Star Atlas App Reviews

This is a direct and easy atlas of the Constellations and Messier objects which allows the observer to quickly locate them. It is perfect for guiding anyone while using a telescope, (which I do frequently). The colours used in the maps are distinct but not garish, thereby minimizing the impact on night vision. This is the best map set of its kind I have seen and I happily recommend this App very highly to anyone, whether they are just starting out in Astronomy and want to learn the constellations, or they are seasoned observers and want to observe the Messiers through their binoculars or telescopes.

The program did not install. How do I get my money back

Is there another app that explains how to use this one? :-)

Really like these star charts, would like to see this app adapted for the iPad... Nice tool at the telescope, very handy. Would recommand it to any amateur astronomer. UPDATE... This recent update for iPhone 5 is awesome, the visual quality of the charts has improved to the point that using it on my iPad is just great! Thanks !

A handy portable reference for the more serious astronomer. A big setback is that the night vision mode does not apply on the charts themselves. The NGCs are a great addition but would also like to see the Caldwell ones.

Its cool to have something that comes complete for free. As long as you have a moderate understanding of the night sky, its great to be able to look up a certain object and be given a map centred around it. One change Id recommend for a future update would be to allow to zoom the map out further, and perhaps have something to mark the object youd selected.

The map should scroll freely.

Totally useless.

This app is missing some features one would expect it to have: (1) being able to zoom out to/scroll around the whole sky and (2) calculation of what is in the sky at a given time. However it is still quite useful to have charts of parts of the sky and to be able to find them based on any constellation or Messier object in them.

Great bargin. Displays night sky and names constelations. Im a casual star gazer and this was easy for me to use.

Worth it if you have a small scope! Thanks!

I just returned from using Star Atlas over a weekend star party. Its not a planetarium program....more like using Nortons Sky Atlas, where you use an index of the charts as a starting point. Nevertheless, its well thought-out and meets my needs perfectly for what it can do. Visible stars are listed by Bayer or Flamsteed designation. The mirror and rotate functions can match the eyepiece view of any telescope, enabing use as a finder chart. Selecting an item from one of the lists takes you to the appropriate chart with the object centered in the view. I particularly appreciated he double star list, as good lists of these are hard to find. It is a minor annoyance to be researching a constallation and find that you have to go to another chart for part of it, but thats a property of the way the app is put together. Also note that the view does not rotate from portrait to landscape as the host device as rotated. There is a limit to the zoom that you can do. All told, this is an excellent app and a terrific bargain. I would not recommend it to beginners trying to learn the sky - use a "real" planetarium program for that. Rather, it is another resource for stargazers who know more or less that they are looking for.

Star Atlas ports a paper book to the iPhone. Other than placing a weightless, bulkless book in your pocket, it essentially bypasses all the advantages of computerization. You can not pan the entire sky, can not tap an object and have its information appear, can not have the app show which objects are currently visible in your location (or will be at a given hour). It is impossible to zoom smoothly, because the way the objects change size creates the illusion of reversing the intended zoom. The centering often changes when zooming out, whenever the wider zoom conflicts with the edge of the current map. This is the biggest problem designing an app as separate maps, rather than as a continuous planetarium-- especially with the additional misfeature of dimmer objects often hiding upon zooming out to see their location. There is no Find command, so objects can only be found in alphabetical lists, but only if one already knows their complex names. I bought the app for its list of double stars, but without being able to find and sort which stars are sufficiently bright to be seen from my location at this hour, it has been no use to me. One might argue that I am too inexperienced to know how to use the app, to which Id counter that if the app isnt doing much of the work, we may as well all return to carrying and using paper books. Despite its faults, the app is well crafted for being what it is. I oddly admire it. Experienced paper-chart traditionalists might like its familiarity. The overall design likely fares better with the authors Moon Map Pro when compared with competing moon apps, where higher resolution images give separate maps an edge. Five changes would radically enhance this app: (1) Add a Find command. (2) Allow changing maps by hard dragging the edge of the current map away from the edge of the screen. The next map would then slide into place. Lots of PDF readers work this way when changing pages. It would allow a not-too-awkward ability to pan the sky. (3) Isolate panning from zooming. When zooming, keep a centered object centered, even if that means showing an empty background beyond the edge of the map. (4) Objects selected from a list should be highlit, and should remain visible regardless of changes in zoom. Dimmer objects vanish from the map when zooming out to determine where they are in the sky! (5) The option for red night vision in the lists should be eliminated, in favor of layouts based on light text on black backgrounds. These, like the maps, would be truly visible at night.

This is exactly what I was looking for. Great star charts. Requires some basic knowledge in order to use.

I have found this to be an extremely useful app if you have a small scope. This is not a planetarium program and is not advertised as such. This is a tool for observing. If you are an amateur astronomer, I think you will find this app extremely useful and removes the need to bring paper star charts to the scope. I just wish the developer would make this app universal or make an iPad version of it. The graphics just dont look great when you expand them to fit the iPads screen.

This stinks it isnt what I thought it was. People it is not what you think it is.

Saves me carrying around a 1pound atlas plus nightlight.

If you think this is an easy to use set of astronomical star-charts suitable as a viewing aid in lieu of paper charts, this is exactly what you think it is.

Maps and only maps. It isnt something you can hold up to the night sky and find constellations or planets.

WoW-- I cannot understand why anyone would rate this app disgracefully. Those who have given this application low marks are obviously Unintelligent regarding astronomy. Granted this program does not work with GPS-- I dont need that; however, if you at least an amateur level astronomer, then youll know how to read the charts and the celestial objects-- just get it. I am using an iPhone 5 and the program is simple and very efficient. BEST OF ALL, the night vision mode in low level red, because there is nothing worse than using a telescope at night and having your vision compromised after acclimating 15 minutes or so... 5 Stars totally.