Which phone astronomy app?????

[M4lcs67]

Just took the plunge the other day and bought a Google Nexus 4 smartphone and I am currently configuring it for my needs.

On my old phone I had Googlesky and I have loaded this onto the new device, however are there any of the other astronomy apps out that anyone would recommend, either pay for or free?

Thanks muchly.

[Paul M]

My favorite is SkySafari the plus version is not expensive and it's very configurable.

The new Stellarium app is a bit prettier but less configurable.

[Solar_observer]

"Mobile observatory", it costs a little but it does EVERYTHING you need :-)

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[long_arms]

Hello,

Aside from Google Sky Map, I use:

'ISS detector'...great for ISS passes and iridium flares.

'Astro Panel'...Weather (cloud cover), seeing, transparency, humidity, lunar phase and rise and set times etc.

SkEye...very similar to google sky map. A little more complicated but with a lot more detail (imo)

All free.

Dan

[MorningMajor]

There was a complete thread with loads of Android Apps listed - can't find it now I'm afraid - but it's there somewhere!

[MorningMajor]

I lie - Here it is!

[SuperMassive]

Another vote for Mobile Observatory, it's worth the entry fee. Linky

[mallorcasaint]

+1 for Mobile Observatory

+1 for Astro Panel

+1 for ISS detector

[Kevin Eaves]

If you want an app for serious astronomy then SkySafari is the one you need!

[mallorcasaint]

If you want an app for serious astronomy then SkySafari is the one you need!

I have Sky Safari and while it has lots of pretty pictures and you can control your mount given the correct hardware, I still prefer MO for ease of use and convenience as well as accuracy.

[M4lcs67]

Thanks alot everyone. A friend of mine has an app on his Nexus that when switched on you can tap in the name of an object and as you are scanning the sky for it there is a circle that appears on the screen that gets smaller and smaller the closer you get to the object until you get to it. Does anybody know which one that it is likely to be? Can't speak to my friend at the mo so don't know the name of it.

[Radar2312]

+1

mobile observatory

astropanel &

ISS detector

[baggywrinkle]

My favorite is SkySafari the plus version is not expensive and it's very configurable.

The new Stellarium app is a bit prettier but less configurable.

Itreid the Stellarium Portable app for my Galaxy Tablet...it would not open not reason why.

[PhobosPhil]

+1 for mobile observatory and stellarium, I use both as I havent picked a favourite yet.

I'm still considering buying skysafari at some point but i'm still deciding which version I should get. On the one hand, its a hobby I enjoy so why not spend £30 on the full version - but on the other hand my current phone probably cant handle it and my tablet might not even be able to.

[mallorcasaint]

Itreid the Stellarium Portable app for my Galaxy Tablet...it would not open not reason why.

Probably because the Stellarium app is not dome by the actual developers but a third party.

[RichieP]

I really don't like the Stellarium app. Though it works pretty well it doesn't remember your settings and won't run in the background.

[Kevin Eaves]

You really don't need any more than SkySafari plus at aroun £10 as it has a database of 2.5 million stars! Here is an excerpt from the web page

SkySafari Plus adds a hugely expanded database, wireless telescope control, the ability to fly into orbit around other planets our Solar System, and beyond it to other stars in our Milky Way galaxy, to our basic version. Make sure you have at least 450 MB of free space on your SD card for SkySafari Plus to download this database from our server the first time it runs!

SkySafari Plus shows you 2.5 million stars, and 31,000 deep sky objects - including the entire NGC/IC catalog. It shows the Solar System's major planets and moons using NASA spacecraft imagery, and includes over 4,000 asteroids, comets, and satellites with updateable orbits. It can point your GoTo or "Push-To" telescope anywhere in the sky, using your Android device's built-in bluetooth or WiFi, and our SkyFi wireless or Starry Night BlueStar bluetooth serial adapter.

SkySafari accurately shows you the sky from any place on Earth, at any time up to 10,000 years in the past or future. It includes 1100 encyclopedic descriptions of the constellations, stars, and planets written by professional astronomers. And it contains over 800 images from NASA space missions, the Hubble Space Telescope, and the world's foremost astro-photographers.

If you have an Android device with a compass, SkySafari Plus can help you identify stars and planets by holding your phone next to them. Tap the Compass button (or tilt your phone up toward the sky) to activate the compass. Now, as you move the phone around, the sky chart follows your motion. Search for any object in the sky, and follow the arrow on screen to find it!

SkySafari has a "Night" button to preserve your dark adaptation as you're exploring the night sky. The Time Flow feature lets you animate the night sky using simple VCR controls - follow the motion of the stars and planets as SkySafari compresses days, months, and years into a few seconds.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.southernstars.skysafari_plus&feature=more_from_developer#?t=W251bGwsMSwxLDEwMiwiY29tLnNvdXRoZXJuc3RhcnMuc2t5c2FmYXJpX3BsdXMiXQ..

[Robny]

After reading this thread I went and downloaded Astro Panel and I have to say its great and gets my vote. Been looking for something like that for a while - cheers :-)

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[m37]

Hi

I have the nexus 7 and I use:

SkEye (planetarium) for finding stuff, unlike Google Sky Map you can fine tune alignment

Astropanel for seeing/condition and other essential info, it's just brilliant

Used to use Longitude Latitude converter for converting decimal location to degrees/minutes/seconds for Synscan setup, until I found...

GPS Essentials which lets you build a custom dashboard of the info you want to see and you can set it to DMS format

Night Filter for an extra dim screen and red filter (or any filter colour you want)

These are all free apps that I use every night.

Cheers

[Pyrodave]

Thanks alot everyone. A friend of mine has an app on his Nexus that when switched on you can tap in the name of an object and as you are scanning the sky for it there is a circle that appears on the screen that gets smaller and smaller the closer you get to the object until you get to it. Does anybody know which one that it is likely to be? Can't speak to my friend at the mo so don't know the name of it.

Hi Malc the app your looking for could be SkEye I have it on my phone and its very good

[M4lcs67]

Hey Pyrodave. Thanks alot. That is the one. Loaded it onto my new device and it looks to be great. Just the ticket for my needs. Seems to be much more intuitive than Googlesky (what I used to use before).

[221B Observer]

On my ipad I have the following: StarWalk, Night Sky, Solar Walk, Luminos, puniverse, ESA news app, Mars Globe, Moon HD, NASA app, ESA Bulletins. On my andrioid I have NASA app, Astrohub, Google sky maps, astro panel, NASA daily astronomy, NASA app, NASA weather app, telescope flashlight, SKEye, and Space images.

[long_arms]

Sorry If I'm going off topic here,

I read the other day that the "night vision turn your phone red" apps and similar only function (preserve your nightvision) if you use a phone/tablet with an oled type screen.

A lot of phones (at least used to) use a backlight which still emits broad spectrum light and the app will do nothing to preserve your night vision.

Not sure how many modern phones still use backlit screens to be fair.

Dan