If you’ve ever looked up at the sky, seen an interesting constellation, and wondered what it was, the best astronomy iPhone and Android apps for stargazers might have come in handy.
I’m not here to tell you all about the band Stars, rather I want to talk about actual pretty stars in the sky. I mostly care about stars when I’m talking about astrology because that’s something I’m extremely interested in, but it’s also fun to use a telescope and observe the phenomena that floats just above us all. Constellations are incredibly interesting because they’re the same things that were observed hundreds of years ago. Space is so vast and there’s always something new being discovered. It’s both terrifying and interesting.
Michaelstockfoto/Shutterstock.com
You don’t have to be a professional or have a lot of fancy equipment to be a star gazer. All you really need these days is a smartphone and the ability to sit outside at night for a long period of time. If you’re a city dweller, it might be a little more challenging to take a look at the night sky sometimes. I know living in New York City it’s hard to see the stars because of the bright city skyline, but when I go visit family in more rural areas the sky looks beautiful. That’s when apps like the ones on our list come in handy because I can look at the beauty and also learn more about what they represent. It’s fun and educational. If you’re super interested in using your phone for learning, you can take a look at the best Google apps for education.
In order to create this list of best astronomy iPhone and Android apps for stargazers, we used iPhoneness, AppAdvise, Appolicious, and Paste Magazine to check out some recommendations for iPhone apps. To find Android apps, we looked at Greenbot, Android Headlines, Appolicious, and The Droid Guy. We took the apps that were mentioned the most frequently across sources. For ranking purposes, we sorted by the ratings from the iTunes and Google Play Store.
Without further ado, let’s take a look at the best astronomy iPhone and Android apps for stargazers.
11. StarMap
Rating: 4.0
Cost: $4.99
Operating System: iOS
StarMap has a database of 2.5 million stars to observe. You can also take a look at 13,000 deep sky objects, 475,000 asteroids, and a Tycho catalog. There’s an option to navigate space and find new objects. There’s also an Apple Watch and Apple TV version of this app.
Antonio Guillem/Shutterstock.com
10. NightSky Tools – Astronomy
Rating: 4.2
Cost: Free
Operating System: Android
This is a great app for both amateurs and those with super fancy telescopes. This is great because it catches most of the data and information on your device when you have a good internet connection. This will help you focus on specific celestial objects. The app also offers a log and daylight map to show you when it’ll be dark enough to watch the stars.
Triff/Shutterstock.com
9. Star Walk
Rating: 4.3
Cost: $4.99
Operating System: iOS
Star Walk for iPhone will show you exactly what you’re seeing in the sky. You can learn a lot with this app and get to take a look at the incredible graphics. This app also gives information about the daily sunrise and sunset, moon phases, visible planets, and so much more.
Copyright: forplayday / 123RF Stock Photo
8. Star Chart
Rating: 4.3
Cost: Free (In-app purchases)
Operating System: Android
Star Chart is an incredible app for all, but especially those who are new to the astronomy world. If you point your phone at the ground, you’ll get to see what the other half of the world is seeing a night. More than 20 million people use this app’s database with more than 120,000 items. It’s also capable of displaying 88 constellations. The app also supports voice control, zoom options, and a travel machine that can take you 10,000 years backward or forward.
Copyright: vantuz / 123RF Stock Photo
7. NASA
Rating: 4.4
Cost: Free
Operating System: Android
This is worth checking out if you’re interested in NASA in particular. This is the official NASA app and it has a huge database of images, videos, and current news. This will help you learn more about the universe and help you stay in touch with the latest information. We’re halfway through our list of best astronomy iPhone and Android apps for stargazers, and now, let’s check out the other half.
6. Stellarium Mobile Sky Map
Rating: 4.5
Cost: $2.49
Operating System: Android/iOS
Stellarium Mobile Sky Map goes all the way back to 2001 when a French programmer named Fabien Chereau launched the desktop version. This app is unique because of its age. It has a catalog of 600,000 stars that are displayed on a real-time sky map. You can also zoom into the sky to see the stars and planets better.
Joey Chung/Shutterstock.com
5. Luminos
Rating: 4.5
Cost: $6.99
Operating System: iOS
Luminos covers millions of celestial objects. With this app, you’ll be able to learn about stars, objects in the sky, how to identify different stars, and even watch the solar system in motion and travel through time. It’s like a virtual telescope that will take you on a journey through the stars. You can also stay in touch with the latest news and facts. This is definitely one of the best astronomy iPhone and Android apps for stargazers.
Copyright: forplayday / 123RF Stock Photo
4. ISS Detector Satellite Tracker
Rating: 4.6
Cost: Free (In-app purchases)
Operating System: Android
The ISS is the International Space Station, which is in constant orbit and is one of the best resources for observation and learning about space. This app gives you the ability to see exactly where the ISS is and it can send you a notification when it’s near your location.
Copyright: lexaarts / 123RF Stock Photo
3. Solar Walk
Rating: 4.7
Cost: $0.99 – $9.99
Operating System: iOS
Solar Walk is one of the best-rated applications and will allow you to learn as much as possible about the stars and play with the solar system right from your phone. The educational tool will let you see the stars, planets, and other space objects. You can also take a journey through the history of celestial events. The high-resolution display and real-life physics of the planets are very accurate on Solar Walk.
LDprod/Shutterstock.com
2. Distant Suns
Rating: 4.9
Cost: $0.99
Operating System: iOS
Distant Suns lets you explore the entire universe straight from your phone. There are thousands of stars in the database. It’s also GPS-aware and can inform you about weather patterns, stories about the constellations, and more.
Kostenko Maxim/Shutterstock.com
1. Observer Pro
Rating: 5.0
Cost: $13.99
Operating System: iOS
Observer Pro covers more than 14,000 deep sky objects and charts that will help you to locate the celestial objects. This app will do all the calculations and guesswork for you, which allows you to save time while you’re trying to find specific stars. Based on the rating, this seems to be a great option!
Sergey Nivens/Shutterstock.com
That concludes our list of the best astronomy iPhone and Android apps for stargazers. Now that the weather is getting better, this is a perfect opportunity to plan to be outside to check out the stars!
