android sky safari app

SkySafari 7 Pro app review

With its planetarium feature, telescope control and slick design, skysafari 7 pro is the best all-round app for astronomers and astrophotographers..

Space Verdict

A thoroughly impressive and easy-to-use app that's ideal for amateur astronomers looking to control a telescope and plan, record and share their observations, SkySafari 7 Pro now has an innovative sharing and social dimension. However, it will be overkill for many casual stargazers.

Improved user interface

Controls Celestron StarSense telescopes

New LiveSky and SkyCast features

Frequent promotional discounts

Large download size

Takes time to learn

Can be expensive

Why you can trust Space.com Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about how we test and review products.

• Pricing and Subscription
• User Interface
• Key Features
• Astrophotography Features
• Related products

Planetarium apps show you what's up in the night sky , but few go much further than that. SkySafari 7 Pro proves to be the exception. It is an expensive, expansive and exhaustive app that marries an immersive user interface with the ability to control a host of telescopes. As well as the most detailed database around, Simulation Curriculum's partnership with Celestron means that SkySafari 7 Pro can now control the popular StarSense telescopes, such as the Celestron StarSense Explorer LT 114AZ telescope , the Celestron StarSense Explorer 8-inch Dobsonian telescope or the Celestron StarSense Explorer DX 130AZ telescope .

Operating System:  iOS (iOS 14.1/iPadOS 14.1 and up), Android (Android 10 and up)

Size: 2.4 GB  

Price: from $19.99 (£18.99)

With a refreshed and sleeker user interface, all-new social features, a cloud data backup service and notifications for upcoming events in the night sky, SkySafari 7 Pro is one of the best stargazing apps for anyone with a telescope. However, with three separate apps available, as well as an in-app purchase, there’s a lot to know before you buy.

• Download SkySafari 7 Pro app via the SkySafari website

SkySafari 7 Pro app: Pricing and Subscription

• Three separate versions are available
• Premium features are an in-app purchase
• No upgrade pathways from Basic to Plus to Pro

Originally launched in 2009, the latest version of SkySafari is the creation of Simulation Curriculum , which also sells its Starry Night software. SkySafari 7 launched in 2022 and comes in three different versions: SkySafari 7 Basic (from $4.99/£4.99), SkySafari 7 Plus (from $12.99/£12.49) and SkySafari 7 Pro (from $19.99/£18.99). All are completely separate apps in that you cannot upgrade from one to the other — that’s an App Store thing.

SkySafari 7 Basic can show the positions of 120,000 stars, 222 of the best-known star clusters, nebula s and galaxies, all of the solar system 's major planets and moons and over 200 asteroids , comets and satellites . Meanwhile, SkySafari 7 Plus accesses a database of over 2.5 million stars, 32,000 deep sky objects down to 15th magnitude and 7,500 solar system objects. 

• Sky Guide stargazing app review
• SkySafari 6 Pro review

The pricier  SkySafari 7 Pro goes further, accessing a database of over 100 million stars, 3 million galaxies down to 18th magnitude, 750,000 solar system objects and every comet and asteroid ever discovered. Both Plus and Pro can be used to control networked telescopes and both have an in-app purchase option called 'Premium' (from $29.99/£26.49 annually, $3.99/£3.49 monthly), which gives the user access to more social features, with cloud-backup of data and the ability to use the app on various devices (details below).

SkySafari 7 Pro app: User Interface

• Fast and responsive
• Neat, uncluttered look
• New 'Tonight' and 'Events' sections

The main improvement to how SkySafari looks in this latest version is a refreshed planetarium page. A tap of the compass icon syncs the screen with exactly how you’re holding your phone, with an AR option using the phone’s camera to overlay it on the surroundings.

A floating widget allows the user to set the time, while it’s also got some novel lists that both help amateurs get the most from their stargazing and teach more experienced astronomers something new. Alongside the usual 'Tonight’s Best' and 'Planets', there are 'Brightest Asteroids' and 'Best Deep Sky Objects', as well as 'Nearest Stars' and 'Best Variable Stars'.

There's also a handy 'Observing Planner' that allows you to select the types of objects you want to observe (say, galaxies or globular clusters of planetary nebulas) and sort the results by location, magnitude and even current altitude. It's even possible to zero in on that type of object within the boundaries of a specific constellation of star catalog (say, Messier, NGC or Caldwell).

A pinch of the screen zooms into a very high-resolution, neatly formatted display showing labeled stars and objects. Pinch to a certain level and a dotted circle will appear indicating your field of view using the equipment you've specified.  

A lot of care has been taken in designing how this app looks. Despite it being crowded with objects, even the dense star fields of Sagittarius and Scorpius contain star and nebula names that never overlap or look messy. Many objects have an icon indicating that they can be touched to bring up a dedicated information screen. Each one has rise, transit and set times, as well as magnitude, distance and size in arc minutes. There's often also a beautiful image, a spoken-word pronunciation and an explanation.

However, best of all are the icons that appear below, which allow you to add the object to an observing list, show which of your lists already contain it, and give you the chance to center the app on it. A brand-new feature called 'Galaxy' puts the object you've chosen in context by showing you its position on a map of the Milky Way . It joins 'Orbit', which shows you the object in 3D space and lets you move around it and closer to it.

These features are simple to use, not necessary for observing and not found on other stargazing apps. They're also vital for understanding what you're looking at. This stands as evidence that SkySafari 7 Pro is designed by astronomers committed to sharing knowledge, not just the names and locations of objects.

Another new feature for SkySafari 7 Pro is 'Tonight': an easily accessible panel that shows the sunrise and sunset times, moon phase and rise/set times, a light pollution map for your location and a calendar of events. The latter is impressive, with conjunctions, specific moon views and other observation and astrophotography opportunities presented with a paragraph of text and a link to it on the main planetarium page. It can then be saved and shared (to be viewed on LiveSky.com online) — as can anything in 'Events', though not anything in the 'Calendar' section.

OneSky and SkyCast, two brand-new features in SkySafari 7 Pro, are front-and-center within the app, making them easily accessible and very simple to use.

SkySafari 7 Pro app: Key Features

• 100 million stars and 3 million galaxies
• LiveSky cloud back-up
• Now controls Celestron StarSense telescopes

SkySafari 7 Pro uses a database no other stargazing app does. With over 100 million stars, 3 million galaxies down to 18th magnitude, and 750,000 solar system objects, it's an astronomy to-do list for life.

