Comparison

Celestia vs ESA aeolus

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Celestia

Explore the universe in real-time 3D. Visit planets, moons, star clusters, and galaxies, viewing them from any point in space and time. Customize your experience with expandable content and detailed simulations.

Highlights
  • Real-time 3D space visualization
  • Explore planets, moons, stars, galaxies
  • Accurate solar system object positions
  • Interactive planetarium mode
  • Expandable content with add-ons
  • Customizable celestial databases
Features
Read full description

Celestia — real-time 3D visualization of space 3D Space Simulator | Celestia lets you explore our universe in three dimensions. Celestia simulates many different types of celestial objects. From planets and moons to star clusters and galaxies, you can visit every object in the expandable database and view it from any point in space and time. The position and movement of solar system objects is calculated accurately in real time at any rate desired. Interactive Planetarium | Celestia serves as a planetarium – for an observer on any celestial object. You can easily navigate to any world and land on its surface. When used as a planetarium, Celestia shows accurate positions of solar system objects in the sky. You can switch labels and other supporting features on and off with hotkeys, or zoom in and out on an object of interest, for example Jupiter’s system of moons. Expandable Content | Customize Celestia according to your needs. Celestia’s catalogues can be easily expanded. There are many different add-ons available containing new objects like comets or stars, high-resolution textures of Earth and other well mapped solar system bodies, as well as 3D models for asteroids and spacecraft on precise trajectories. Even fictional objects from well-known sci-fi franchises can be found. EULA(End User License Agreement): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

ESA aeolus

Features
Read full description

This application is a gateway to knowing what the ESA Aeolus mission is about, how it works and what the elements of the space and ground segment that makes this mission unique are. It includes also a dedicated section that allows one to discover and visualize real ESA Aeolus measurements over our planet: a remarkable tool for students and scientists engaged in using Aeolus products or interested in satellite engineering. Features: - Description of the ESA Aeolus mission: space and ground segment - Large selection of photos and videos on a wide range of topics related to Aeolus - Latest mission operations news - Striking Aeolus 3D model with explanations of the different platform and payload elements - World map with orbit position of the ESA satellite - Satellite visibility over selected ground stations and local position - Automatic update of the Aeolus orbit - Impressive visualization of real Aeolus measurements over the Earth with vertical profiles and easy geographical localization - Access to several geophysical parameters measured by the satellite … and much more In the 3D environment: - swipe/pinch to rotate/zoom the scene or the satellite model - triple touch to reset position

Screenshots

Celestia4 screens
ESA aeolus4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: ESA aeolus at none against Celestia's 4. ESA aeolus also leads on iOS requirement (10.0 vs 16.0). Celestia's advantage is update cadence (fortnightly vs every 4 months). On price, ads and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Celestia sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per 7 days. ESA aeolus asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Celestia ships an update fortnightly, ESA aeolus every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on October 27, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Celestia versus ESA aeolus: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCelestiaESA aeolus
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.4 (338 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews78.9% of reviews—
Number of ratings338 — better—
Update frequencyFortnightly — betterEvery 4 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, MaciPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS16.010.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size550 MB152 MB
Age rating4+4+
Developer林峰 李ESA - European Space Agency

Bugs and requests

Celestia

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Milky Way and other galaxy textures not loading properly
  • Crashes when using certain add-ons
  • Issues with planet and moon orbits not being accurate

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add more exoplanets and distant star systems
  • Implement terrain generation for planets
  • Expand to include more galaxies and the overall universe structure
  • Add support for black holes, pulsars, and other exotic objects
  • Improve controls and camera movement

ESA aeolus

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

4 purchases

Celestia

Subscriptions3
  • Celestia PLUS (Weekly)7 Days trial$0.997 Days
  • Celestia PLUS (Monthly)$1.991 Month
  • Celestia PLUS (Yearly)$19.991 Year
One-time1
  • Celestia PLUS (Lifetime)$79.99
None

ESA aeolus

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Celestia free?
Celestia is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is ESA aeolus free?
ESA aeolus is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Celestia or ESA aeolus have ads?
Neither Celestia nor ESA aeolus shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Celestia or ESA aeolus?
Celestia ships an update fortnightly, and ESA aeolus every 4 months. Most recently, Celestia was updated on October 27, 2026 and ESA aeolus on October 25, 2026.

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