SkyView® Reviews

by Testtrack King

I initially tried the this app Lite with my son after buying him a telescope a few weeks back. My initial thoughts of SkyView were great (still is) as you can point up, down, side-to-side and behind you and find what’s out there. This gets me dizzy and somewhat lost when trying relocate the object through the telescope.
A few nights back, we went to a viewing event and found another similar app (stellarium) which did not have (could be user settings) all of the constellation artwork pop ups and things getting in the way to try and find certain nebula and various other objects. His app simplified with a real-time view (potentially used a light pollution map) of what’s visible by the eye, to help find objects. He also did not have to point SkyView up, he held it at ground level and was able to match the stars visible currently to the eye, vs holding up the phone and getting lost within all the stars in the sky with your app.
Long story short I found some settings in SkyView to remove the pop up constellation artwork and reduce some of the stars, planets and satellites, however I’m not able to eliminate the point up to see option. Is there a setting for that in SkyView? I would like to hold the phone flat like I’m texting and see a real time view of what’s viewable with my eye, vs getting dizzy with the moving and spinning of SkyView .

by Rushing Spirit

It seems that it is mandatory to see SkyView with augmented reality on. I try to shut it off go back to SkyView and it automatically turns itself back on. That’s annoying, I love SkyView and want to give it a five star rating but the settings won’t let me because it’s not just the augmented reality. there’s a couple of other settings that no matter how many times you shut them off they go back to being on. I paid for SkyView I downloaded SkyView you give us the options to have it on or off and yet we don’t get to utilize those options it seems forced upon us. And also can you bring the gyroscope back to align SkyView the way you have it now doesn’t always work easily. If it’s not broken then don’t fix it. I really do love SkyView I think it’s amazing but if you could do those two things; I would appreciate it. Then somebody else mentioned about searching the surroundings without moving the phone that’s a fabulous idea

by HardToDoWithNNamesTaken

Overall I like SkyView. It is easy to use. You look at the sky you put the circle on the star you want and it tells you what it is. The only thing bad at this point is two days ago the calibration doesn’t work. So when I came to Circle at the sky, the planet from my perspective is about a foot off to the left. I use the manual calibration tool, but when you use it you can’t see the name of the planet and you can’t make it stay on the planet. I do not see any way to get a hold a Overall I like SkyView. It is easy to use. You look at the sky you put the circle on the star you want and it tells you what it is. The only thing bad at this point is two days ago the calibration doesn’t work. So when I am in the circle at the sky, the planet from my perspective is about a foot off to the left. I use the manual calibration tool, but when you use it you can’t see the name of the planet and you can’t make it stay on the planet. I do not see any way to get a hold of support.
Im searching for a clue on the Internet to fix it I find other people have had this problem also. If you can fix the calibration I would certainly give it a five star.

by Lucrezia's Delight

I purchased this several months ago, and I love it, but the music no longer works. I’ve verified both in SkyView and in my phone settings that music is on, plus I’ve rebooted my phone. Is this a bug? If so, please fix.

For people complaining the stars show when pointing SkyView at a floor or wall: you think the stars stop existing once they’re out of sight or below the horizon? SkyView is showing you the stars as if you were able to see through the planet, or just your wall. It’s not capturing the *actual* stars and labeling them. That would be a mighty powerful phone camera if it could do that. SkyView is a *map*, a star chart, to the skies. This is also why it needs calibration. Stop crying “Fake!”, and enjoy SkyView .

by Giancarla

First off, I’m revising my review yesterday after I bought another sky app and it also was frozen in place and my iPhone compass was also frozen.

SkyView is very enjoyable and informative. Well worth the money I paid for it.

If you have freezing issues, meaning SkyView is stuck in one location, check your phone compass. If that is also frozen, check your phone case. If it has any component that is magnetic (mine did from the snapping back), try taking it off. It fixed the freezing issue. If it still freezes, then I’d write a review to inform others.

by Mista Julian

This is the best app I’ve ever used relating to looking up at the night sky! What a way to study the universe. To be able to look up, point and Wala all the knowledge you'd ever want relating to the SolarSystem, constellations, galaxies planets, nebulas, etc. just right at your fingertips. Get this, if you don’t know where it is that you’re looking for SkyView will even point you right to it, not only that it will show you the time it hits horizon, a outline of the path it’s following, where it is any time day or night, just unbelievable. People today have this knowledge right at their fingertips. In my day we had to go to a Library or open up a encyclopedia find a book, open the book, find the section and read about it, also the knowledge was limited. This modern knowledge to be right at your fingertips is just unbelievable.

by FireStar 89

So yesterday at night I wanted to find mars because that will be day until mars shows up again to its closest in 265 years which I’ll be dead by then. So I didn’t have a telescope so I remember that my teachers had SkyView and they said it’s really good to see planets and stars, so I bought it and I tried it out and we checked a star that was red with the this app app and... It was Mars!!!! That red little star in the sky was mars! We also saw other planets too like Saturn, Jupiter, Neptune but you can’t see it with the naked eye but SkyView detected it and right beside Neptune was the moon! Except the moon was closer. We didn’t see the moon because the trees were covering it. Thank you for SkyView! Others who see this must get SkyView! It’s worth it!
it even works in day time too!

by .oliveira.

