Star Chart Reviews

by Tremolux66

I've had StarChart for awhile but never used it much; I got it b/c a Facebook friend who's into astronomy frequently referenced it. Recently I (somehow) enabled notifications which, combined with this year's Pluto coverage, has led me to open StarChart much more often.

I really like all the reference information and am learning a lot - the universe has changed considerably since my school days back in the Dark Ages. 🙂 However, I too, could use more & better instructions. Right now I'm more interested in reading the text than using it to look at the night sky, but I keep getting lost while trying to navigate StarChart .

With better instructions, I would gladly give StarChart a higher rating.

by Clip_On_Mullet

I used StarChart constantly. I loved to go outside and finally figure out what stars and constellations I was looking at.
I guess I used it so often that it kind of broke? It may just be a bug, and there may be a way to calibrate it, but I can't figure it out. When the compass pops up to re-calibrate, it disappears immediately. The map is off track (moon as a reference, it isn't in the right position when I hold up my phone, and neither are the rest of the stars). I don't want to have to go through the trouble of downloading StarChart again just to get it to work. Must be a bug? Please fix!!
If StarChart were easier to navigate and if there was an easy way to calibrate it, I would give it five stars. Loved StarChart otherwise, though,

by Lindacubed

StarChart has beautiful displays of constellations and stars. The night mode is a nice feature to keep your night vision, with that, the displays go to red on black. For identifying what stars you see in the night sky, I found StarChart to be difficult to use. First, it could not use my iPad's GPS to identify my exact location, so I had to set that manually, and the closest I could set it was about 50 miles away. You can only set it on population centers, which of course, are not good for star gazing because of the ground light. Second, you point it at a section of sky, and it shows you the stars and constellations in that section of sky, but of course, you have now blocked your view of the sky in that location, so you have to do this up and down movement trying to match what you see on the iPad to what you see in the sky. It does not use your device's camera to actually view stars as Sky View Free does. Finally, the most annoying feature of StarChart is it is constantly offering you further information and when you click on that offer it says, "You have to upgrade for that information, that will be $9.95". Sky View Free is a better free app for occasional star gazing.

by D. Hill

Star Chart is a great application to have for those interested in astronomy and the mysteries of the universe whether in its free or premium form. While the premium version gives users access to just about every observable part of our universe including planets, constellations and our extended solar system the free version is still worthwhile. Users can use the free version to observe the constellations in our sky and the imagery and visuals presented are top notch high quality. Users can also view and read data regarding the planets in our solar system, the moon and more. Navigation within StarChart is easy and users can move, tap and pull the device and screen being used to look around the sky, solar system of whatever is being looked at or focused upon. While serious astronomy lovers will want the fully loaded version for those with more of a casual interest in the heavenly bodies above us the free version will do.

by Reallt546

It’s a cool app but definitely could be better I live in a big city and so all the lights from the city kind of block out The stars and what not but I went on vacation somewhere quite far away from the big cities in the night sky just lit up it was amazing but I never brought my telescope out there to look at everything yeah I’m not blaming StarChart for what happens in the city but I hope everyone understands and yeah. Anyways enough about me so StarChart has a bunch of cool planets and stuff it helped me find Jupiter Mars Venus and the other planets.
And when the moon was out it was just extremely spectacular but I don’t need StarChart to find the moon. Does anyone know how annoying Siri is?
Anyways it’s a nice app but I wish I was just in a better place where I could see everything I guess that’s the whole point of this review just a wish. And nice graphics too

by JT_15497

This used to be one of my favorite apps-- I've memorized just about every (visible) star in the summer sky thanks to it. When I first downloaded it a little over two years ago, looking at the stars quickly became one of my favorite pastimes. The Messier catalogue and all of the extra information on stars, planets, constellations, etc. is pretty expansive, even without the upgrade packages-- there is a TON of information available, all for free. StarChart is awesome!
However, lately (I started noticing it a few months ago), the feature that allows you to point your phone at the sky and see it on your screen has been so buggy it's impossible to use. When I try to do this, the portion of the sky that shows is about 100 degrees off from the real sky, and shows at the wrong angle (the horizon line is almost vertical). The calibration screen will pop up for a split second and then go back to the sky chart before I have a chance to do anything. Those two screens will cycle until I stop it switching back to
manual scroll.
I really wish this bug would be fixed-- this is the best feature of StarChart , in my opinion! StarChart is still great but definitely not as fun without that feature.

by Guera593

What’s with StarChart ? It’s always been my go to app to look for planets etc and last night I thought to add the comet opt but when I loaded my app all I got was a flashing star in the middle of the screen with overlapping words going downward from the flashing light. The menu works well but not the actual ‘sky’. I tried calibrating it as suggested but still nothing. I uninstalled and reinstalled and the same thing happens. It would have been a 5 star had it not been for this.