Many will want this app for its telescope control. Like previous versions, SkySafari 7 Pro can operate Wi-Fi-controlled telescopes (via the ASCOM Alpaca and INDI protocols, as well as SkyFi 3), but this new version also controls Celestron's extremely popular range of new StarSense telescopes, which are themselves operated via a smartphone app. This is an exclusive feature to SkySafari 7 Plus and Pro, largely because the StarSense Explorer app used by Celestron is, in fact, designed by the makers of SkySafari 7 Pro.

With SkySafari 7 Pro, and any other level of the app, comes a basic subscription to LiveSky: a cloud sync service that allows you to log in to your data in a web browser on any phone, tablet, laptop or desktop. It also includes access to OneSky: a new social feature that allows users to interact with each other while using the app. Once activated, the planetarium page shows you how many users are online right now and gives you options to observe the most popular object currently being viewed, then the next one, etc. — it's just a different way of observing. However, it's also possible to SkyCast your own observing to another user, who receives a 'Follow my SkyCast by clicking this link' invitation via email or any messaging app.  

While all that comes at a high initial price (though heavy discounts are frequently available), there is also one key in-app purchase. Although SkySafari 7 Pro now includes as standard previously paid-for add-ons including the Principal Galaxies Catalog database, the Gaia star catalogs and the incredible Apollo Lunar Missions (for each mission there’s an eye-opening 3D model of their journeys), there is also a SkySafari Premium option. It costs $29.99 (£26.49) annually or $3.99 (£3.49) per month. 

Some will find that galling after paying a high price for SkySafari 7 Pro, but some of the features in SkySafari Premium are impressive. Mostly they allow for a more carefree, device-agnostic approach, with LiveSky.com Premium features allowing a user’s SkySafari data to be accessed, managed and edited on any device, backed up to the clouds or downloaded in OAL format. It also gives access to curated 'The Sky This Month' content and articles written by noted astronomy and astrophotography writers. You'll also get real-time community observing analytics, enabling you to pick out 'trending objects'. For example, next to a comet, there might be a surprisingly high number of observers, which can alert you to something interesting happening in the night sky that you may not have been aware of.  

However, one of the best reasons for some to subscribe to SkySafari Premium will be for the additions to remote observing between friends and groups. SkyCast is extended so that your view of the night sky can be shared (complete with arrows to guide them to what you're observing) to anyone within the app, via the web interface to those without and even to YouTube and Facebook.  

Could we soon see a gaming-style stargazing chat with wireless headsets? Some will balk at the idea of social stargazing, while others will be wondering why it’s not already with us. SkySafari 7 Pro is perhaps the first major step and, before long, we expect there to be remote tutorials in visual astronomy and astrophotography conducted via apps like SkySafari 7 Pro.

SkySafari 7 Pro app: Astrophotography Features

• AstroBin integration
• Light pollution maps

With astrophotography ballooning in popularity and becoming a major way for people to interact with the night sky, it's no surprise that SkySafari 7 Pro embraces it. It's possible to include cameras as well as telescopes in the equipment lists, with the featured articles by noted astrophotographer Alan Dyer also a bonus.  

The social features will help astrophotographers share knowledge with each other in the long term, as demonstrated by a new partnership with astrophotography social network and image hosting platform AstroBin.com . For now, it consists largely of an 'Image of the Day', but it's front and center, which indicates the future priorities of the makers of this app.

The baked-in AR feature is also not to be underestimated for astrophotographers looking to include specific stars, star clouds or the Milky Way in images. But for the latter, it's better to use PhotoPills, which more easily show you how the arc of the galaxy will change over the next few hours.

Within SkySafari Premium is an interactive light pollution map, which is accessible in the 'Tonight' panel. As well as showing you light pollution levels at your location, it's possible to browse other locations as you plan a night shoot.

Should I buy the SkySafari 7 Pro app?

Buy SkySafari 7 Pro if you're an amateur astronomer who uses a telescope, dabbles in astrophotography and wants to take advantage of the best stargazing app out there. Its database contains more objects than you'll ever have the time to observe, but with its improved telescope control (in particular its embracing of the Celestron StarSense products) and its endless customization and new social features, it leaves no star unturned. However, as well as being expensive and requiring patience to explore, its comprehensive features will be overkill for casual stargazers.

If SkySafari 7 Pro app isn't for you

For many users, SkySafari 7 Pro will surpass their needs. SkySafari 7 Basic's (799.8MB) combination of 120,000 stars and 222 of the best-known star clusters, nebulas and galaxies makes it rather like most of the other stargazing apps available, but there is another option that often gets overlooked. Simulation Curriculum’s middle-ranking SkySafari 7 Plus (1.1GB) is key in a classic 'good', 'better' and 'best' tiered pricing model. Consequently, it's the least popular, but it's a combination of 2.5 million stars, 32,000 deep sky objects, and 7,000 asteroids, comets and satellites. This, combined with its mobile telescope control, makes it a good-value app for a lot of potential users who find SkySafari 7 Pro too expensive.

If you want to go for something more affordable, consider Stellarium Mobile Plus , which also comes in a free version. It's got a database of over 1.69 billion stars, all known planets, natural satellites and comets, minor solar system objects, over 2 million nebulas and galaxies and the most well-known deep sky objects.  

Join our Space Forums to keep talking space on the latest missions, night sky and more! And if you have a news tip, correction or comment, let us know at: [email protected].

Jamie is an experienced science, technology and travel journalist and stargazer who writes about exploring the night sky, solar and lunar eclipses, moon-gazing, astro-travel, astronomy and space exploration. He is the editor of  WhenIsTheNextEclipse.com  and author of  A Stargazing Program For Beginners , and is a senior contributor at Forbes. His special skill is turning tech-babble into plain English.

Which is better, Black Friday or Cyber Monday?

6 reasons not to buy in the Black Friday sales

Watch SpaceX Crew-9 astronauts move Crew Dragon spacecraft to new ISS parking spot on Nov. 3

• Steed Great app, been using Ver 6 for many years, loved it. Ver. 7 has a few improvements but 2 Major flaws; fonts too small and the Menu Bar can no longer be hidden, taking up too much screen realestate space. These are major deal breakers so have returned to Ver. 6 Reply
• View All 1 Comment

Most Popular

• 2 Space isn’t all about the 'race' – rival superpowers must work together for a better future
• 3 Every upcoming Star Wars game officially announced
• 4 This Week In Space podcast: Episode 135 — The Spacer Pipeline
• 5 NASA astronaut captures city lights streaking below ISS in stunning new photos

20% OFF  SkySafari 7 Pro for Android & iOS!

Don't miss all November has to offer!  

Why SkySafari 7 Pro?