SkyView is fantastic.
Everything about it is marvelous
I always used to appreciate the sky but this made my love for it grow tremendously.
I can now locate which planets are which and the bits and pieces of the constellations in the sky when before SkyView I would only erroneously guess. SkyView has two modes. One where you download it for free and the other where you pay something like 1.99. Both versions are fantastic. But if you are willing to put some money into this it’s even better. The sky is the TV of the universe (with God as it’s broadcaster) and it’s important that we pay attention to it.
Psalm 19:1 “The heavens are telling of the glory of God; And their expanse is declaring the work of His hands.”

by Goatmangler

I love SkyView! Just point your camera at an object, and it tells you what it is. Search for a specific object, and it points you to it, even if it’s not actually in view. You can see what the sky looks like from the other side of the world, if you want to. You can see what’s in space, even if it’s cloudy…even from indoors, if you want. Great for learning the stars and constellations!
Just be sure not to use a case for your phone that has a magnet. Magnets, even weak ones, interfere with your phone’s compass and orientation sensors. I had to take my phone out of the case with the magnetic latch. It’s very accurate now. My new, non-magnetic phone case is on the way!

by Rockets R Us

I’m a retired aerospace engineer and have always looked at the night sky in wonderment. We never had a family camping trip without discussions of the night sky and the amazing beauty of it all. All of us could identify the Big Dipper, Mars and the moon, but everything else was guesswork until we discovered SkyView. I love sitting on the back deck an simply being able to locate all the planets or that bright star in the eastern sky or the many satellites and space junk that I helped put up there. I am so happy I found SkyView. Educational and a great way to impress your kids or grandkids with your new found knowledge. Easy to use. I look forward to many nights of enjoyment. Thank you!

by Grahn Erik

SkyView is awesome! It is by far my favorite. To be able to see so much, any time of day, is a fantastic experience. I used the light version for about 15 minutes, then knew I wanted to purchase full version.
I have a 9 year old who loves to view space with a telescope. SkyView points him in the exact direction and time, for viewing many objects. Thanks for a great app.

Update: I have been using SkyView for over 6 years now and it's still used at least weekly. My then 9 year old son is now 15 and has it on his own phone. My other sons, now 9 and 10 also ask to use my phone at times, just to explore the skies, even while inside the house.

by Cashcamg

10 STARS!!!!
This is one of the most incredible and incredibly simple pieces of technology I’ve ever found!! Hours of entertaining knowledge and fun. Entertain friends or yourself, this tool will keep you busy all night(or day, if you’re bored.) You will be amazed at all of the stuff in the sky!! Stars, of course!!! Planets, rocket bodies, constellations, everything out there!!! Mad props to the makers of SkyView!! They did it! To use it is as simple as pointing your phone to the sky and reading your screen. Push a planet or a star and info pops up. Give yourself plenty of room to use. It is an acrobatic app once you get into it! Perhaps a VR versions is in the works so you can look hands free. It shows you what’s in the sky where you point it!! 360°, no obstacles. Just the sky on the screen. No wonder it’s called this app. A must get!!

by Cool Hand Husker Fan

I don’t know if I’m an amateur astronomer or what you would call it I am just fascinated with the wonders of the night sky. I heard about SkyView on a field trip with my daughters school and thought why not give it a try? Amazing and mind blowing are the first two words that come to mind. If you love to learn new things and have even a small interest in what goes on over our head as the world turns then definitely download SkyView(you will most certainly appreciate it ) and hold your phone up high to take a look at the night sky it is not falling it’s always there and anyone can see it from any where AMAZING

by MickeyShoesh

I first downloaded SkyView about 10 years ago when SkyView Store was still just a few years old and apps that were actually good quality and genuinely useful were hard to come by. 10 years later and I still regularly revisit SkyView whenever I look up at the night sky and think to myself, I wonder if that twinkling “star” is Mars or Jupiter. 10 years later and I’m still in awe every time I line up my phone with the object in the sky and see that it accurately found and identified the object I was looking at. Truly one of the best apps available in SkyView Store.

