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It is very difficult to look at your favorite constellations at night while living in a city. The smoke and dust blocks the beautiful view of the night sky. But if you want to explore the celestial bodies in the night sky, we have you covered. You don’t need expensive telescopes or any other equipment. These days the stargazers use stargazing apps to discover information on the location and identity the celestial bodies. Here is the list of 7 of the best stargazing apps for astronomy lovers-

1. NASA

First, we have the NASA app which is more than just a stargazing app. You can watch live NASA TV, read all the latest news and featured stories. This app allows you to access everything related to NASA. It also contains a calendar of upcoming events and it is a complete app. If you are interested in space and space exploration then this is an excellent app for you.

2. SkySafari

The next stargazing app in the list of 7 Best Stargazing Apps is Skysafari. SkySafari is an astronomical guide to the night sky. You can simply hold your device to the sky and it will quickly locate planets, constellations, satellites, and millions of stars for you. It has rich graphics and contains night vision. You can also learn about the history and science of the heavens. You can watch animated meteor showers with complete information. It gives detail about each and every particular star, galaxy, and nebula in the sky.

3. Sky Map

The next astronomy app is Sky Map. This app can be used to identify planets, stars, nebulae, and more. It was originally developed by Google sky map. This app uses very vibrant icons, with the help of which you would be able to see the world and if you want to take something off the screen then you can. You can search for anything in the sky and it will point you towards it. It has more than 50 million downloads on the Google play store.

4. Heavens-Above

The next astronomy app in the list of 7 Best Astronomy Apps is Heavens-Above. This app provides predictions for passes of the International Space Station and most visible satellites in addition to the star chart. It will provide you with lots of up-to-date information on satellites and ISS Space station orbits. You can filter by minimum magnitude, set parameters forwards defined as visible, and more. It gets you the details about the orbit of any selected satellite and finds you the location of bright comets in the sky.

Read Also: 7 Best Space Movies of All Time Which You Must Watch

5. Stellarium

The next stargazing app is Stellarium. It is loaded with information. It will tell you the position of the stars and constellations in the night sky, deep space objects, satellites overhead and it also contains in-app purchases. It shows the real-time map of the night sky on your screen. You can discover how people living in other regions of the planet see the stars by selecting the shapes of the constellations. The app is very handy and its graphics are more fascinating than other similar apps.

6. Star Walk 2

The next stargazing app in the list of 7 Best Stargazing Apps is Star walk 2. It is loaded with information. It will tell you the position of the stars and constellations in the night sky, deep space objects, satellites overhead and it also contains in-app purchases. It shows the real-time map of the night sky on your screen. If you touch the clock-face icon at the upper right corner of the screen it would allow you to select any date and time and it will let you go forward or backward in time and watch the night sky.

7. Star Chart

The last astronomy app is Star chart. It is like a virtual planetarium in your pocket. You don’t need any effort just point your Android device at the sky and it will tell you exactly what you are looking at. It also contains voice control with the help of which you can explore the solar system with commands. It displays all the 88 constellations and it has a very powerful zoom function. You can also take a look underneath the horizon. If you are looking for facts on what you are looking at you just have to tap on it and you get all the pieces of information about the object.

Bonus App: Night Shift

And here is the bonus astronomy app for you guys! The name of the app is Night Shift. It gives you the worldwide stargazing conditions and forecast and celestial event calendar. You can explore any location in the world and find the best observing opportunities. You will also get notifications when conditions are good for your favorite observing locations. It also tells you about the visible planets, active meteor showers, and much more stuff. Its layout is quite simple and it is easy to use and navigate.

If you are a budding astronomer, any one of the above 7 stargazing apps would be a great help for you. If you know about some other amazing astronomy apps you can tell us in the comments section!