iStellar for Android

That's the message I get after the most recent upgrade to iStellar. Tech Support at AstroArts gave the typical non-response: We're sorry that you got trouble. iStellar works any Android/iPod touch with Android OS 3.0 or later. So you try re-sync application using iTunes. I resync at least once a day, and I'm running the latest OS on an Android 3G.

I have been using Planetarium for Palm OS for years. It has 2 million stars, full object databases, Alt-Az and sky view, rise/set times and much more. It is a professional grade tool. It's $30. This app is a fun toy but not worth the price.

The "Light Pollution" setting is a brilliant feature for deciding what you could actually see in-town. This is also one of the only apps I've seen that includes the Constellation Picture/Artwork so you can try to visualize what you actually see. The app feels very light-weight and not prone to crashing from heavy use. I can go stargazing anytime and anyplace using this app! Search for a constellation, check the name of a star, or simply admire the sunset, twinkling stars, the Milky Way, etc. iStellar is no less functional than an actual star atlas/planetarium, and far more easy to control!

There are now seven serious star-charting apps in the iTunes Store (as of 30 January 2009). Each is good in its own ways, and each has its weaknesses. iStellar is one of the simpler apps. It starts up quickly, draws gorgeous sky images, and is very easy to use. Users will especially appreciate the beautiful full-color stars and constellation artwork. As of this writing, iStellar is the only app that includes artwork for all 88 constellations. It also offers a wider zoom range than any app except GoSkyWatch, and a very nice user interface for setting the time and showing time-lapse animation. One nice feature for beginners is that iStellar draws planets as stars--the way they actually appear in the sky. Most of the other apps use either special symbols or photographs taken from space. The main weakness of iStellar is that it doesn't tell you anything else about the objects in the sky. Nor can you search for an object by name; the app simply shows you what you'll see in a given direction, from a given place, at a given time. You can't see what's below your current horizon, so you have to change the time or location to view the other half of the sky. The settings in iStellar give you full control over which extra elements are drawn on the chart: constellation lines, names, and pictures; names of planets and brighter stars; and a collection of 110 clusters, nebulae, and galaxies (represented by colored symbols, not images). There's also a light pollution setting that can hide the fainter stars. The closest competitors to iStellar at this time are Star Walk (even prettier images but less control over the appearance); iAstronomica (full-sky map and even easier to use, but shows a lot less); GoSkyWatch (wider zoom range but plainer images); and Distant Suns (much more information but also much more complex). If you want a more advanced app to complement (not replace) iStellar, consider Starmap or Uranus. (This review is of version 1.0.4 of iStellar.)

I actually purchased this app by mistake. I wanted to view more details and read the reviews, but the Google store just starts the purchase without a confirmation. Now for the app. It shows stars, it shows constellations. Ok, big whoop. You can't search for objects, you can't adjust magnitude to relate to your actual human eye view. The app doesn't track your position relative to the direction your facing. So basically, I'm not impressed and actually quite put out that I paid 9 bucks for this app which should have sold for 99 cents. I believe they have a nice solid foundation on which to build and make improvements. But for now, this app is one to either avoid, or maybe the developer will rethink the price. Bottom line. Look somewhere else.