The program for determining the stars in the sky. Star Chart - constellations and planets

Of course, it is very pleasant to review the application, which is developed by a Russian company. And if you consider that the application has received a number of prestigious awards, it is doubly pleasant. As part of the project, we will talk about a pocket observatory Star walk... If you are reading this blog, you will notice that Sasha is already, but that was half a year ago, since that moment there have been many changes, the most important of which is the version for Android.

Briefly
With Star Walk you can see stars, planets, constellations, satellites, meteor showers, not only from the point where you are in this moment are, but also from any place on Earth.

Requirements
iOS: 5.0 or later, 83 MB free space... Suitable for: iPhone, iPad and iPod touch... Application in Russian. Age 4+
Android 4.0 or later, 112 MB available space.

In detail
First of all, the application is interesting for those who like to look at the starry sky, but do not always understand what and where it is. Personally, I belong to this type of people. The principle of operation is that using GPS and an accelerometer, Star Walk determines the exact location of the device, and correlates what you see with a map of the starry sky. After launching, I found the moon in the sky, the application showed exactly the same location on my smartphone. Accordingly, when you move the device, the sky on it will also change. Perhaps this is the most important thing for me. The fact is that not all applications before that determined my coordinates correctly. You can click on each of the objects and then a page will drop out where you can read detailed description object.

Star Walk has a lot of settings and filters. You can find a specific celestial body.

View sunrise and sunset times.

But personally, I am always interested in the ISS. It is always interesting to understand and observe the flight of the station, apparently this is due to the fact that people constantly live at the station. If you look at the sky and see a satellite, you can always understand whose it is.

Here is a short video that shows all the beauty.

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Dedicated to all romantics and astrologers! - a map of the starry sky with a bunch of nice additions. In general, the application is conventionally called a map, since in fact, everything is done as a game with no plot. You "play" in the first person - from the Earth.

In contact with

You can rotate in different directions and use the zoom to look for the stars and constellations of interest. You can click on each of them and then a page will drop out where you can read the description of the object. For convenience, there is a button at the bottom left to search for the object of the starry sky you are interested in. Star Walk supports Russian, which is very nice.

In addition to many planets, on the interactive map you can even find artificial satellites plying the Earth's orbit. The most interesting thing is that all the action of the application takes place in real time, i.e. you can see the movement of satellites and the slow movement of stars around the sun.

For greater efficiency, the developers have added the ability to look at the starry sky through various filters: X-ray radiation, infrared radiation, radio radiation, etc. These filters were added for the entertainment of the application rather than for anything else.

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If you have ever been fond of studying constellations, or just love to look at the starry sky, then you will definitely like the application. In the daytime or at night, you can always see where certain constellations and planets are located.

The app is available for both iPhone and iPad. Star Walk's cost App Store is 379 rubles.

Demonstration of application capabilities:

I do not presume to count the number of so-called astronomical programs, but I can say with confidence that they are all divided into two large groups. The first consists of lightweight applications designed mostly for entertainment; the second consists of powerful simulators used to educate aspiring astronomers.

The lion's share of programs for space exploration are written under Windows. What about Android, this operating system is no less popular?

Are there astronomical programs for Android, and if so, how good are they? Of course there is, you just need to know where to look for them. As for the quality, in it they are in no way inferior to the Windows ones.

Star walk

At first I wanted to leave this application "for a snack", but then I decided that the first program in terms of quality of execution should be the first on the list.

Star Walk - perhaps best app for the amateur study of the starry sky. This wonderful astronomical guide will allow you to navigate among the myriad of stars in real time. All you need is just to point your smartphone or tablet at the sky and all celestial bodies will be immediately identified. It doesn't matter if it is day or night.

The most significant space objects in Star Walk have a complete dossier. Also using this application you can learn information about constellations, nebulae, moon phases, trajectories of celestial bodies, etc. Also, you will be offered naturalistic pictures of planets, an astronomical calendar, various visual and audio effects. Star Walk is distributed on a paid basis, the cost of the application is low and is only $ 3.17.

Star Chart

Star Chart otherwise Star Chart can be considered as a very good alternative to Star Walk. It works in about the same way - point the device at the sky and you get a picture with a description of celestial bodies. The application provides detailed data on planets, stars, comets, constellations, solar systems and artificial satellites. Star Chart supports 3D mode, using audio commands, scaling, switching the color spectrum. Space photos used in the program are of excellent quality.

Sky map

Name of the third astronomical program on our list speaks for itself. Sky Map or Star Map is a simple free, open source source code application for viewing and studying the constellations of the starry sky. The application is developed by Google. The graphics are of no particular quality, but everything is free. Among the shortcomings, one can also note minor errors in the identification of celestial bodies.

Solar Walk features include viewing the internal structure of planets, visual exploration of the galaxy Milky Way, tracking the trajectories of natural and artificial satellites in real time, studying the history of space in the "time machine" and much more.

The software has 3D support, but you need Cyan-Red 3D glasses to take advantage of it. Solar Walk is commercial. The app is inexpensive at just $ 2.90.

Need to download music from VK?

