Star Rover HD, from developer EEFan, Inc., is a real-time planetarium app for the iPad. The objects on the screen, including the moon, planets and other heavenly bodies, are in exactly the same place as they are in the night sky outside, using the user’s location data to make this happen.

The planetarium app boasts over 120,000 stars from the Hipparcos Catalogue, a high-precision star catalogue published in 1997 that was based on the European Space Agency’s satellite in operation during the late 1980s and early 1990s. The other features of this app include all 88 constellations, planets and their moons, our own moon phases, real images of nebulae from the Messier catalogue of 1771, and realistic Milky Way, atmosphere and sunset data.

If that’s not enough for the star loving iPad owner, an online User Guide is available. Any fan of the heavens can see the utility of such an app, viewing the night sky with far greater resolution and an overlay of real-time information and data — far better than squinting through a blurry telescope and consulting a paper book, yeah?

$0.99

Star Rover HD

iPad Only App - Designed for the iPad
Released: 2011-05-17 :: Category: Education

Somehow, astronomy apps just seem like a great fit for the iOS system – look at the gorgeous Star Walk, one of our early favorites. What’s better than holding the night sky in the palm of your hand, hmm?

Redshift looks somewhat similar to Star Walk, but don’t be fooled: this new planetarium app provides much more than a view of the stars. Redshift instead presents a 3D model of our slice of the galaxy, complete with major and dwarf planets, constellations and bright stars. You can travel on 3-D “flights” to the Moon and other planets in our Solar System, too. Meanwhile, its “Follow Sky” mode lets you track the current sky through Redshift—so you can identify the stars you see in the real sky. (This feature relies on GPS positioning, positioning sensors, and the compass.)

There’s more to the feature list, of course. Redshift has won awards on other platforms for good reason. The developers claim that there are over 100,000 stars and other celestial objects in the catalog, and a lot of functionality is crammed into the app. Talk about taking astronomy apps to a new level.

If you’ve got a taste for astronomy, check out Redshift on the App Store. It’s a universal app, meaning that one purchase covers both iPad and iPhone owners. Redshift is currently on sale for $11.99. (A premium price, perhaps—but knowledge is worth something, right?)

$11.99

Redshift - Astronomie

+ Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad

Our Rating: :: CONTENT-FILLED
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Released: 2010-09-30 :: Category: Reference