Astronomy Apps

 

APOD VIEWER

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/apodviewer-astronomy-picture/id292538105?mt=8

Displays “Astronomy Picture of the Day” images

 

ASTROCK

http://itunes.apple.com/app/astrock-astronomical-clock/id328998293?mt=8

 or

http://spoledge.com/en/mobile-devices/astrock.html

An astronomical clock that keeps track of the positions of the Moon and planets, plus sunrise, sunset, etc.

 

ASTRONOMY WHEREISIT

https://market.android.com/details?id=com.bt.whereisit&hl=en

Calculates altitude & azimuth from RA & Dec; has catalog of well-known objects

 

ASTRO TOOLS

https://market.android.com/details?id=com.rafdev.astrotoolsalpha1&hl=en

A basic planisphere app for which you can download an optional catalog of an additional 2.5 million stars

 

AU: The Solar System

http://orb11.com/software/au/ or http://itunes.apple.com/app/au-the-solar-system-on-sale/id307029626?mt=8

Animation lets you move through the solar system; contains information and links on for each world and each planetary mission

 

CASSINI

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/cassini/id450219408?mt=8#

Images from the mission to Saturn and information about what the spacecraft is doing currently

 

COSMOCALC

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/cosmocalc/id334569654?mt=8

Cosmological distance calculator, where you put in the cosmological framework and parameters you prefer and it converts red shift to distances or a lookback time

 

CRATER SIZE XL

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/cratersizexl/id369535286?mt=8

Lets you put in the parameters of a colliding asteroid or comet and a target world, and then calculates the size of the crater produced

 

DEEP SKY BROWSER

http://itunes.apple.com/au/app/dss-browser/id368881403?mt=8

 or http://www.astrodevices.com/products/DSSBrowser/

Provides information about and sky position for about 50,000 objects, including Messier, NGC, Caldwell objects and the Digital Sky Survey

 

EMERALD OBSERVATORY

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/emerald-observatory-for-ipad/id364904759?mt=8/or http://emeraldsequoia.com/eo/index.htm

lA beautiful astronomical clock, moon phase indicator, day-night map, orrery, eclipse simulator, and more

 

ESO Top 100 (European Southern Observatory)

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/eso-top-100/id426912449?mt=8/

A collection of images from large telescopes at the European Southern Observatory, with captions and music

 

EXOPLANET

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/exoplanet/id327702034?mt=8

Regularly updated database of all known extrasolar planets, with background information, visualizations and more

 

GALAXY COLLIDER

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/galaxy-collider/id301086225?mt=8

A simulator for colliding galaxies

 

GALAXY ZOO (Zooniverse)

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/galaxy-zoo/id363499733?mt=8

 or http://www.galaxyzoo.org/iphone

Users can help classify galaxies in images from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey

 

Google Sky Map

http://google.com/mobile/skymap

Shows you what is in the sky or lets you select a planet or deep-sky object and find where it is

 

GO SAT WATCH

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/gosatwatch-satellite-tracking/id300546718?mt=8

Shows real time location of earth-orbiting satellites in the sky and can follow their orbits

 

GO STARGAZE

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/go-stargaze/id380833895?mt=8

Regularly updated database of astronomy clubs and their public events -- such as star parties -- in the US

 

GRAIL

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/grail/id459858462?mt=8

Provides updated information on the twin probes measuring the gravity field of the Moon; will provide images from a student-run Moon-Cam

 

GRAVLENSHD

http://itunes.apple.com/md/app/gravlenshd/id318275930?mt=8

Simulate gravitational lensing phenomena, and show how we get the multiple images and arcs shown in Hubble Space Telescope images

 

HUBBLESITE

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/hubblesite/id416759844?mt=8

A gallery of Hubble Space Telescope images as wall-paper, plus information about and from the HST

 

HUBBLE TOP 100 (European Southern Observatory)

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/hubble-top-100/id426922803?mt=8

Slide show of 100 Hubble images, set to music, with links to captions

 

The Invisible Universe

https://market.android.com/details?id=com.lbi.iu

Done with the assistance of Hubble Fellow Joshua Peek -- currently at Columbia -- this unusual app lets you point your device and see not the visible but non-visible images of the sky above you

 

JUPITER ATLAS

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/ju[iter-atlas/id352033947?mt=8

Displays position and globes (with features) of Jupiter and its four Galilean moons

 

KEPLER

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/kepler/id430616551?mt=8

Updated list of extra-solar planets discovered by the Kepler mission, plus background information and visualization

 

Living Earth

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/living-earth-hd-world-clock/id379869627?mt=8

Shows a nice Earth globe with the weather based on satellite data; also a world clock, alarm; calculates sunrise and sunset for each city