Looking up at the star-studded night sky, I often remember soviet cartoon"I give you a star", a magnificent work by Fyodor Savelyevich Khitruk. But seriously, as, probably, most of us, in the starry sky, I can distinguish only one constellation - the Ursa Major. In order to learn about the stars, their names and other constellations, great apps, which I would like to tell you today.

Star walk 2

Star Walk 2 is one of the most beautiful apps, taking your breath away thanks to its 3D animations. You just need to raise your iPhone to the sky to find out the information you are interested in about the stars. Their exact coordinates will be displayed on the screen, as well as the constellations to which they belong. In addition, the application is accompanied by a wonderful soundtrack and various pleasant sound effects. Star Walk 2 also has the ability to see what the starry sky will look like at a later time of day or even a month later. An excellent application that is difficult to compete with.

Star Chart

Star Chart functions in exactly the same way as Star Walk 2. Thanks to its capabilities, you can see not only the stars of your, but also the opposite hemisphere. To do this, simply point the iPhone at the ground, and you will see what stars are observed by residents of other countries. Time Shift allows you to view the starry sky in the near future. To study the stars, you do not have to constantly point your smartphone at the sky; a variety of gestures will also help you in the application. When you make an in-app purchase, you will also have detailed information about various comets and meteorite streams.

Star rover

Star Rover helps you explore the sky map using the same augmented reality as previous apps. Star Rover has information on 120,000 stars and 88,000 constellations. In order to learn something new about any stellar body, just click on it. To look at the sky from another point on the Earth, you need to manually enter the coordinates you need. With just a couple of clicks, you can also get information about the moon and its various phases.

SkyView Free

Like previous apps, SkyView complements the reality around you. You can view information about the stars, constellations, as well as observe the sky, watch its state in the past and future.

SkyView Satellite Guide

Looking at the starry sky, you can forget about how many satellites fly around our Earth. For many, observing them can also be very interesting. The app can track their location and tell who launched them, as well as provide you with another useful information... You can even get a notification when one of the satellites flies over your head.

And finally, that wonderful cartoon "I give this star", watch and enjoy the beauty of the starry sky!

Summer vacation time is a time of travel, rest from work days and pursuing your favorite hobbies. Astronomy is one of the few hobbies that you can indulge in today, not only looking through a telescope or sitting in a planetarium. Modern technologies allow you to satisfy your passion for studying the starry sky from almost anywhere on the planet and absolutely at any time. All you need is a smartphone or tablet running iOS or Android.

Here are five free mobile applications, with the help of which you can learn a lot about the stars, planets and other objects of our Universe. In addition, you will be able to keep abreast of the latest scientific discoveries in the field of astronomy, which, unfortunately, are very rarely reported by the modern media. Three of them provide for a very significant expansion of opportunities due to in-app purchases, but even with basic functionality, they will be of interest to all amateurs.

1. "Planets"

The main function of Star & Planet Finder is to find the location in the sky of a given planet, star, constellation or satellite: you can select them from the list, after which, by changing the position of your smartphone or tablet in space, you can determine where they are located relative to you.

V free version Star & Planet Finder only demonstrates the location of the planets of the solar system and the moon, and for the demonstration of stars, constellations and satellites, you will have to pay 33 rubles for each group of objects.

4. Star Chart

One of the most popular free astronomical applications (over 12 million downloads) is Star Chart, which is the Atlas of the Starry Sky, and this is the only program in our review that is available in both iOS and Android versions.

Star Chart also uses augmented reality technology and shows you a three-dimensional simulation of the starry sky in relation to where you are observing and where you point the lens of your smartphone or tablet. That is, unlike most other similar applications, daylight and surrounding objects do not prevent you from seeing the constellations hidden from the naked eye.

The program catalog contains detailed three-dimensional images of the planets of our solar system, data on all 88 constellations with magnificent illustrations from the atlas of the Polish astronomer of the XVI century Jan Hevelius "Uranographia". The appendix includes a complete catalog of 110 exotic astronomical objects by the 17th century French astronomer Charles Monsieur, including various galaxies, nebulae and star clusters. Finally, the Star Chart contains all the visible stars of the Northern and Southern Hemispheres, numbering more than 120 thousand units.

Among the unusual features of the Star Chart deserves mentioning the ability to go back in time 10,000 years ago and see how the starry sky looked in that distant era. To access the time shift function, you need to click on current time, year or date in the upper right corner of the application: a slider will appear on the screen, moving which you can quickly return to the desired date. You can return to the present time by clicking on the word “Now” in the left corner of the screen. You can travel to the future in a similar way. If you want to find a specific event, it is better to use the calendar of eclipses, moon phases and other important dates.

The asset of the program is really excellent graphics and a lot of detailed information about various astronomical objects. For an additional fee (from 66 to 329 rubles), you can get access to advanced data packages on stars, comets, satellites, nebulae and meteor showers.

5. Astronomy Picture of the Day

The Astronomy Picture of the Day app for iPhone and iPad was developed in partnership with NASA and uses a variety of stunning high-resolution photographs from space exploration.

Astronomy Picture of the Day is actually just a client for a giant NASA photo album available on the Internet. All photos are provided with brief annotations, you can search for images by date or switch to a random image. And although this is not an applied application, we decided to include it in our review, since a true astronomy lover will never refuse to admire such unique views of the world around us.