Re Astro apps for smartphones

[Star Hunter]

I've just bought a Samsung Galaxy S4mini and would like to know what is worth getting: a free app or buy one?. I hear Sky Safari is good. What do others say about this and other astro applications?

Thanks,

Jim

[mithrandir]

Jim, Sky Safari is brilliant, but the current Android versions will soon(ishly) be replaced with a new one which you would have to repurchase. There is supposed to be an introductory offer when released. For iOS I got Pro v4 for about half price.

You could get the basic version to see if you like it. For a couple of dollars it's cheap.

[MortonH]

I recently bought the basic version of Sky Safari to try it out. It's surprisingly good on my Galaxy S3 phone, although I intend to use it mainly on my tablet.

It's good enough that I will definitely be buying the pro version when the new one comes out.

[MortonH]

Stellarium mobile is around $2.50 and is also quite good, but I'd say Sky Safari is better (even the basic version). Buy them both for $5 and compare!

[Amaranthus]

For iOS I've found the following to be superb:

Observer Pro - THE best tool for planning your view sessions

Scope Nights - weather forecasts aimed as astronomy

AstroAid - DSO planning, for judging FOV/EP choice (covers all M, IC, NGC and Caldwell objects - with images for each and every one)

Scope Help - basic calculations, but useful (e.g. as GPS, sidereal time) - free too

SkySafari Pro - excellent planetarium/star chart, especially when you want to know what to expect in a deep field

Stellarium - Useful for getting your 'eye in' on the sky before you go out

SkyQ - decent for ephemeris, and I often use it as a replacement for my hand control in driving my 8SE

[Star Hunter]

Thanks guys!

I'll wait now for the new pro version of Sky Safari as many other users in other forums say the same thing. Is it true the same program can control a GOTO mount via Bluetooth?

[noeyedeer]

have them all for free if your phone is rooted and you know what you are doing ...

then decide if you want to buy ...

matt

and yes, Bluetooth is enabled with sky safari pro to control various devices ... don't ask me which or how as I don't have goto scope

[scottholio]

Buy SkySafari 4, it is brilliant on tablet and phone.

[Amaranthus]

The more I use SkySafari 4 Pro, the more it moves up my list as the "go to first, 2nd and last" astronomy app. These days I use it for just about everything - general planetarium-type scanning, session and list planning, scope control, eyepiece FOV reproduction/identification. It is THE app.

[julianh72]

+1!

I'm using SkySafari 4 Plus, and I think it will meet pretty well all of my foreseeable needs. I use it for planning a night's viewing, recording observation logs, finding targets visually, identifying stars visually, and now that I've bought a Bluetooth controller - driving my father's 8" LX-90 SCT.

I can't speak highly enough for this - especially for the introductory price of $8.79!

(And if 2.6 million stars down to magnitude 15 in its database isn't enough, you could always go for the Pro version with 15.4 million stars down to magnitude 18.)

[julianh72]

Yes, you need to buy a compatible Bluetooth controller (or a WiFi controller, if you are on an iOS device), but it has the protocols to control a wide range of GoTo scopes (or report back on the targeting of a PushTo scope), including Meade, Celestron, Orion, SkyWatcher, etc.)

List of compatible telescopes here:
http://skysafariastronomy.com/products/skysafari_android/scope_control.html