Update: I figured out my new case had a magnet that was causing my display to be out of whack. Once I removed it, my ‘sky’ was back. Yay! Still I’m disappointed to read that the comet Neowise is not on the the comet app. Will it be added before the comet disappears? 4 stars for now

by Reb Deb

I know my winter constellations but I’m still working on summer and late autumn, and I’m out of practice. When I take the dogs out at night I pull out Star Chart to answer “What is that bright object?” A 5th (rating) star will be earned when the Augmented Reality mode (point it at the sky and it’ll show you what you’re looking at) tracks a little closer. Though upon reading the User Manual, I learn that this could simply be the best this older phone can do. (I have an iPhone SE.). It’s only a little off, but enough that I usually have to sight off a known object to match screen and sky.

That said, StarChart is beautiful, versatile, inexpensive (go ahead, buy the upgrades you want, they’re really not that expensive), and has among the best User Manuals I’ve seen in an app. Bravo.

by Rishgirls

StarChart is so cool, it has a lot of amazing features and you can go outside and look at the stars and learn all about them. You can lean about the starts and all the planets as well and look at them, you can see when the sun sets and rises and you can see the distance from any planet from the sun. There are lots of constellations to see and find on your own. It is a little confusing to work but after a little while of clicking around you will get the hang of it. I highly recommend StarChart if you are into stars and planets. There could be some improvements on the controls so you know what you are doing but besides that it is really cool!!

by Melraffs

No way to contact developer about this but - StarChart was better before I purchased. I could see everything, the constellations and beautiful images behind them. I was in love. So I purchased thinking I was supporting the developer and it could only get better. Well it seems that StarChart has been degraded since the purchase. I no longer see the beautiful images. The version after purchase is much worse. I’m thinking it’s somehow a glitch and the beautiful version is available for free. Please help - I wish I could remove my purchase and go back to the original version =\ was so in love now I’m sad each time I open.

by LaborGuy

I knew nothing about the stars but when I came across StarChart I said to myself "Why Not Give It A Try." Believe me, it turned my knowledge of the dark night into a bright opening of the Stars! I use StarChart almost nightly! And when the night sky has no clouds a whole new experience of the night sky opens up, thanks to StarChart! I've told all my friends about StarChart and they all agree it gave them a new view of the night sky! It can do the same for you too. Give StarChart a try. It is a five star app!

by Hugo7000G1

I can't believe this fantastic app is free! It does everything I want in a star chart and has the basic function of labelling Messier Objects which makes it useful for using my telescope. Other Pay apps like Star Walk have a very glossy interface but no option to show Messier objects on the main chart...making it near useless.

StarChart is simple, clean, and highly usable. It even has night mode and can move in conjunction to where you point it at the sky.

I commend the developers for making an excellent app that does everything right!

by Clonsheefior

One improvement needed: if the constellation illustrations in StarChart were fainter, less dominant and didn't tend to block out the stars of the constellation, then identification of the actual stars in the sky would be easier.
However, I've tried several similar apps, and this one definitely is superior& most closely approximates the location of the stars, and the search tool is excellent. Only thing is it tends to get stuck in search. If I search for a star and find it, then try to go back to the homepage, it often shuts down.

by Great Train

This is one of those app's that you know you got your money's worth and a lot more!! It gives you so much information about the heavens above, I really like being able to identify the constellations and the planets and being able to read the information about them, really great stuff. Another nice thing is that you can have it let you know of up and coming celestial events such as meteor shower, it'll let you know the where and when of the event. It'll tell you about planet conjunctions and so much more!!!!!!! If your looking for an app about the sky's this is the one you want, I've showed StarChart to friends and family and once I have it's not very long or it's right then that they're downloading it to their devices. Get it so you can show off your knowledge of the night sky's. It even shows you what's in the sky on the other side of the Earth!!!!!

