If there’s a bright side to the lengthy darkness of winter, I’d say it’s the much-expanded opportunity for stargazing. Stars and distant planets glitter in the early morning sky and return each evening before dinner, providing ample opportunity to look up and wonder. For those who prefer knowing to wondering, there are numerous apps that can help make sense of the celestial scene.
“The price of admission to getting three or four of these apps could be under $10,” says Rob Burgess, president of the Southern Maine Astronomers Club. “And you’ll have something that’s really useful.”
One app Burgess recommends is Stellarium, so I downloaded that to my iPhone and took it for a whirl. In common with other sky-gazing apps, Stellarium requires the user to point a smartphone’s camera toward part of the sky to showcase the stars, constellations, and planets there. As the phone view changes, so does information on the screen. Constellations are outlined either as stick figure-like drawings connecting stars or as graphic depictions of the constellation’s character. For instance, Ursa Major shows up on Stellarium as the familiar line sketch of the Big Dipper, linked from star to star, and also as a more elaborate illustration of the giant bear from which the constellation draws its name.
A feature Burgess finds helpful in a stargazing app is a night-vision mode, which uses a red filter so sky watchers’ eyes won’t have to adjust between looking at a dark sky and a bright screen. He also recommends spending the extra few dollars to upgrade from free apps – which often include ads that can be annoying distractions – to paid versions with more features.
One of my favorite aspects of Stellarium is the ability to select from various “sky cultures” – including Western, Norse, Inuit, and several others – and to learn the stories those cultures find in the sky. Because I’m a sucker for a good story – whether written on paper or in the sky – I paid a one-time fee to upgrade to Stellarium Plus, which, among other benefits, allows access to the calendar feature, revealing which planets are currently visible from my location, where various satellites are located, and when the International Space Station will pass overhead.
When it comes to apps, the sky’s the limit, and Burgess says it’s hard for stargazers to go wrong if they select one with good reviews from the app store on their phones.
“We can see about 6,000 stars on a really good night,” he said. And a sky-gazing app can help you know just what you’re looking at.