- Massive database w/ 100 million+ stars 

- 3 million galaxies  to 18th magnitude

 - 750k solar system objects 

- 20k Abell & Zwicky galaxy clusters

- Dynamic observing lists

- Simulate 5MM years past or future

- State of the art mobile scope control

- INDI & ASCOM Alpaca protocols

- AstroBin.com Integration (V1.0)

- Powerful event finder & custom alerts

- Social stargazing modes

- StarSense Explorer Technology

- Featured Event Content

- Version 7 Comparison Chart

SkySafari PRO

$50 $39.99 USD

$60 $24.99 USD

SkySafari PLUS

$20 --> $19.99 USD

Pro Only - See Above

SkySafari Basic

$5 -->   $4.99 USD

  Send Apple Gift 

Google Gift Card

"The Helix Nebula", "Chasing Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS at Dusk", "Look for the Cowboy Boot and the Coat Hanger", "Chasing a Comet at Dawn and by Day" & "The Elephant Trunk" recently published in Featured Stories for SkySafari Premium.

Sign up for a free trial in any V7 app today to sample content and features...tap the "Tonight" button to access Featured Stories.

"The new events section & observation planner tools along with the search & filter functions provide an amazing level of control, while the innovative social stargazing features provide a new level of community to our hobby. SkySafari 7 is a huge upgrade!"

Dave Farina

CosmosSafari.com

Every single night our operators, in a matter of seconds, can use SkySafari Pro to look up answers to obscure questions posed by visitors about the object being viewed, share the iPad’s screen view, pull up professional images of the targets and show the object’s location in the Milky Way using the galactic view. Visitors love the technology...

Lowell Observatory

© Simulation Curriculum

• LiveSky.com
• SkySafari 7 for iOS
• SkySafari 7 for Android
• SkySafari 6 for iOS
• SkySafari 6 for Android
• SkySafari for macOS
• Comparison Chart
• SkySafari Eclipse
• SkySafari 6 Manual
• SkySafari 5 Manual
• Yahoo! Group
• Knowledge Base Articles
• New Community Forums
• Other Resources
• Submit a ticket

SkySafari Eclipse & Astronomy App 65% OFF -->

Stunning precision simulation, seamless time travel & cutting-edge eclipse features make SkySafari 7 by far the best app to prepare for & experience any eclipse. Plus, easily find & track comet 12P/Pons-Brooks or any solar system object!

"If you have even the slightest interest in what you can see and learn in Earth's sky, this is one of the very best iOS apps you'll ever use."

John Martellaro, The Mac Observer, December 16th, 2015

The Premium Eclipse Experience

Download on Android & iOS

Countdown Timer

Count down to when the moon’s shadow makes landfall in North America, & during the eclipse, the countdown clock dynamically updates to reveal which state the shadow is in & timing for your location.

Identify The Sky

Simulate what stars, planets & even potential comets will be visible during 2024 totality. Lift your phone to confirm what the eclipse has revealed in the sky.

Interactive Eclipse Map

Find the best location to observe the eclipse. Select a location on the map to retrieve accurate eclipse event times for any location on Earth.

Eclipse Simulator & Shadow Tracker

Simulate the eclipse from your location or any location in the solar system. Preconfigured views allow you to quickly view eclipse stages and enter Space View to watch the moon’s shadow travel across the face of the Earth.

Eclipse Viewing Guide

A comprehensive viewing and safety guide to the upcoming solar eclipses. Ensure a great eclipse experience with expert advice.

Audio Alerts

On eclipse day, receive push notification updates that speak aloud so you stay updated on the specifics as you observe the eclipse.

SkySafari 7 Basic

SkySafari 7 shows you 120,000 stars, 222 of the best-known star clusters, nebulae, and galaxies in the sky; including all of the Solar System's major planets and moons, and more than 200 asteroids, comets, and satellites.

$5 -->   $4.99 USD

SkySafari 7 Plus

SkySafari 7 Plus shows you 2.5 million stars, and 32,000 deep sky objects; including the entire NGC/IC catalog, and 7,000 asteroids, comets, and satellites with updatable orbits. Plus, state of the art mobile telescope control.

$20 -->  $19.99 USD

SkySafari 7 Pro

SkySafari 7 Pro includes over 100 million stars, 3 million galaxies down to 18th magnitude, and 750,000 solar system objects; including every comet and asteroid ever discovered. Plus, state of the art mobile telescope control.

$50 -->  $39.99 USD

Wireless WiFi Telescope Control

SkyFi® is our patent-pending WiFi-to-Serial adapter, designed for wireless telescope control. If you have a computer-controlled GoTo telescope, SkyFi can use the WiFi capabilities built into your Mac, PC, iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch to point your telescope in the sky.

Wireless Bluetooth Telescope Control

SkyBT® is our NEW Plug & Play solution for wireless bluetooth telescope control for use with SkySafari on Android devices! Smaller than a business card, it easily attaches to RS232 serial ports via a DB9 male connector. SkyBT® is intended for Android only.

Wired Telescope Control

SkyWire® is the simplest way to turn your iOS device into a 21st-century telescope controller. This brand-new "Made for iOS" accessory adds an RS-232 port to your iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch - and lets it connect directly to the serial port on your telescope.

The 20 Best Astronomy Apps for Stargazing

I have rounded up a list of the best stargazing apps for your mobile phone or tablet. These are the astronomy apps (along with other astronomy resources ) I personally use while using my telescope for a night of observing or astrophotography.

Many of the star maps are completely free (such as Stellarium) but include ‘Pro’ versions that provide even more information for a fee. On this list, you’ll find stargazing apps for everything from checking the current moon phase to preparing for an upcoming meteor shower. 

Some of the night sky apps mentioned in this article were pivotal in my education and understanding of the night sky. I often browse information about the target my telescope is pointed at using a smartphone app like SkySafari 7 Plus or Stellarium.

Below are some of the ones I use almost daily:

My Top Choices:

• Stellarium Mobile (Free Star Map)
• Astrospheric (Free Weather Forecasting App)
• SkySafari 7 Plus (Paid Astronomy Guide)

I use the night sky apps listed above to help plan my astrophotography sessions. 

These are useful tools you can use for stargazing with your naked eye, binoculars, telescopes, or even for astrophotography. They are especially helpful for beginners who need help identifying stars and planets in the night sky.

Many of the stargazing apps on this allow you to point your phone toward the sky and provide you with useful information about what you are seeing. An astronomy app can tell you which constellations are currently in the night sky, along with bright stars, planets, galaxies, or even a newly discovered comet.

Many of the apps on this list are completely free for you to download on your Android Device or Apple iPhone.

