhone or iPad?
The list is an amalgamation of different services to cater to all sides of your outer space fantasy. Try using the NASA app if you want better insights into their research, or download ISS Detector and witness International Space Station in real-time.