A good smartphone app can tell you when and where to look. It is possible to see the ISS passing overhead in the night sky. Many smartphone apps will tell you where and when to spot a satellite or how to see the International Space Station passing overhead. A book or a chart, after all, doesn't need batteries or a 5G connection!īut stargazing and astronomy apps can be a vital resource for beginners who want to get to know the night sky, or indeed for experienced observers who need to quickly locate a target. Credit: BBC Sky at Night Magazine.Īnd to some degree these methods are still the best way of navigating the night sky.

Planispheres: a battery-free guide to the night sky. Ok, but what's the best way of locating these objects in the night sky?īefore the advent of smartphones and tablets, the best way of locating an object in the night sky was to use a star chart or a planisphere. You may have read that a particular meteor shower radiant is visible in a specific constellation, or that you can find Mars by using a bright star as a means of star-hopping to it. One aspect of stargazing that puts most beginners off is the seemingly daunting prospect of looking up at the night sky and attempting to decipher the many stars, constellations and planets visible to the naked eye for the first time. 14 of the best astronomy and stargazing apps for smartphones

Download the new for apple Star Atlas