by L Humpty

This awesome app makes answering my kids questions easy and fun!! Love it.
We use it at home, on road trips, during special space events, and my fave.... camping!
My only issue, which is fairly easy to adjust, is the iPhone version has to be recalibrated every time we use it. Not hard to do, but kind of a bother when we want info on a 'star' or planet quickly.
Really cool that it can be filtered (or set to show multiple sets of data) to give us info on our satellites, space trash, and different missions from around the globe.
Definitely a laypersons go to app for all that is in our local universe.

by Nwruss1

This is probably my favorite app to use, and maybe the only one on my phone that elicits a ‘wow that’s cool’ response to everyone I show it to. Why anyone wouldn’t have this on their phone is beyond me. You just open it up, point it at the star/planet/object you’re looking at, and it identifies it for you. That’s it. Shows what’s below the horizon too, aka what may be visible in a few hours. I’ve had SkyView for years and it’s never crashed or failed to open. For my needs it’s perfect. I recommend this to literally everyone who’s blessed with vision and has even the slightest curiosity regarding what’s in the sky.

by Woooooooooooooowwwww

I really fell in love with this app. It makes it so easy to learn about what I'm looking at in the night sky. There's one thing I think could make SkyView even better:

Currently the only way to look at a specific object in the sky through SkyView is to point and orient your device so it is facing that object, like the camera. But sometimes I would like to search around the sky without waving my phone in crazy directions, like if I'm lying in bed and want to pan over to what's under the horizon. I think it would be great to add a feature that lets you pan across the sky without needing to move your phone, so it is not oriented by the gyroscope. The view can stay at a constant zoom level, but being able to learn the stars without having to always point in that direction would be tremendously more convenient. This could be an option that you can switch on or off to keep the integrity of the original application as well. Please consider. Thanks for a wonderful contribution to the world!

by Spankeys

SkyView is one of the best I've ever downloaded. It's both educational, and soothing. The background planetarium-like music sets the vibe, and the knowledge SkyView hits you with is a slap in the face with good, solid, sky-based info. You'll quickly learn what rides across your horizon with this thing. It will give you a warm feeling as you learn the planets and the constellations that rule your sky at night. And it that isn't enough.... it tells you where the major satellites are! Be the envy of your friends as you rattle off where the hubble, or the space station resides as you rally 'round the campfire.

by Bradymt

I have never ever gotten so much out of an app as I have with this app. Every single time I open SkyView , I learn something new. SkyView makes it INCREDIBLY easy to figure out what I'm seeing in the night sky. On top of that, it's accurate, fast, informative, and simple to use. No matter if you are a student, astronomer, or just someone interested in the cosmos, get the free version of SkyView and give it a try. If you love it as much as I do, buy the full app. I promise you won't be disappointed. $1.99 is a small price to ask for an app as impressive and complete as this one.

by Conseler

Use it often. Love it and already recommended it to many people. Great app. Would LOVE to see a few changes, enhancements, such as ability to better see MY VUEW, that is, sort of bring my perspective into focus and filter OUT the stuff I cannot see. This would help me learn MY SKY and I could then go deeper from there. Since I see nearly EVERYTHING through SkyView view, I often have difficulty pinpointing the name of EXACTLY which star, comet, satellite I am actually observing with my little eye. I want to know what THAT LIGHT I SEE is, so I can think on what I am looking at more fully. Sometimes I cannot be sure, since once SkyView screen comes on, we’ll, some further away lights become brighter than the one Zi am actually looking at without looking through SkyView viewer. WHEW!!!! Hard to explain. THANKS!!

by Chooseyty

I’m writing this review just because of how amazing SkyView is. I’m a kid who loves Astronomy, and takes it to long lengths. Just this Christmas, I got my first telescope! The Celestron 114 az Explorascope! I downloaded SkyView originally to see where my favorite star, Capella was located. Turns out, it had spot on location. I then got the full version, and have been using it on a weekly basis! This is an amazing app, and I look forward to using it for studying nebulas, planets, etc! I love SkyView mainly because I have been studying astronomy for about 5 years now, and have gone from knowing the basic 8 planets, to knowing the official names for several stars, galaxies, nebulae, and several other celestial bodies. SkyView is awesome for star gazing, planet watching, and exoplanet tracking! If you need a trustworthy, stable, easy to use app, download this for sure! My favorite part about SkyView is the mini lessons it gives you whenever you tap on a star, planet, nebula, star cluster, galaxy, you name it! I’m never downloading any other astronomy app! Thanks a bunch!! :)