Recently I was asked whether I would recommemd the Stellarium planetarium app on the phone. I know little about Stellarium app although many people tell me it is good. This highlights an issue when asking others about planetarium apps – we all tend to find one we like and only use that making it difficult for us to compare with other apps. Personally I use Sky Safari Pro which is great, but I am not in a position to compare it to others.
This led me to think about what process I would recommend for amateurs to use when deciding what app to use for themselves. I came up with following ideas:
Importantly, you need to work out what you want to do with app – find particular objects in sky tonight, good sky tour, work out what happened in sky 50000 years ago, have good ephemeris data for comets, and/or control telescopes – once you have that list then work out which app best. Also does your app on phone or tablet need to synchronise with one on your PC/laptop? Can it save observing notes for you or sky tours, and some will create a video sky tour or your favourite objects? What information about sky objects do you want the app to give you? Finally are you iPhone or Android – some work better on one rather than other.
Once you have that list, then ask members of your local astronomy group what they use and whether those apps give them the features you need – ideally try out the apps on their phones. Remember, these days tours of apps are often readily available on YouTube.
I am happy to discuss my own experiences with Sky Safari Pro (the one I know) with you – feel free to contact me via my contact us page on this website.
Andy