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Preferred Skychart App


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I've been playing around with a handful of apps to find my way around the sky.  So far

1) Stellarium  (like the constellation drawings, but the grid is referenced to zenith, rather than celestial north at Polaris)

2) Skymap (nicely indicated messiers, but constellation drawings not as good.  Grid referenced to Polaris)

3) Skyview Free (Nice constellation drawins, can't find out how to turn off using the phone to point it in the right place, rather than spinning it with my finger! - maybe this is subscription only?)

4).. others?

Maybe there are others, but I note some extra features available if subscribing to their 'paid for' app.

If choosing one app to subscribe to, which one would you recommend?

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I use 3) on my iphone SE but I bought the full version as I found the free version to limited. Excellent app, seems to be mostly correct as you wave it around like a loon (AR only), you can also set "night mode" for red light which is good for preserving night vision etc, good for locating objects (and will tell you where they will be on a guide trail at certain times (I use this to work out when stuff comes out from behind trees in my gardens limited field of view!). You can turn off the constellation images in the settings > display > constellation art (in the full version anyway!). 

I think a lot of people use Stellarium but I didn't find it as intuitive and easy to use as Skyview for some reason. Stellarium works in both modes as far as I remember, you can spin it on the spot using your finger or by moving the phone around depending how you lock it.

Also I would heartily recommend "Scope Nights" as it seems fairly accurate for weather / clouds etc. Though its disheartening to see it full of red "poor" viewing conditions at present :D

Edited by wibblefish
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On 03/01/2021 at 17:08, wobblewing said:

Apologies, feel free to ignore - found a thread that discusses this already... 

I can't seem to find that thread. Can you link it please? I'm using Solar System Scope. Works ok, but wondering if something else is better. Thanks

Bobby

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19 hours ago, bsshog40 said:

Yea I just downloaded the stellarium app on my android. Won't let me do much without paying for it. 

Strange. I found that the free version does everything I want. What features are you looking for? I have also impressed the Windows version. This is quite an amazing and powerful application and open source at that! Amazed.

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29 minutes ago, Spile said:

Strange. I found that the free version does everything I want. What features are you looking for? I have also impressed the Windows version. This is quite an amazing and powerful application and open source at that! Amazed.

Well it won't let me get into most of it. 

 

Stell 1.jpg

stell 2.jpg

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1 hour ago, bsshog40 said:

Well it won't let me get into most of it. 

 

Stell 1.jpg

stell 2.jpg

The core function of the app is still there, you're hardly missing "most of it." In regards to the actual skymap you're limited to objects up to mag 10, whereas pro goes up to mag 25. It's a great app, especially at the price tag of "Free."

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33 minutes ago, DanWri said:

The core function of the app is still there, you're hardly missing "most of it." In regards to the actual skymap you're limited to objects up to mag 10, whereas pro goes up to mag 25. It's a great app, especially at the price tag of "Free."

Ok, looks like I need to play with it more. It's odd that the present time doesn't show and I have to scale it to the present time. I didn't realize that the screen was showing actual solar system but was not at the right time. Lol Also, I never got into all the depths of astronomy, like star names and stuff. Mostly just a planet watcher. I was just looking more at the app and like how it shows more stuff like M31 and names of the actual constellations. Thanks for making me look at it closer! 

Bobby

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Skysafari Plus. Although it costs a little, it's much better for telescope users. The free one is OK for naked-eye stuff. It's very often on discount.

The observation features are worth it alone. You can create custom observation lists or import public ones (including a load from SGL). Record your own observations into its logs and keep a record of what you have seen and when. Search for what's good tonight. Any bright asteroids visible from where I am? OK - add it to the observation lists for next week.

I really like how you can customise it with your scope, eyepiece and camera details and select various permutations to display the FOV on screen, along with telrad circles.

Asteroid Vesta just now: showing telrad circles plus the blue circle is the FOV of my 25mm plossl in the 8" dob:

image.png.e40a52a277a2fdc472af79df48aed5bd.png

If you have a goto mount, you can use Skysafari to control it, too.

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Yep, also a vote for SkySafari Plus. I got it for about €7, I think they do sales every now and then.

I've barely scratched the surface with it, but as has already been mentioned, the Observation lists, and the ability to change the FOV circles displayed on it based on your own telescope and eye pieces is really handy. Star hopping is so much easier if the circle on the screen matches the circle in front of your eye, I wouldn't have found Neptune a few days ago without it!

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