I use the Stellarium Plus mobile app to help plan my astronomy sessions.

The Best Stargazing Apps for Your Mobile Phone

As you may know, I am a full-time astrophotographer who spends nearly every clear night under the stars. On my YouTube Channel , I regularly use stargazing apps on my smartphone and tablet to help me understand exactly what is currently available in the night sky. 

To help discover even more helpful night sky apps, I asked my community on Twitter which stargazing apps they use most. I was astonished to find out just how many amazing astronomy apps I hadn’t heard of before, that I now use and enjoy daily. 

Planning a full moon photo from my backyard using the Photopills smartphone app in AR mode.

For each mobile app on this list, I have stated whether it is available in the Apple App Store or the Google Play Store. Some of these astronomy apps are only available for one or the other. 

I have also included the publisher of the app, the category, and the description of the application so you can get an idea of what to expect before downloading it. I have not included the price of the app (because this may change), but have included whether it is currently free or not.

20 Useful Astronomy Apps for Stargazing

Whether you use these resources to assist you in stargazing at the cottage, or a quick observation session with your telescope, these astronomy apps can improve your overall experience. They can help you better prepare for the weather, and find out when key astronomical events are occurring. 

• Astronomical Weather Forecasts
• Planning a Telescope Observing Session
• Planning a Photo Project (Astrophotography)
• Planning for a Meteor Shower
• Tracking the Movement of the Planets
• Aurora Alerts
• Finding a Comet in the Sky
• Identifying Galaxies and Nebulae
• Preserving Night Vision
• Aligning your Telescope
• Learning About Astronomy

Due to the evolving nature of mobile apps and the sheer number of new astronomy apps popping up each day, I have not used all of these astronomy apps personally. Consider this post to be more of a round-up of the most popular apps, with good reviews and ratings throughout the astronomy community. 

The goal of this post is not to rate the apps against each other but to provide a useful resource for amateur astronomy enthusiasts. I’ve included a brief description for each app from the author, and you can click the app name for more information about each one. 

Without further ado, here is a list (in no particular order) of the best astronomy apps for your iPhone or Android phone. 

Stellarium Mobile

• Created By: Noctua Software
• Operating System: iPhone , Android
• Category: Planetarium
• Paid or Free: Free, Paid Pro Version

Description:

“Stellarium Mobile is a planetarium app that shows exactly what you see when you look up at the stars.

Identify stars, constellations, planets, comets, satellites (such as the ISS), and other deep sky objects in real-time in the sky above you in just a few seconds, just by pointing the phone at the sky.

This award-winning astronomy application has an easy-to-use and minimalist user interface, that makes it one of the best astronomical applications for adults and children who want to explore the night sky.”

Stellarium is an extremely popular planetarium app for mobile phones. I also enjoy the desktop and web versions when planning my astrophotography imaging sessions at home. 

• Polar Scope Align Pro

• Created By: Dimitrios Kechagias
• Operating System: iPhone
• Category: Polar Alignment Tool, Utilities
• Paid or Free: Free (In-app purchases)

“Polar Scope Align will calculate the position of Polaris or σ Octantis in your Polar Scope reticle for your location (using your phone’s GPS or entering a location), allowing a quick and accurate polar alignment.

It is one of the few programs that are accurate in lower latitudes by correcting for atmospheric refraction (so expect results to agree only with precise software and not most simplistic “polar align” apps).”

I have heard good things about this polar alignment tool for equatorial telescope mount owners. I have been using a similar app called Polar Finder (listed further down the post) for many years on my Samsung Galaxy S21 (Android) phone. 

• SkySafari 7 Pro

• Created By: Simulation Curriculum
• Category: Planetarium, Education
• Paid or Free: Paid

“SkySafari makes stargazing a simple pleasure. It has the largest database of any astronomy app, includes every solar system object ever discovered, offers unparalleled accuracy, advanced planning, and logging tools, flawless telescope control, and provides the very best experience under the stars when you depend on it. Don’t postpone joy. Discover why SkySafari is the #1 recommended astronomy app for serious amateur astronomers since 2009.”

Here is a great overview of Sky Safari 7 Pro by Michael from Late Night Astronomy on YouTube. 

• Created By: PhotoPills S.L.
• Category: Photography, Planning

“Unlock your creative potential! Discover how to easily turn any Sun, Moon and Milky Way scene you imagine into a real picture… and start shooting truly legendary photos every time you pick up the camera!

Whether your passion is to capture beautiful landscapes, immortalize the infinite night sky, surprise the bride and the groom in their happiest day… or to travel the world, PhotoPills will make you love exploring new artistic possibilities to tell visual stories in a way it wasn’t possible before.”

Here is a video shared by the PhotoPills team about how to use the app to help plan a Milky Way photography session.

• Clear Outside
• Created By: First Light Optics
• Category: Weather Forecast, Planning
• Paid or Free: Free

“Reliable weather forecasts for astronomers with an emphasis on cloud cover. Updated hourly. Frequent hourly updates are important because often the clear spell between showers provides excellent seeing and 30-minutes under a clear sky with a grab-&-go telescope is pure gold!”

Clear Outside has been my go-to resource for the most accurate (and sometimes depressing) astronomy weather forecast for the night. It’s not perfect, but in most cases, it’s pretty realistic.

• Astrospheric
• Created By: Daniel Fiordalis
• Category: Astronomy Weather Forecast
• Paid or Free: Free, Paid Version

“Astrospheric is the most advanced forecasting service for North American astronomers. Using the amazing astronomy data produced by the Canadian Meteorological Center, NOAA, and more, Astrospheric quickly produces a highly accurate 48-hour forecast for any location in the continental United States or Canada.”

I absolutely love Astrospheric. You can dig deep into the weather map layers to get a better idea of the type of cloud cover in your location. As stated in the description, this app is currently only useful to North American users. 

I especially love the detailed forecast models for astronomy-related metrics like seeing conditions, transparency, and smoke.

Celestron StarSense Explorer

• Created By: Celestron, LLC
• Category: Planetarium, Stargazing Assistant

“This one-of-a-kind app uses patent-pending technology in combination with a Celestron StarSense Explorer telescope (sold separately) to analyze star patterns overhead to calculate the telescope’s position in real-time with pinpoint accuracy.

StarSense Explorer’s sky recognition technology has revolutionized the manual telescope by eliminating the confusion common among beginners and enhancing the user experience for even seasoned telescope users. Many would-be astronomers become frustrated or lose interest in their manual telescope because they don’t know where to point it to see planets, star clusters, nebulae, and galaxies—the good stuff! StarSense Explorer tells you exactly which celestial objects are currently visible in the night sky and where to move your telescope to place those objects in the telescope’s eyepiece.”

