Best Apps to See and Recognize Stars

It does not matter if you have just entered the world of astronomy or if you have been studying the celestial bodies scattered throughout the universe for a long time; A must-have tool on your mobile is an application that allows you to see the stars and know at all times where the planets, constellations and other astronomical objects are.

Luckily, on Android, we can find dozens of applications of this type, perfect to complement the nights of astronomical observation or the photo sessions using the astrophotography mode of your Google Pixel that allows you to capture photos like the one at the top of this article – and of which By the way, you can see more examples in our analysis of the Pixel 4 XL -, which you can also have on any other mobile if you use the Google camera app.

• OSR Star Finder
• Starlight
• Sky Map
• SkySafari and SkySafari Pro
• Star Tracker
• Star Walk 2 Free

With the apps that we are going to select, you will not only be able to see stars in real-time. You will also be able to identify the stars, constellations, and the rest of the astronomical elements that inhabit the universe.

OSR Star Finder

Through a system based on augmented reality, OSR Star Finder allows you to see and locate the stars and constellations in real-time by pointing the mobile towards the sky.

In addition, this stargazing app offers a library with detailed information on 88 constellations and some of the most important stars.

Starlight – Explore the Stars

With more than half a million installations, Starlight is one of the best or perhaps the best app to see stars.

Like the previous one, it can be downloaded totally free. Again, it offers the possibility of visualizing the exact position of the stars and constellations, colored according to the category to which they correspond.

Starlight includes information on the 88 constellations and more than 100,000 stars, thanks to the Hipparcos database.

Sky Map

In its day, it was an application to see stars from Google, but in 2012 the company decided to discontinue the project, which was taken over by a group of engineers and turned into an open-source app.

Now, Sky Map is still one of the most used astronomical tools on Android and one of the most popular stargazing apps out there.

This app to see stars on Android is free and does not include ads of any kind. Still, it is one of the most recommended options for beginners.

Its operation is simple: open the app, point your mobile at the sky, and Sky Map will show the name of the stars, planets, and the rest of the celestial elements.

SkySafari and SkySafari Pro

Without detracting from the other applications, if there is one that really stands out among all the tools in its category, SkySafari.

It is a program to see the stars in real-time, which its creators define as a “powerful planetarium that fits in your pocket”.

The operation is similar to that of the rest of the apps. However, it includes interesting features such as the ability to “travel back in time” and see, for example, what the universe was like in 500 BC.

It is also possible to simulate what would be seen from any other part of the world, either in the past or future times.

Of course, both these and the many other features that Sky Safari includes come at a price. Although there is a free version, to enjoy the largest database ever seen in an astronomy app, with every one of the celestial elements discovered, and with impressive precision and certainty, you will have to go to the box and buy the version “Pro”, for 21.99 euros.

Star Tracker

Another great alternative to the aforementioned stargazing apps is Star Tracker. Although its interface is not as modern as other tools, it stands out for its ease of use and for offering a view of the stars at 60 FPS. The app is free, although it contains purchases.

Star Walk 2 Free

It has been selected as one of the best apps to see the stars by the editors of Google Play, and it is no wonder.

Star Walk 2 is an entire pocket-sized celestial encyclopedia, with real-time viewing of stars, constellations, planets, and much more, all for free –including in-app payments, although they serve to eliminate ads–.

Taking photos of the stars with your mobile is easy if you have the know-how

Now that you probably already know the exact position of the stars and constellations, you probably want to take the opportunity to capture the best possible photo.

And it does not matter if you do not have a professional camera, because you can do it perfectly with your mobile.

At the time, we already elaborated a complete guide to photographing the stars with the mobile, and not long ago, Google offered us other tricks to achieve it.

However, you can also use an application that does part of the work for you, such as Photo Pills. Although its price is somewhat high –10.99 euros–, it is a complete tool that offers information on sunrise and sunset, twilights, supermoons, or lunar calendar, in addition to offering functions to capture traces of stars or to keep the stars fixed in our image.