iOS, Android: Stargazing is fun even when you have no idea what you’re looking at. Star Chart is a free app that makes the experience more informative, though. It tells you exactly what you’re seeing based on your location.


It’s a pretty incredible tool—all you have to do is point your phone to the sky and explore. Star Chart tells you what stars, constellations, planets, and other celestial objects are right in front of you. Click on any item and the app will also give you a full, detailed description of it. Here’s how they put it:

Using state of the art GPS technology, an accurate 3D simulation of the visible universe, and a great deal of technical wizardry, Star Chart calculates – in real time - the current location of every star, planet and moon visible from Earth and shows you precisely where they are; even in broad daylight!... Want to know what that bright star is called? Point your device* at it – you might just find out it’s a planet! Want to know what the night sky looks like to people on the other side of the earth? Well just point your device down! Want to know where your star sign is in the sky? Star Chart will tell you all this and more.


No need to register to use the app, but you obviously have to allow it to access your location in order to work. It’s free and you can pay for access to additional features, like comet and satellite tracking. All in all, it’s a really interesting app to augment your stargazing experience. Check it out for yourself at the links below.

Star Chart | Apple Store

Star Chart | Google Play