The Celestron StarSense Explorer app is free to download, but you will need to enter the unique code included with your telescope to fully utilize its tools. This stargazing app really took me by surprise. Not only can it plate solve the images taken through your phone camera, but it’s full of useful observing information.

You can mount your smartphone to a StarSense Explorer enabled telescope such as the Celestron StarSense Explorer Dob , and it will direct you to the next objects in the night sky from your location. The system works extremely well, and I highly recommend trying it out if you own a compatible Celestron telescope. 

The StarSense Explorer mobile app can help you locate objects in the night sky and provide useful information while observing.

• Created By: Meteoblue
• Category: Weather forecast, Planning

“Meteoblue shows high precision weather forecasts combined with a beautiful, simple and easy-to-use design. Weather forecasts can be requested for any place on Earth easily and comfortably.”

I recently installed Meteoblue for a realistic weather forecast to help me better prepare for upcoming stargazing sessions. For all of the weather forecasting apps to function properly, you’ll need to allow the app to know your location. 

I enjoy this weather app over a more traditional one (such as the Weather Network). Where this app really shines is with the satellite imagery. You can watch developing cloud patterns and movement. Highly recommended!

NightCap Camera

• Created By: Realtime Dreams Limited
• Category: Photography

“NightCap Camera is a powerful app that takes amazing low light and night photos, videos and 4K time-lapse. Long exposure produces beautiful photos in low light and unique Astronomy modes capture the stars, Northern Lights (Aurora) and more!”

Unfortunately for me, the Nightcap Camera app is only available on the app store for iPhones. I have been told that the ‘ Open Camera ‘ app is a suitable alternative to NightCap for Android phones, although I have yet to try it myself. 

• Created By: Vito Technology Inc.
• Category: Education
• Paid or Free: Free, In-App Purchases

“Star Walk is the most beautiful stargazing app you’ve ever seen on a mobile device. It will become your interactive guide to the night sky, following your every movement in real-time and allowing you to explore over 200,000 celestial bodies with extensive information.”

The key features of Star Walk include real-time tracking of celestial bodies on the night sky map, augmented reality (AR) sky view, extensive information about deep-sky objects, and an astronomical calendar with various celestial events. 

• SkyView Lite

• Created By: Terminal Eleven LLC
• Paid or Free: Free. In-App Purchases

“SkyView® Lite brings stargazing to everyone! Simply point your iPhone, iPad, or iPod at the sky to identify stars, constellations, satellites, and more.”

I recently installed this astronomy app on my Android phone, and the first thing that impressed me was the augmented reality function. Rather than placing a planetarium overlay that covers the screen, SkyView places a translucent overlay over the camera view of your phone, and I must say, it’s really cool. 

The presentation of the constellation overlays and descriptions is beautifully done. Expect the “Lite” (free) version of the app to deliver messages about upgrading quite frequently. 

The Moon: Calendar Moon Phases

• Created By: Vitalii Gryniuk
• Category: Moon Phase Calendar
• Paid or Free: Free, Paid “Pro” version

“Moon Phases Calendar – universal lunar calendar for any Locations from 0001AD to 2100 years.

The lunar calendar is one of the oldest calendars in modern society. A lunar month can only be 29 or 30 days long. This is different than a solar-based calendar, where the length is arbitrarily fixed.”

I have had a number of moon phase calendars installed on my Android phone in the past, and they all seem to work well enough. The problem with some of them, however, is the number of ads placed in the app, and the UX design.

I found this one to have the nicest design out of all of the moon phase apps available, with easy access to a monthly calendar (available in the Pro version).

Sky Tonight 

• Created By: Vito Technology

“Made by the developers of Star Walk apps, Sky Tonight is a customizable stargazing tool that is designed for users with different needs and wants. You can adjust the constellation’s appearance, set a reminder for any space body configuration, explore the unique relative to the observer trajectory, set up a magnitude limit to filter our space objects, and much more.”

This app is nicely designed while also providing a lot of great information. It includes augmented reality of the constellations but also the latest news in astronomy, a calendar of celestial events (including a daily stargazing index and weather), and a list of objects that are visible tonight (i.e. planets, constellations, stars) through binoculars, a telescope or using the naked eye.

• ISS Detector
• Created By: Derk Vrijdag
• Category: Planning, Education

“ISS Detector will tell you when and where to look for the ISS. You get an alarm a few minutes before a pass. You will never miss it. ISS Detector will also check if the weather conditions are right. A clear sky is perfect for spotting.”

I know there are a lot of people interested in capturing the space station passing overhead. To do this, you must know exactly where and when the event will happen, and this app can help you plan for that moment. 

I’ve caught a limited number of space station passes myself, but would love to start paying more attention to this activity. 

Use this app to send you an alarm before an upcoming ISS pass. 

NightShift Stargazing

• Created By: Waddensky Astronomy
• Operating System: Android
• Category: Education, Planning

“Nightshift is the ideal free night sky app for the experienced amateur astronomer as well as the casual stargazer. Nightshift helps you find perfect nights for stargazing, assists you in observing your favourite planets, meteor showers and deep-sky objects and keeps you up-to-date about the celestial events in tonight’s sky.”

I originally included the SkyWeek app from Sky & Telescope on this list, but realized that it has not been updated in some time. The NightShift stargazing and astronomy app is a great replacement.

It delivers useful information at a glance including the sunset time, observing conditions, moon phase, visible planets, and even meteor showers. I really like this app, but it’s only available for Android users at the moment.

NightShift is one of my favorite new astronomy apps (Android only).

Telescopius

• Created By: Telescopius

“Telescopius helps you plan your visual astronomy or astrophotography sessions with a most varied set of tools – everything for free. Find targets for your big or small (telescope, binoculars or just naked eye astronomy), save your frequent locations and set a custom horizon (trees, buildings, etc.), check the weather for the upcoming days (including seeing), create custom target lists (one for home, one for your remote location, or your next vacation site, or one per month). Use the Telescope Simulator to simulate your astrophotography or visual framing (with the most diverse settings), browse the huge astrophotography gallery (built by one of the finest and biggest global astrophotography community) and create your own unlimited astrophotography profile for free.”

Talk about a deep-sky astrophotographer’s best friend. I only recently discovered the wonderful Telescopius mobile app after receiving several recommendations from users on ‘X’. My absolute favorite feature of this app is the ‘telescope simulator,’ which allows me to quickly preview the framing of a specific camera and telescope combination.