by The Cease

I’m sure I’m going to love StarChart, but I wanted to give a 5 star review of Ethan’s comment. I saw a post on a FB group about the planets in the sky tonight, and stumbled upon his review of StarChart while searching for a constellation app. This is the most pure and heartwarming thing I’ve seen in a long time. Ethan, if you see this, keep reaching for the stars (pun intended). I’m so glad you've found something that has brought you joy in such a challenging time. I can feel the enthusiasm and love you have for the universe, and I hope you become the next Neil Tyson Degrasse.

by Starkaat88

Seriously one of my favorite apps. I’ve had it for years now and I have enjoyed it so much. It’s helped me learn the positions of the planets so I can recognize them in the sky on my own and just last week my boyfriend and I were in Joshua Tree and looking at the night sky, and we saw this star that had a BEAM OF LIGHT coming from it like a distant spotlight. We were sooo amazed and wanted to know what it was immediately so I grabbed my phone and we learned that it was Tania Borealis so I looked it up and it’s a star that is THREE TIMES BIGGER THAN OUR OWN SUN. Incredible. Try to find it for yourself at night if you’re somewhere where you can actually see the stars.

by CaSumrGoddess

Not everyone can afford a telescope or visit the planetarium. Every night I get to wish on a star and know it's name. I learn the constellations just by having fun looking around the Galaxy. It truly is amazing. Now try to convince me their is no God. StarChart will show you the shooting stars, constellations, meteors, comets, satellites, and each planet up close and stunningly vivid. With descriptions of each planet, the coordinates for your telescope, all their moons, what constellation they inhabit, their orbital period (it takes Saturn 29 yrs 166 days for our 1 year to go around the sun) and their rotation period (Saturn takes 10 hrs 19 mins to our 24 hrs). Your going to feel like a kid and love learning all about astronomy while your at it. Besides, learning should be fun, right?!

by Craig Felty

StarChart is such a help to me its unbelievable. I am an astronomer and I have a nice telescope that I use mostly in the summer but sometimes in the winter. I strap my phone onto my telescope and I use it to locate nebulas, planets, and even a few comets. It's been amazing. I have bought two upgrades. Meteor showers and comets. They both work perfectly. I might buy the mesires upgrade as well but if I do it will be the last one I buy. The only complaint I have is that I think the upgrades are a little over priced. I mean they work but it's an app and that's a lot of commitment for an app. That is the only thing I thine is wrong with StarChart . If you do have problems delete StarChart , restart your iPhone and then download it again. If you bought any upgrades you can re download them for free. Five stars from me!!

by RussellHouse

I LOVE StarChart, and I use it all the time for finding planets, and deep space objects to observe through my telescope. I also appreciate the accuracy of each star location in relation to one another, even down to the 11+ magnitude stars, but I purchased the satellite addition recently, and even though it shows it in the sky with an apparent magnitude in the negatives, surely brighter than most stars, i see absolutely nothing! I don't know what's up, but looking at the iss is the only thing the upgrade's useful for. I also am disappointed that you used the messier catalogue only for deep space objects, because now all deep space objects in the south aren't listed, even the carina nebula! I hope that these bright southern DSO's can be added, and perhaps the new general catalogue. Other than that, StarChart is great and I spend hours on it star hopping to find the next galaxy!

by K2ill

StarChart is a great tool for everyone to have. Show and teach your children and others the constellations and also impress others with your knowledge of the stars. I learned all of the constellations with StarChart and my girlfriend at the time whom is my wife now, used to say that that she was amazed at my knowledge of the sky and stars. She was so amazed at my knowledge that she eventually fell in love with me and told me later that one of the reasons is because not many people can show and explain the stars anymore and it she felt like she did when she was a little girl and her granddaddy would show her. Thank you this app*********

by TrishBU

I am completely enjoying StarChart. It offers a window to the wonders of the Universe. I recall Carl Sagan speaking in respectful awe about “billions and billions of stars.” I hope I am right about “billions.” In any event, that sense of respect and being struck by an esthetic moment happens when I look at which planets are visible on a given night.

I did not have a lot of books as a child. I had the Golden Books when very young, and, later on, I was given three awesome hard-bound books: Italian fairy tales, a biography of a noted ballerina and a book on astronomy. The latter was so captivating that I would hide in my closet with a flashlight after bedtime. It opened my eyes to astonishment over the amazing spectacles—visible and not to be seen with the naked eye. I am so pleased to have this more expansive window on the twinkling objects in the night sky.