REVIEW
SKY GUIDE
This visually appealing and informative stargazing app now comes in a free version with impressive in-app upgrades
Reviewed by Jamie Carter
DETAILS
From: Fifth Star Labs
Cost: Free with in-app purchases
Operating system: iOS
Size: 324.1 megabytes
The Sky Guide app is available for iPad devices if you prefer to use a larger screen
Planetarium apps like Sky Guide have been around for many years, and yet their use of P augmented reality (AR) to show you the stars still has the power to hugely impress. Now ten years old, this latest version of Sky Guide, called Version X, has decided it’s time to go free… almost. Despite being filled with new visualisations and lots of up-to-the-minute content, Sky Guide now comes as a free download, though serious users will want to download one of its two in-app upgrades: Sky Guide Plus or Sky Guide Pro. Either way, what you get is easily one of the best stargazing apps around.
Originally launched in 2013, the latest version of Sky Guide is the creation of Fifth Star Labs. Sky Guide Version X launched in 2021 and comes in a free version. However, there are two add-on subscriptions available: Sky Guide Plus for £2.79 ($2.99) per month or £17.99 ($19.99) per year, and Sky Guide Pro at £4.49 ($4.99) per month or £34.99 ($39.99) per year. Sky Guide Plus dramatically increases the star and object catalogues, offering 100 times more stars, 10,000 times more satellites and 100x zoom. It also adds information on how lightpolluted observing sites are, as well as more advanced forecasts for meteor showers. Sky Guide Pro does all of that and more, adding a massive catalogue of 1.7 billion stars, including double and variable stars, over 1 million deep-sky objects, exoplanets