You can choose your telescope focal length and camera sensor size (and pixel scale) to see exactly how big any given astrophotography target will appear with your gear. It’s nice to do this quickly on your phone while planning your next deep-sky imaging session. 

Polar Clock

• Created By: Zsolt Nagy
• Category: Polar Alignment

“Polar Clock is a lightweight, easy-to-use app, designed to help with the setup and polar alignment of an equatorial mount. It displays Polaris’ hour angle, local, sidereal and UTC time and GPS coordinates. It provides additional help to Orion/SkyWatcher mount users by placing the Polaris in a virtual polar scope.”

I used the Polar Finder app for many years to aid me in the polar alignment process of my equatorial telescope mounts but it’s no longer available. If you’re not using the ASIAIR, Polar Clock seems to be the new, free replacement to give you the position of Polaris.

My Aurora Forecast & Alerts

• Created By: JRustonApps B.V.
• Category: Aurora

“My Aurora Forecast is the best app for seeing the Northern Lights in Canada and the rest of the world. Built with a sleek dark design, it appeals to both tourists and serious aurora watchers by telling you what you want to know – whether that is exactly how likely you are to see the aurora borealis or details about the solar winds and high-resolution sun imagery. With this app, you’ll be seeing the Northern Lights in no time.”

Seeing the northern lights can be an exhilarating experience and can be very rare depending on your location. It is an astronomical event that you definitely want to receive a heads-up (literally) about. If you care about space, not knowing about a beautiful aurora display in your area until after it has happened could be a painful experience!

• Heavens-Above
• Created By: Heavens-Above

“When can I see the ISS? What’s that light in the sky? The official Heavens-Above app provides you with precise pass predictions for the ISS, visible satellites, and radio satellites.”

The Heavens-Above mobile app is a precise tool to see when anything in low Earth orbit is passing overhead, from the ISS to Starlink satellites. A handy feature is that you can filter the objects by magnitude, to only show visible passes in the night sky from your location.

• DSO Planner Pro
• Created By: Leonid Vasiliev, Alexandre Koukarine
• Category: Planning

“DSO Planner is an astronomy observation planning tool with excellent star charting capabilities made by active and experienced amateur observers with a passion for visual observations. It has large integrated deep sky objects databases and provides an opportunity to create any number of user own object databases.”

Final Thoughts

I hope this list of astronomy apps has given you at least 1 new useful tool for astronomy and astrophotography. My absolute favorite app is probably Stellarium, which is probably because I have been using it for so long and am very comfortable with it.

I really enjoyed putting together this list of stargazing apps, because I found a bunch of great new astronomy apps in the process. My favorite new apps (to me) were Astrospheric and NightShift. The usefulness of Photopills for astrophotography should not be understated, and people who use this app really rely on it for their nightscape projects. 

The best astronomy app for you will likely be something that works especially well on your operating system, and that fits your specific needs. Whether you’re looking to plan your next nightscape image , or simply want to know what the bright star is in the east, astronomy apps make life a little nicer.

For software recommendations specifically related to astrophotography, please visit the resources page . Have I missed an important astronomy app? Please let me know in the comments. 

Complete List:

• My Aurora Forecast
• Polar Finder
• NightShift: Stargazing and Astronomy
• Sky Tonight
• The Moon – Phases Calendar
• StarSense Explorer

I hope that this experience has inspired you to take on a deep-sky astrophotography project when time is short. With a little planning and preparation, you can increase your chances of producing an exciting photo of a galaxy or nebula from your backyard this summer. 

Related Posts: 

• Smartphone Astrophotography: A Beginner’s Guide
• 8 Deep-Sky Targets for Galaxy Season
• The Brightest Galaxies in the Night Sky

This article was last updated on July 31, 2024.

Similar posts.

Deep-Sky Astrophotography How-To

While I have several videos discussing this topic of deep-sky astrophotography how-to on my YouTube channel, I realized it was time for a thorough walkthrough of my entire current process (2023) of capturing deep-sky images with a camera and telescope.  This article aims to accomplish that goal by providing a step-by-step roadmap to follow to…

7 Astrophotography Tips You Can Try Tonight

The following astrophotography tips apply whether you are shooting deep-sky objects in space with a DSLR camera and telescope or with a simple camera lens on a tripod. If you are just getting your feet wet, and are looking to capture a photo of the night sky that includes colorful, sharp stars and maybe a…

Introduction to Deep-Sky Astrophotography

There is nothing like taking your first deep-sky astrophotography image. You’re taking pictures of objects that lie thousands or millions of light-years away. Galaxies, nebulae, and star-forming regions are out there, and there’s an endless supply of new targets to capture.  The best part is that you can see way more in an image than…

Astrophotography in the City

Saturday Night Under the Stars Astrophotography in the City Last weekend I posted a new video to my YouTube channel titled DSLR Astrophotography – A Night in the Backyard with my Camera. It is now Early-April, and we are in what amateur astrophotographers call “Galaxy Season”, as we transition from the Winter Constellations like Orion…

Seestar S50 In Depth Review

This article was updated on October 25, 2024, to include the latest features. The SeeStar S50 is an all-in-one smart telescope that makes astrophotography easy. While its main goal is to deliver electronically assisted views of objects in space, the pictures it takes are pretty darn good. If you thought smart telescopes were just “expensive…

What’s new in 2016?

I usually like to wait until I’ve got a new astrophotography image to share before I make a post, but today I just felt like sharing some thoughts about where I am at with this blog. Astrobackyard.com is still in it’s early stages, but I have had quite a few vistors as of late and…

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

31 Comments

You have done it again, another very useful post! That Astrospheric app was the one that was new to me. Very cool! There was one that is neat to play around with that you did not list called Planet Finder. It does more than just the planets on the paid version.

Thank you, Kurt! I will check out the Planet Finder app now 🙂 Clear skies

Hi Trevor, As an owner of the sky Watcher Star Adventurer, I use the free app ‘SAM Console’ which is meant for the control of the Star adventurer mini. However, the polar clock utility menu gives you the correct polar alignment using the GPS current location and exactly the same reticule as the big Star Adventurer. Makes it a doddle to set up my Sky Watcher and keep it aligned all night. Regards Darren

Excellent point Darren. I originally had the SAM Console astronomy app on this list, but opted to leave it out because it is a little too specific (to Star Adventurer owners). But as you said, it’s a great polar clock on its own! Cheers

Sky Guide by Fifth Star Labs for iOS is my absolute favourite!

Paid version has incredibly detailed star maps which make star hopping for visual very easy. Also, all the galaxies and nebulas and other DSO’s are beautifully integrated.