 

MARS ATLAS

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/mars-atlas/id303482394?mt=8

Explore a globe of Mars with 1600 named features

 

MARS GLOBE

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/mars-globe/id324185998?mt=8

Also shows a globe of Mars where you can zoom in on features

 

MERCURY ATLAS

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/mercury-atlas/id347553216?mt=8

A globe of Mercury, where you can zoom in and explore features

 

MESSIER LIST

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/messier-list/id364899443?mt=8

Descriptions, positions, and photos of Messier’s list of nebulae, clusters, and galaxies

 

MOON

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/moon./id409619991?mt=8

Gives lunar phase, rise and set times, azimuth and altitude, and distance for current or any time

 

MOON ATLAS

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/moon-atlas/id302171459?mt=8

Explore a 3-D globe of the Moon, showing phases, libration, features, landing sites, etc.

 

MOON GLOBE

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/moon-globe/id333180321?mt=8

 or http://midnightmartian.com/MoonGlobe

Another program to view the Moon from Earth or as a spinning globe with features and other information

 

MOON PHASE PRO

https://market.android.com/details?id=com.daylightmap.moon.pro.android&hl=en or http://daylightmap.com

Shows phases on a Moon globe and information for the present time, or for any time or location you choose; can also make moon-phase calendars

 

NASA APP HD

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/nasa-app/id334325516?mt=8

 or https://market.android.com/details?id=gov.nasa

 or http://www.nasa.gov/centers/ames/iphone/nasa_app_hd.html

Download updated NASA information: Launches, mission status reports, “Astronomy Picture of the Day”, NASA TV live-stream video, etc

 

NASA TELEVISION

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/nasa-television/id434439506?mt=8

Live or on-demand TV programming from NASA’s TV channel

 

NIGHT SKETCH

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/night-sketch/id325894443?mt=8/

A very basic planisphere program, but one that lets you connect stars to make your own constellation figures

 

PLANETFACTS

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/planetfacts-plus/id335836069?mt=8

Catalog of information about the bodies in the solar system, with maps to show scale

 

SATURN ATLAS

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/saturn-atlas/id352038051?mt=8
Current views of Saturn and 7 of its moons, with globes of the moons that show features

 

SKY SAFARI

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/skysafari-lite/id321419308?mt=8

 or http://www.southernstars.com/

Awesome planisphere app that shows the sky above your device, has catalog of thousands of objects; comes in regular and lite versions

 

SKY WEEK

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/s-t-skyweek/id398252674mt=8/

Interactive version of the magazine’s “This Week’s Sky at a Glance”; helps plan your observing program; shows sky for your location, has zoomable star maps

 

SOLAR DYNAMICS OBSERVATORY

https://Market.android.com/details?id=com.astra.solarapp&feature=seach_result/  View video and images of the sun from the SDO satellite

 

SOLAR MAX

https://market.android.com/details?id=com.ghostleopard.solar&hl=en/

Shows images of the Sun from the SOHO satellite

 

SOLAR WALK

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/solar-walk-3d-solar-system/id347546771?mt=8

Dynamic solar system model that you can fly through or show for any date, with movie mode and music, and 3-D TV capability if you have 3-D glasses

 

SPACE JUNK

https://market.android.com/details?id=us.xyzw.star3map&hl=en

Shows position of International Space Station and other artificial satellites in the sky for your location, shows background of constellations and planets, or an earth view.

 

STAR & PLANET FINDER

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/star-planet-finder/id361753588?mt=8

Select a celestial object and this app will help you find it using a pointer; planets are free, stars are available for a small fee

 

 

STAR CHARTS BY WIL TIRION

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/star-charts-by-wil-tirion/id411822062?mt=8

18 charts based on an atlas by a respected celestial cartographer

 

STELLARIUM

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/stellarium/id382624365?mt=8

 or http://www.stellarium.org

A version of the popular open-source planisphere program

 

3D SUN (Tony Phillips)

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app//3d-sun/id347089078?mt=8

 or http://3dsun.org/  Lets you manipulate a Sun model based on STEREO spacecraft images; has phone alerts if there are major updates, such as large solar flares or northern lights

 

Variable Red Screen Light $0.99

 

VARIABLE STAR

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/variable-stars/id405791918?mt=8

Searchable catalog of over 183,000 variable stars, with educational materials from the American Association of Variable Star Observers

 

VENUS ATLAS

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/venus-atlas/id317310503?mt=8

3D globe of Venus with over 2000 features shown; shows the phase of Venus from your location

 

WHERE IS IO

https://market.android.com/details?id=net.dague.astro&hl=en

Presents a graph of the current positions of the Galilean moons, rise and set times for planets, and information about solar system objects