SkySafari 4 Plus: Stargazing for Android
It's nearly a year since my last review, & nothing's changed! I love this app. It has so many good features. The only thing that stops me giving it a 5 is that I still can't get rid of the toolbar on landscape mode. It takes up too much of the screen. Correct this as on the iPhone version & it definitely gets a 5+!
I've always loved this app. But I have now bought a Samsung S7 and the app simply doesn't work. Info only says everything is the sun, it won't recognise my position and if I try to access the settings it simply crashes. Please fix this.
Every time I click settings it crashes. Have removed/reinstalled, doesn't fix the issue. Suspecting it's an Android OS 6.0 problem. Not paying for the next version just so I get a working copy of it again, will just use my old phone.
This app too, makes my Celestron Evo8 slew past the object. Makes no sense. I have to shut it off to stop movement and reset/realign. The rest of the app works great. Please update
Worked fine on my samsung s5, crashes as soon as I tap the settings icon with my s7 edge.
I have been using Sky Safari for over a year now, and it has sure helped me to learn the night sky. I've seen some amazing things using this and my dobsonian reflector.
For intermediate / advanced amateur astronomers, Skysafari is the premium star atlas and planisphere program. It is astounding in its large database, accuracy in presentation, and ability to control many current telescopes. For those just trying to learn the constellations or identify the names of bright stars, there are many other planetarium programs that are more suitable.
One and only problem that I have is that I have lost GPS tracking since moving to a different tablet. Yes it does have G P S available on the tablet
Always requires a wife connection to update within the app, forces me to Uninstall then reinstall. It's not 1999 we have fast data connections with mobile phones now. Get with the times and fix this
It took a while to get my Bluetooth device connected to my Meade LX90 serial. Once that was accomplished the app runs perfectly on my Lenovo tablet and Android phone. I have yet to explore all the cool features. I love all the details and information that is provided.
Being a physics major it helps to see things that other students are reading about from my engineering classes. My astronomy professor also recommend it as well.
With this APP you have the whole universe at your fingertips , easily moving Thur the program to find multitudes of information of the stars , planets and galaxies . A very well put together program , highly recommend for any soul interested in looking at the stars .
I've had some niggles with force closes and some setup issues. But one those were sorted I've been really impressed. Its got so much detail and useful features. I love being able to adjust the magnitude of the stars and dsos, using this to adjust to seeing conditions and scope aperture is really helpful. Still thinking if I should have got the pro version, now I have this great app I really think I would the extra stuff would have been worth it.
When I look at apps like this I check the quality of moon surface images which are readily available online. Why then does Hyperion look like a grey featureless potato? Also I can't see any GPS tracking so that i can point my phone at a piece of sky? Cmon guys you can do better for an £11.99 app.
Used to be able to use the compass or gyro for free. I just paid $14.00 for this app because the free version won't allow compass use. Neither does this. What use is the app if you can't hold the divine up to the sky and have it tell you what it is your seeing,
Great for trying to find objects in the night sky. Especially good because you can have it display things upside down: how they appear in a lot of telescopes. The pictures are marvelous, but there are a lot of things that are listed , but have no picture. Either way, it's really great. Now, if only the weather was the same.
Like the numerous features including advanced searches, logging, planning and what I bought it for - telescope control. SS4 seamlessly integrates with my skywatcher mount and wifi adapter. A little issue when scrolling on the search the display rolls and flickers but it does not affect its operation. I suspect this issue will be picked up and rectified on an update. Well worth the $21 I paid I think.
I love this app. It has so many good features. The only thing that stops me giving it a 5 is that I can't get rid of the toolbar on landscape mode. It takes up too much of the screen. Correct this & it gets a 5+!
One of the best apps I have, so easy to use and very accurate. So tempted to buy pro, just an amateur, maybe next payday. Keep up the great work because you make a lot of other apps mundane and outdated.
