AppLink Apps
GoSkyWatch Planetarium
This text is promoting the GoSkyWatch Planetarium mobile app, which allows users to easily and quickly identify and locate stars, planets, comets, constellations, galaxies, and more by simply pointing their devices to the sky. The app has been featured in Apple's iPad 2 event, on ABC's "The View," and in "Wired" magazine. It is available for download on iPhones, iPads, and iPod touches without the need for in-app purchases. Users have praised the app for its ease of use and comprehensive features.
Key features of GoSkyWatch include touch-free identification, popup images for easy viewing, a full 180-degree display, and correct orientation at any angle. The app also includes a gyroscope compass auto calibration, shows planets in relation to stars, and uses a unique target identification scheme for accuracy. It has minimal on-screen text to avoid covering stars and planets.
The app allows users to identify stars by name, brightness, and distance, and contains all stars visible to the naked eye. It also features a finder tool to locate planets, stars, comets, constellations, and galaxies. Other functions include a moon phase calendar, sun rise/set times, day and time lapse animations, over 200 images of planets and deep sky objects, the Messier and Caldwell catalogs with images, and an actual image of the Milky Way. The app also provides information on constellation images, boundaries, and patterns, as well as solar system, star, comet, DSO (deep sky object), constellation Wikipedia, and Ian Ridpath's constellation StarTales. It offers interactive graphical ephemeris and ephemeris data for planets, stars, constellations, and DSOs.
The app offers high-performance graphics and can be easily set up using auto location or a built-in city list. It allows users to save their favorite locations. No internet connection is required, although it can be used optionally for auto location, viewing Wikipedia information, and accessing StarTales.
In addition to the GoSkyWatch Planetarium app, there is a companion app called GoISSWatch that provides real-time tracking and viewing opportunities for the International Space Station. The developers promise many more enhancements to come as free updates.