Also, tracking of iss, other satrelites, the moon, planets and weather is al shown beautifully based on your location. An absolute winner for me!

Check it out and keep it up!

Sounds like a good one Paul, thank you for bringing it up. Looking into it now 🙂

Sky guide is a good one also

Paul, Sky guide is my favorite also

Here is an cool app ” ISS Live Now” it shows the current position of the ISS, Long, Lat, Alt & speed on a map & a live view from the ISS.

Wow, just downloaded it. Some amazing reviews for this one. It looks like one of the best astronomy apps for ISS tracking. Thanks for the tip!

Pocket Universe (puniverse) is a extremely handy planetarium iOS app that I’ve been using for a few years- the motion mode allows for real time/space viewing of anyplace in the sky. Has AR and stereographic abilities as well (gimmicky, I know). Also has a number of databases that you can load into the display- great for when you’re out and about with nothing more than your eyes or binoculars.

Looks like this one is just for iPhones so I can’t try it, but thanks for sharing another good one for iPhone users to consider. Cheers!

Too bad “The Moon” is yearly subscription based. I’d pay a reasonable amount of money, $5 or so, once and only once to purchase it. Ongoing subscriptions are not happening, sorry.

Some pretty decent weather based apps in there though. I’ll be Playing around with them for sure!

Just FYI Not “Without further adieu, ” rather “Without further ado”.

Thanks for a very interesting article.

Because of the pandemic, I’ve been stargazing using binoculars. I’m using the book, “Binocular Highlights” by Gary Seronik, as a basic guide for information. I have downloaded several stargazing apps for Android, and some of these apps don’t include things in the sky like (Kemble’s Cascade) by name. Or NGC1502 or NGC869 and this is in the first chapter. What android app is best at giving out information that is in this book. It can be paid or a free app, just as long as it works. Thanks For Your Time, Randy

Thank You! I’m going back to Atmospheric. I used to use it and I’m not real happy with the one I’ve been using. So, it going to be dueling apps for a bit. In all fairness though, our multi million dollar weather people miss all the time, too.

The best, most complete and most beautiful stargazing app is Luminos!

Has anyone tried Astraphel? Its fairly new but quite promising.

Can I just add “Daff Moon Phase” (Android) ( https://dafftin.com/ ) to this list please? Extremely versatile, useful and informative – has a lot more than just the Moon – and no ads! I can’t praise it enough.

Excellent app!

And Fourmilab’s “Home Planet” – it doesn’t seem to have been updated since Win XP but it still works a treat on my 64b Win 10 laptop. This app is especially great for visualising various aspects of the Solar System across different timescales.

You missed Mobil Observatory 3 Pro! It is easily the most complete and useful Astronomy app I’ve used.

I find Nightshift’s predictions to be pretty inaccurate. Granted, I live in a part of North America that is notoriously difficult to predict even for the NWS (namely, the Southeast). Still, for example, yesterday it told me there would be excellent observing opportunities for 8 hours starting at 9:30. It was totally overcast all night long. There is really no mystery about it. Because of La Nina, we’ve had clouds and rain every day since April, and the satellite imagery showed clouds all across the region. Not sure what they use for predicting, but it isn’t working well.

Hi Trevor, thank you for your very useful list! When you update it next time, you might also take a look at the apps Redshift Sky Pro (paid) and The Sky by Redshift (free). In my opinion, both are absolutely worth to be mentioned here, as they allow to get impressive results, and very easily. As I can see it, they are both available for Android and iOS. Regards Hans

You should check out Mobile Observatory Pro. I’ve tried many of the apps in the list but, in my experience, MO Pro is the best all around astronomy app. Tons of information and very accurate.

I don’t understand why it is often overlooked.

What’s your best 2024 recommendation for an app that includes a calendar or something that tells you upcoming astronomy events (in the sky)? The 2024 total eclipse is coming Monday, and I’m working :^T ugh. The path of the total eclipse is 4 hours away. Had I known about the total eclipse a month in advance I could have taken the day off from my job to drive to the Path. Appreciate any suggestions – thanks

Hullo from D’Nunda (Australia), I had an App on my IPhone not so long ago with which I could locate planets and stars no matter where they were, above or below the horizon. I lost that App during a phone renewal and cannot find it again. It was very useful as I pointed the phone in any direction and it would show me what was in that part of the sky no matter where and pointing it vertically down toward my feet showed exactly which planets and stars were on the opposite side of the earth. I want to download that App again to use with my new Celestron NexStar5 SE but have not had any luck so far. If you could point me in the right direction it would be most helpful and I thank you immensely in advance. Leonard

I use Good to Stargaze all the time. The paid version has the ability to look 14 days ahead, but forecasts these far out are seldom accurate. It also has the ability to set thresholds for moon phase, cloud cover, transparency, seeing, etc. Excellent app!!!

Cool! Thanks for sharing. Looking into it now 🙂

Very useful and detailed presentation , well done What is your opinion on Celestron Sky Portal?

I’ve abandoned Clear Outside in favor of Ventusky. I much prefer being able to visually see when different types of conditions (clouds, fog, precipitation, etc) form or disperse hour by hour.

SkySafari Legacy

Astronomy guide to the night sky.

About SkySafari Legacy

More data about skysafari legacy, alternatives for the skysafari legacy app.

SkySafari Legacy compared with similar apps

Common keywords of similar apps.

Skysafari Version Search Play Store Users Tonight Includes Google Hold Locate Graphics Complete Updates Real Chart Object Sun Calendar Mode Earth Moons Audio History Mythology Science Heavens Galaxy Sky Planets Objects Night Features Stars Deep Constellations Information Stargazing Time Learn Events Guide Device Satellites Observing Moon View Location

Keywords missing from this app

Star App Astronomy Map Solar Celestial Explore Space System Walk Find Planet Finder Eclipse Identify Galaxies Asteroids Planetarium Observation Universe Comets Astronomical Display Discover Meteor Showers Lunar Observe Date Data

More from Simulation Curriculum Corp.

Google Play Rating history and histogram

Downloads over time.

SkySafari Legacy has been downloaded 3.7 million times. Over the past 30 days, it averaged 1.1 thousand downloads per day.

Developer information for Simulation Curriculum Corp.

Simulation Curriculum Corp.

[email protected]

Simulation Curriculum 13033 Ridgedale Drive, Suite 131 Minnetonka, MN 55305-1807 USA

Share and embed

Comments on skysafari legacy for android, google play rankings, top rankings, ranking history in switzerland, technologies used by skysafari legacy.

