Celestial object positioning software

[Sempei]

Does anyone have suggestions about star finding apps?  I have found a couple  that  seem intriguing, but the motion function doesn't  work  on a Samsung device.  Apparently  they  were  written  for  iphones.  I am new to this and don't  know  how to start.  Is this kind of app even the best to use for identifying  and getting  the  general  position  of objects?

[noah4x4]

Celestron's 'SkyPortal' for Android. It's free too.

It's a cut down version of SkySafari. If you like SkyPortal, you might then upgrade to 'SkySafari Plus' that has a small cost.

[RT65CB-SWL]

SKeye is another good Android one! - I used to use it on a Samsung S3...

note to self... must download a copy for my Android tablet.

 

[ronin]

If Samung is Android, think it is, then your simplest option is just to buy Skysafari5 the basic package, it costs $3.

The app is good but even to get the general position of an object you still have to have a good idea of where it is. Kind of holding it up Northwards means it does not display Leo and the Leo triplet. To get Leo and the Leo tripley in then you have to point the thing at them.

I actually use it mainly without the compass feature and so as a small hand held planetarium, quite often I can then open up the detail and select an object.

One of those odd situations where to find  (as said) Leo you have to know where Leo is and point the phone at it. Then the display will tell you that you are pointing at Leo. Good for identifing the bright stars, as in what is that one and then you can determine the constellation it is in. But ultimately you have to learn the assortment of stars and constellations and whatever the major objects in them are.

[ollypenrice]

I'd want a bigger screen. I can't imagine trying to navigate the night sky with mobile sized screens. A PC is bad enough!

Have you encountered the non digital and very useful planisphere? These are an excellent first step into seeing what is up in the sky at a given time and date.

Olly

[Red Dwarfer]

Give Star Walk 1 app a try ... I have four astronomy apps on my iphone and it is my favourite ... you can even adjust the slider on the left of the screen to red so you don`t mess up your night vision too much .

[Sempei]

Olly,

I'm  very new to the mechanical  side of this.  What is a planisphere, and how can I check them out?  I will google  them in the meantime, but would appreciate  your  viewpoint.

[bejay1957]

Google Skymap used to be okay as a basic finder app, but no longer works on my Samsung tablet.  The free version of Clearsky is worth a look

[RichLD]

The mobile version of Stellarium works great on my Nexus 6 

[Grotemobile]

9 hours ago, Sempei said:

Olly,

I'm  very new to the mechanical  side of this.  What is a planisphere, and how can I check them out?  I will google  them in the meantime, but would appreciate  your  viewpoint.

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=philips+planisphere%3F&ie=&oe=

[MattJenko]

One consideration is that using mobile phone apps at night has a rather detrimental effect on ones night-vision, even with most red screen settings. A planisphere is a nice option if you get your head round them