From planetariums to telescope control, be prepared for all things space and astronomy at the touch of a button Written by Nick Howes

Apps on our mobile devices have transformed the way we work and live. From opening doors in our cars to ordering food from a supermarket or restaurant, the ability to access the entire internet with a computer several million times more powerful than the one that sent humans to the Moon residing in your pocket has been a revelation over the past decade or so. For astronomers, the ‘giant leap’ this has enabled means that you no longer have to lug out cumbersome star maps the size of a broadsheet. Learning your way around the sky using augmented reality makes astronomy more exciting than ever – especially for younger people. Some may argue that ‘traditional’ methods are still the best, and that may be true to become a real expert, but the helping-hand apps which can give you a head start in your observing are here to stay, used by millions of people – even those with only a casual interest in the sky. Now, with several low-cost virtual-reality headsets in many high-street stores that you can easily clip your phone into, the options to observe and identify millions of objects have never been better.

Apps for astronomy are not just confined to planetariums in your pocket. Over the past few years, apps have enabled remote control of telescopes, quite advanced scientific analysis and a whole lot more. Here we dive into just a few of the ones we think are the must-have apps for your Android or iOS device.

PLANETARIUM APPS

SkyView

Operating system: Android and iOS Best for: Augmented-reality views of the night sky and satellites flying overhead Level of astronomer: Beginner and upwards Cost: Free This free application really packs a punch when it comes to touring the night sky. With a huge integrated database of all the popular objects, it has a night-vision mode to preserve your dark adaption and a time-travel function to allow you to jump forwards and backwards, planning your observations for the whole year. The star of this show is its augmented-reality feature, which allows you to point your camera at the sky and let it overlay – once it knows your position via GPS – detailed information on the objects you’re looking at, as well as constellation overlays and beautifully rendered graphics of objects. Plus you can zoom in and out to get even more information.