Subscribe now to get full and unlimited access to AppBrain Intelligence. You'll have access to:

• Unlimited pageviews (both app and developer details)
• Recent install count per app (last 30 days)
• Detailed ranking data per app
• Recent install count per developer (last 30 days)
• Full timeline per developer
• Device market shares data per country

$ 75 /mo (billed every month)

$ 65 /mo ($195 billed every 3 months)

$ 57.50 /mo ($690 billed every year)

• Top Android apps being viewed
• My Emotional Compass Android App
• Shaku - Talent Video Streaming
• Indian Aunty Live Chat Android App

Android Statistics

• Android statistics
• Google Play Developer stats
• Trending Android Apps
• Top popular Apps

About AppBrain

• Documentation
• Tips to improve your Android promotional campaign

Love Astronomy and Saving Money?

Sign up to receive sale alerts, news about upcoming celestial events, and telescope tips from our experts!

Please let us know what topics you are interested in.

Recieved A Free Gift!

Subtotal ( Items) $0.00

Have a promo code? Enter it during checkout!

Orders of $50 or more are eligible for free ground shipping! Contiguous USA only. Product exceptions apply.

• Orders ship from Torrance, California.
• Orders placed after 12:00 PM Pacific Time or over the weekend will be shipped within 1-2 business days.

Check these out

• Top Accessories
• Popular Science by Celestron
• Advanced VX
• AstroMaster
• AstroMaster LT
• CPC Deluxe HD
• ExploraScope
• National Park Foundation
• NexStar Evolution
• NexStar SLT
• PowerSeeker
• StarSense Explorer
• Travel Scope

The most popular accessories for your new telescope!

Buyer's Guide!

Start here to find the perfect telescope for you!

Optical Tubes

• Mounts & Tripods
• Astronomy Binoculars
• Solar Observing
• Cameras & Imaging Accessories
• Dew Prevention

Accessories

Sport Optics

• Top Spotting Scopes
• Top Electronics
• Spotting Scopes
• Outdoor Electronics
• Sport Optics Accessories

NEW: Nature DX ED Binoculars

Celestron’s award-winning Nature DX binocular gets a major upgrade with the addition of ED objective lenses.

NEW: Elements ThermoTank 3

On the trail, at the job site, in the classroom, or simply sitting at home relaxing – the Celestron Elements ThermoTank 3 will keep your hands toasty.

NEW: Elements ThermoTorch 5

This rugged, 3-in-1 device features a true tactical 3-mode flashlight, a hand warmer, and a portable power bank for recharging your personal electronics on the go.

Microscopes

• Top Microscopes

Digital Microscopes

• Biological Microscopes
• Compound Microscopes

Stereo Microscopes

• Celestron Labs
• Microscope Accessories

Observing the microscopic world has never been easier!

Perfect for the serious student, professional scientist and discriminating hobbyist

Kids Microscope Kit

Great for home, classroom, or home-school use, this kit includes all the essential items you’ll need to begin exploring the wonders of the microscopic world.

• Redefining Technology
• News & Guides
• Team Celestron
• Public Relations
• Executive Bios

Our Technology

APODs Taken with Celestron

• Technical Support
• How-To Videos
• Manuals & Software
• Knowledge Base & FAQ
• Product Registration
• Spare Parts
• Warranty Information

CPWI Software

Take control of your telescope! Download the Celestron PWI Telescope Control Software

SkyPortal App

Celestron’s FREE planetarium app is an astronomy suite that redefines how you experience the night sky.

Using Telescope Eyepieces

Your eyepieces are the first accessories you should learn to use with your telescope. Read our guide!

Tools for Beginners

For Astronomers

For Birders

• Products to View Comets
• Comet Observing Guide
• C/2023 A3 Observing Guide
• C/2024 S1 (Atlas)
• CometWatch Apparel

SkyPortal Powered by SkySafari™ Mobile App

The telescope experts at Celestron have partnered with the renowned app developers at SkySafari to provide the best planetarium app and telescope control solution.

Celestron’s SkyPortal redefines how you experience the night sky. Explore the Solar System, 120,000 stars, more than 200 star clusters, nebulae, galaxies, and dozens of asteroids, comets, and satellites—including the International Space Station. You can even listen to audio descriptions of the most popular objects while you observe. SkyPortal includes everything you need to experience the night sky in an exciting new way.

Best of all, you can control your compatible Celestron telescope from your device using SkyPortal and the SkyPortal WiFi Module (sold separately). SkyPortal is compatible with both iOS and Android devices and works exclusively with the SkyPortal WiFi Module for telescope control. It’s also compatible with StarSense AutoAlign for automatic alignment via smartphone.

WHAT'S NEW IN VERSION 3.1.0.9067

• Introducing Celestron’s All-Star Polar Alignment routine, allowing you to easily polar align your German Equatorial or wedge-mounted Alt-AZ mount, without accessories that aid in polar alignment
• Introducing Tilt-to-slew feature. Slew your mount by tilting your phone/tablet.
• French and Italian localization
• Augmented reality (iOS only)

PLANETARIUM FEATURES

• SkyPortal's intuitive Compass Mode enables you to hold your device up to the night sky and instantly identify stars, planets, galaxies, and more. Zoom in to view fainter objects not visible to the naked eye.
• View a custom list of all the best celestial objects to view based on your time, date, and location.
• Simulate the night sky up to 100 years in the past or future to plan your observing session. Look ahead to see when Jupiter's Great Red Spot will be visible. Or animate a lunar eclipse such as the "Blood Moon" so you know what to expect before you set up your telescope.
• View hundreds of astronomical photographs and NASA spacecraft images. Or listen to more than four hours of audio narration to learn the history, mythology, and science of the heavens.
• Night Vision Mode helps you preserve your night vision after your eyes have dark adapted.

COMPUTERIZED TELESCOPE CONTROL

Pair your device to your compatible Celestron WiFi telescope, such as  NexStar Evolution and Astro Fi WiFi , or any compatible Celestron telescope equipped with the SkyPortal WiFi Module (formerly SkyQ-Link). Fast and easy alignment options allow you to align your telescope in minutes without any prior knowledge of the night sky. Tap any object and your telescope automatically centers it in the eyepiece.

Note: SkyPortal does not work with any third-party WiFi telescopes or WiFi modules.

SkyPortal’s telescope alignment incorporates advanced mount modeling, providing better pointing accuracy than other telescope systems that rely on a dedicated computer.

SkyPortal is compatible with Android 4.0 and higher. Although SkyPortal works on a variety of Android devices, the following devices are supported: Samsung Galaxy S2, S3, S4, Note, Note 2, Note 3, Tab, Tab 2, Tab 3.