StarMap: StarMap is one of the best astronomy applications for iPhone. It can help you navigate the space and find new objects to observe fast. Hundreds of thousands of stars are available in its database.




Star Walk: Star Walk reminds me of SkyScout. It’s a cool iPhone app that will show you what you are looking at in the sky. It also comes with plenty of other features to help you take your game to the next level.




Sky Gazer: Sky Gazer is designed for astronomy beginners, and it gets you familiar with the most important stars in the sky. And it uses iPhone 3GS’ compass feature to help you identify planets, stars, and more.




Distant Suns 3: Distant Suns comes with thousands of stars and planets and helps you explore the sky right on your iPhone.




Star Chart for iPhone: Star Chart for iPhone puts a virtual star chart in your pocket. Just point the app to the sky to find out what you are looking at.




GoSkyWatch Planetarium: GoSkyWatch Planetarium is wonderful application that helps you locate and identify planets in the sky. If you are into astronomy, you are going to have a lot of fun with the star finder and other features available with this app.




Solar Walk: Solar Walk 3D lets you play with the objects in our solar system right on your iPhone. It lets you explore the planets and find out all kinds of information about them. It is compatible with iOS 4.




Yes, it’s on the pricey side, but SkySafari 3 Plus is a great companion for any stargazing enthusiast. It contains an enormous database of constellations at your fingertips, with information about star coordinates, physical parameters, orbital parameters and more. Using the iPhone’s built-in gyroscope, you can find and search for anything in the sky, including planets, moons, asteroids, comets, named stars, brightest stars and much more. The developer of this app also provides an accessory to the app: SkyFi enables SkySafari 3 to work as a telescope controller. (iOS)




Stuck at work and counting down the hours until nightfall? Astronomy Picture of the Day can tide you over until your date with the cosmos. The photos, hand-picked by NASA astronomers, are different each day and are accompanied by thorough descriptions. Shake your device for a random image, and even share that extra special photo of Saturn with a friend. (iOS and Android)




Here’s another great Android app for stargazing that offers similar functionality as some of the more feature-rich iOS apps. It includes constellation/satellite/planet tracking, as well as search functionality and social sharing. There’s also an Earth View mode that lets you see our planet from space with cool day/night shading, as well as viewing bands to determine when satellites are visible from where you are.



In addition to providing information and images about our universe, the NASA App HD offers cool features like live streaming of NASA TV, on-demand videos from NASA, current mission and launch information and more. There is also a detailed Satellite Tracker and data on current visible passes for the International Space Station in your region. (iPad)



Mobile Observatory is the most complete astronomy app on the Android market and the perfect tool for anybody interestered in the sky’s wonders, from the occassional sky gazer to the passionate astronomy-amateur.