Best Astronomy Apps of 2024
We already know that astronomy is kind of an expensive hobby. If you are new to astronomy and an absolute beginner, then you are not sure whether you like this stuff that much or not. You will not be sure whether you will follow this hobby for the long term, and in such a scenario, investing money in an expensive telescope might not be a good thing to do. So, in this article, we’ll be looking at a couple of astronomy apps. Many of you probably know about these apps and probably use them regularly. Some of the functions of these apps are free, and some are paid. These apps are useful for all the beginner to advanced levels of astronomers. For beginners, these apps will be more useful as, with the help of these apps, you will get familiar with the night sky. Even if you don’t have a telescope, this is not recommended. You should at least have a very basic telescope to begin with, but if you just cannot afford to buy a new telescope, then all you need to do is use these apps regularly and see whether it makes you more interested in learning about new celestial objects or not. You don’t even need to use the paid functions of the app. The free functions of the app will be sufficient to figure it out. If you are someone who wants to buy a telescope but is on a very tight budget, then you should buy a very basic telescope, and with the help of these apps, you can quickly get familiar with the night sky. This is one of the ways you can figure out your interest in astronomy without spending lots of money, or if you are someone who does not have a computerized telescope, then these apps will be very helpful to guide you throughout the night sky.
SkyView
The first app on the list is Sky View. Sky View gives you an idea about what to expect from a Sky Guide app. This app uses your phone screen and sensors to give you an automated reality view of what is in the sky. When you open this app for the first time, you have to set your location and then point it towards the sky. This app will show you the celestial object present in the pointed area of the sky. When you click on the celestial object, then you can read all the information available about that object in the app itself. This app will also show you the path of the celestial object. You can see and locate various stars, planets, constellations, nebulae, messier objects, satellites, and international space stations.
Pros.
- Sky View has a simple point-and-tap interface that lets users find constellations in the night sky.
- Augmented reality technology lets people keep an eye on asteroids, satellites, and other objects in orbit close to Earth.
- The app also tells you interesting facts about each constellation or celestial object it discovers, which makes it a great way for students and astronomy lovers to learn.
- The easy-to-use design of Sky View makes it simple for anyone, even first-time users, to navigate around in star charts and quickly find the places they want to see in the sky.
Con’s.
- Sky View can only be used on iOS devices, so it can only be used by a certain group of people.
- Many other apps like this one already have tools like night vision and times lapse recording that this one doesn’t have yet.
- A lot of people who have used Sky View have said that the user interface is hard to use, which makes it hard to find certain settings or use the apps more complicated features.
SkySafari
The second app on the list is Sky Safari. Sky Safari is an excellent sky guide app for amateur and professional astronomers. Sky Safari does a beautiful job of rendering the night sky. It creates a sky map that includes the major planets and moons, tens of thousands of stars, and the best-known star clusters, nebulae, galaxies, asteroids, comets, and more. When you click on the object, you can read the information about that object. With this app, you can track the future and pass movement of an object by minute, hour, or day. This app also has a basic concept section where you can learn about the basic concepts of astronomy, which is very helpful for beginners. Also, if you want to read more, the app provides links to sites where you can read everything in detail.
This astronomy app comes with three different versions. Whereas the three apps have their own distinct features.
SkySafari Basic
With Sky Safari Basic, you can see 120,000 stars, 222 of the most well-known star clusters, nebulae, and galaxies in the sky, along with all of the major planets and moons of the Solar System and over 200 asteroids, comets, and satellites.
SkySafari Plus
Sky Safari Plus offers 32,000 deep sky objects, including the complete NGC/IC catalog, 2.5 million stars, and 7,000 asteroids, comets, and satellites with customizable orbits. Moreover, advanced mobile telescope control.
SkySafari Pro
Sky Safari Pro provides 750,000 solar system objects, including all comets and asteroid discoveries, 3 million galaxies down to 18th magnitude, and more than 100 million stars. Moreover, advanced mobile telescope control.
StarWalk2
The third app is Star Walk 2. This is also an augmented reality app that displays all the celestial objects in the sky. When you set a location and point your phone in the sky, it shows you objects in those areas. If you click on it, it will then give you some basic information about the object, and you can also see the Wikipedia page of that object in the app itself. In the visible tonight section of the app, you can see at what time planets and other celestial objects are visible in your region. You can plan your stargazing night with this if you want to observe a particular object in the sky.
Conclusion
This was some very basic information about these astronomy apps. There are so many different astronomy apps you can find for your stargazing night. You should download and try different functions of these apps. All these astronomy apps are very similar, with some having more or less features than others. If you want to buy a telescope but you cannot buy it right now because of a budget, then you can still start your astronomy journey by using these apps and getting a little bit familiar with the night sky. If you have a telescope, then using these apps can improve your overall experience. Some of these apps also have the ability to connect with your telescope through Wi-Fi. I hope this article helped you understand which astronomy apps can be used to improve your stargazing experience on a very tight budget.