In this app, you also have a handy exposure guide to help you with a number of things. Also included are tools to help you photograph star trails and meteor showers. At your fingertips will be information to help you track the Sun, Moon, and the Milky Way. Each “Pill” or tool is a helpful program. PhotoPills is a monster of a photography app. Sun Surveyor is also available for Android. The Lite version of Sun Surveyor gives you a taste of the app’s functionality. Live view lets you visualize where objects in the night sky are in relation to your environment. They even let you get down to street view to virtually put yourself into position. The maps work with Google (or Apple) to help you plan photoshoots. With one click, you can add the event to your Google calendar. At your fingertips is the exact times the opportunity is available. Sun Surveyor quickly lets you know about photo opportunities for a given night. Though there is a lot of information included, the screen doesn’t feel cluttered. The interface is clean, and information is colour-coded. The developers seem tuned in to exactly what information astrophotographers need. The app is simple to use, but also powerful and highly customizable. It shows the positions of the Sun, Moon, and Milky Way. Sun Surveyor is one of my favourite night photography planning apps. Stellarium is also available for Android.

Where this app shines is the ability to find deep space objects. Stellarium doesn’t have augmented reality, but this isn’t a deal-breaker. Stellarium lets you zoom in for a closer look or zoom out for a 360-degree view of the sky. Tap on a star or constellation, and more information will appear. Point your iPhone anywhere in the night sky and constellations appear. Stellarium has an easy-to-navigate interface. It also allows you to see the stars at any point in history and as other cultures view the heavens. This app labels objects in the night sky. Explore the night sky with the Stellarium star map.

Stellarium app ipad