Decided to try the paid for version to see if it would work better than the one supplied with my celestron scope, but it is still terrible. The controls for alignment are unresponsive and stick on so you end up spending most of your evening trying to aim at stars for alignment like some sort of video game. I haven't managed to get it to align yey so can't comment much on the rest of the app except to say that compass mode also seems very poor.
I meandered through several free apps like this, including Google sky, celestron sky portal, etc. And none of them were as intuitive, comprehensive, and just a sheer pleasure to use as sky safari. I find myself sitting up at night scanning objects and reading about them for hours on end, not to mention the orbit function is a neat way to feel like you are travelling around the galaxy! Fantastic app
Saw it for half price and couldn't resist. Only been playing with it for a few days but already love it! Really like being able to make observation notes about when I observed something and the conditions. I like that when I make an observation note it shows the object as checked it the catalogue. All the issues I had initially are resolvable by settings (was more familiar with different constellation lines for example).
I often use the program to show the public items we often have a have time seeing in city lights. It also helps me get close for my alignment procedure of my telescope mount. The best is using it as a push to setup. Looking forward to using with a Nexus DSC setup.
Great app but very bad payment plan. I had to pay again to use latest version on my S6 because they stopped support for Skysafari Plus. Greedy very Greedy. Very poor show sky safari.
Looks great, works well, love it! One nitpick though, Pluto's texture is upside-down. The imaged pole should be sunlit at perihelion, since that is the side imaged by New Horizons. Other than that, no problems whatsoever.
Sent an email to the developer for a solution & never received a response. Will uninstall now. Wish I hadn't paid for it! DON'T WASTE YOUR MONEY on this "developer's" apps!
My favourite app on my s5 but just got an s7 edge and crashes when any button is pressed - please provide a fix.
As a keen amateur astronomer of +30 years, I cannot recommend SkySafari gladly enough to other equally-keen stargazers. Other apps either lack its extensive star catalogue, or have inadequate interfaces; therefore making SS Plus/Pro (the latter probably too much for most backyard astronomers whose observing is limited more to LP levels than their scopes' aperture) the only money they'll have to spend on this kind of app for many years to come. If there's only one nag, is that Skyportal, a free app w/ the same catalog as SS's cheap version, offers nice voice-over reads of many objects' description. SS strangely does not! But that's no biggy, really!
Enjoy it's ability to display future events. Example May 9 2016 Mercury transits across the sun. Simply apply that date in settings as this event visible in most locations. Locate Mercury under planets and there it is 7AM in my midwest location. Cool indeed!
Pretty happy with this app overall.out crashes of I have too many options displayed. Pretty solid otherwise. Great database and simple enough that my kids can use it on their own.
Clicking settings causes app to crash on S7 Edge, Marshmallow. Paid version. Ymmv hopefully...
The app crashs when you try to access any data, search, and setting. Update 3/16 all issues are resolved thanks.
I mean really, it's the bomb. I upgraded to ➕
App confusion!
More than just a nifty telescope control, it gives more information than is normally available on hand controllers. Being able to install it on multiple android devices is great also. I have it on my Android phone (Motorola Moto G) and tablet and it works flawlessly on both.
Had this on my Galaxy S4 running 5.0.1 no issues. On my new S5 Neo running Android 6.0.1, crashes EVERY TIME I tap settings
App features are phenomenal for a mobile sky app, but controlling my telescope with DIY Bluetooth adapter is sick! Great job, devs.
One improvement I would like for this app is for the alt/az and hour angle on the object info display to update continuously like they do on some of the PC programs.
This is such a cool app to be able to carry around on my android device. OK - it's not the same as the PC-based tool but for this price don't expect everything. Still great for on the move.
by Z####:
I've had some niggles with force closes and some setup issues. But one those were sorted I've been really impressed. Its got so much detail and useful features. I love being able to adjust the magnitude of the stars and dsos, using this to adjust to seeing conditions and scope aperture is really helpful. Still thinking if I should have got the pro version, now I have this great app I really think I would the extra stuff would have been worth it.