Space Apps To Help Inspire a Love of Astronomy

Stars and Planets is an immersive app that allows users to explore our Universe and improve their knowledge of the celestial bodies that occupy it.

Users can explore a plethora of celestial objects found within the Universe such as Satellites, Planets and Exoplanets, and various types of stars. The app has an extensive library of solar objects to choose from, which then provides you with key facts such as its temperature, radius, mass, density.

Devices: Android, iPhone and iPad

Solar System Scope is a visually-impressive app about the objects that exist within our solar system. On a mobile device, Solar System Scope app is like having a virtual planetarium in your pocket. Kids can use it to explore and learn about the solar system with ease.

The app lets you explore the solar system through detailed 3D models. It will encourage children to do some independent learning about space. Solar System Scope app's encyclopedia sections include relevant and interesting statistics and extra information about each of the solar system bodies.

Devices: Android, iPhone and iPad

Cosmic Watch is an app that uses mesmerising and realistic 3D graphics to help illustrate the relative positions and movements of a variety of components in Space. The app exemplifies the views of the earth, sun, planets and more, all in real time. Cosmic Watch also allows users to manipulate the position of these celestial bodies, create and personalise their view points and caters each experience to the individual to help them gain insight into the ever-changing nature of the universe.

This app allows users to understand and visualise concepts which are hard to comprehend from a theoretical standpoint. The app’s ability to provide a ‘sky view’, for users to see the positions of larger stars and celestial bodies from their own location is a fantastic and unique adaptation. This app has a large variety of options to individualise the user experience, resulting in endless opportunities for exploration.

Devices: Android, iPhone and iPad

Teach and learn about the night sky and the history of its observation using this app. Its sequence of lessons can be used either when observing the stars or as a guide in advance. This astronomy app is designed to be listened to, an exciting audio guide to the night sky and the stars. The guide leads you on five 20-minute explorations, through constellations and celestial objects, answering some of humanity’s great questions.

This app is designed to talk a viewer of the night sky through what they might see. One of six superbly written lessons is read out very clearly alongside a sky map that reflects what the viewer should be able to see from his or her location at the appropriate time of year. The narration includes some well-judged pauses for the listeners to make sense of what they have learned or for teachers to pause it for some discussion.

Devices: Android, iPhone and iPad

Solar Walk is a complete encyclopedia of the solar system secured by a 3D model. You can use the app to discover the spectacular beauty of the Solar system in 3D, explore planets, dwarfs, comets and other celestial bodies, travel in time and space.Go deeper into the history of space exploration, learn about the main astronomical events, explore space with Curiosity, Apollo, Juno and other legendary missions in Solar Walk 2.

Devices: Android, iPhone and iPad

Star Walk Kids - Astronomy for Children is a virtual planetarium and education tool that teaches kids about constellations and celestial bodies. Kids can learn about stars (including star patterns, or constellations), planets, and spacecraft such as Hubble and the International Space Station. They also can use the virtual planetarium to view real-time locations of these objects in the sky, which encourages kids to freely explore space anywhere at any time.

Devices: Android, iPhone and iPad

SkyView app is a free augmented reality (AR) app for both iOS and Android devices, that uses your smartphone's camera to uncover different constellations, planets, star clusters, stars and other celestial bodies in the night sky. You can also discover coordinates and facts, which if you have kids, can turn your stargazing into an educational experience.

Devices: Android, iPhone and iPad

Related: Stargazing Apps

Star Walk is the most beautiful stargazing app you’ve ever seen on a mobile device. It will become your go-to interactive star chart of the night sky. tar Walk is a remarkably in-depth and detailed astronomy app, that can be used on a nighttime walk. Look up at the night sky, compare it to the star charts on your device, and know exactly what you're seeing up there in outer space. You will have to give the app permission to use your current location, though.

Devices: Android, iPhone and iPad

Moon Phases AR is an app which uses 3D visual imagery of the Sun, Earth and Moon to allow users to practice identifying the different phases of the moon and to understand why these vary based on location relative to the sun and earth, this is accompanied by a short quiz students can complete to check their understanding. In addition the app also allows users to practically comprehend the distances between the celestial bodies, and their relative sizes.

The app has both an indoor discovery option, for learning within a classroom, and outside scale view, for participation beyond the confines of a room, the chosen activity will vary depending on the content individuals wish to explore. The addition of free teacher resources to support the students whilst using the app is invaluable and can be adapted as per the user’s requirements.

Devices: iPhone and iPad

Space by Tinybop allows kids to be virtual space explorers. Kids tap on a rocket to blast into space and then move around the planets to compare their size; they can also see how they rotate around the sun to compare the length of each planet's year. As students explore, they can figure out the phases of the moon by tracing its orbit or zoom in on a planet to interact with the surface.

Devices: iPhone and iPad

Professor Astro Cat's Solar System is a beautifully crafted educational app which is jam-packed with animations, music and play to enhance your knowledge of the solar system. For all the facts, graphics, and explanations, there's also plenty of room for kids to gain a general sense of wonder and excitement about outer space.

Devices: Android, iPhone and iPad

“All you have to do is point your device to the sky!” declares the description of phone app Star Walk 2 is. The night sky tracker and can help you find constellations, according to its description. It’s also $2.99 in the App Store for iOS devices.

Star Walk 2 shows a sky map on your screen in whatever direction you are pointing your device. So when you go out to check out Mars in the night sky, open it up, and play around with the app until you find the bright planet.

Devices: Android, iPhone and iPad

SkySafari is a point-and-identify sky map that includes the major planets and moons; tens of thousands of stars; 220 of the best-known star clusters; and nebulae, galaxies, asteroids, comets, and more. Students can learn about astronomy by viewing planets, stars, and celestial bodies; searching for specific objects of interest; or looking at noteworthy astronomical sightings in that night's sky. 

Devices: iPhone and iPad

VR Space for Cardboard headset device, is an Immersive virtual reality tour of Sun Star and planet systems. The official Cardboard app is your first stop for virtual reality on your Android or iPhone. The Cardboard app lets you use any Works with Google Cardboard viewer with any Cardboard app, and includes a variety of immersive demos.

Devices: Android

There are plenty of star charts around the app store that feature augmented reality, where you tilt your iOS device toward the sky and the app reveals what planets and stars are in your field of view. Star Chart AR lets you explore the Earth in Augmented Reality through the window of your phone's screen. In the free version you get some very nice graphical representations of the night sky, a way to identify and learn more about what you are seeing.

Devices: iPhone and iPad

SkEye Planetarium is free and has a huge database of solar system objects, Messier and constellations. Search function guides you to point your mobile and zoom in onto the object you are looking for. Have your own tracking system by attaching the mobile to your telescope and align the app's map to it.

Devices: Android

From the creators of the original Night Sky app comes Night Sky 7, the most advanced and beautiful stargazing app ever created. Quickly identify stars, planets, constellations and satellites above by simply holding your iPhone, iPad or Apple Watch to the Night Sky! This is all done magically. Whether you’re looking for a constellation or the International Space Station, let Night Sky direct you to it, then explore the object in AR!

Devices: iPhone and iPad

“Musical Planets – A quiz game” is an informative educational app to teach students the planets of the solar system. The app includes solar system facts, great graphics and rewards. The app includes 10 rounds of solar system questions with great music and gameplay.

Devices: iPhone and iPad

Jump on board of a spacecraft to visit all the corners of our solar system and learn about the planets and other cosmic objects that make up our part of the universe. Find out how the Earth moves through space and imagine what life would be like on Venus or Mars.

Devices: iPhone and iPad