Distant Suns 5 vs Heliosphere
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Distant Suns 5
Explore the cosmos with a realistic and user-friendly astronomy app. Discover constellations, planets, and celestial events with detailed information and stunning visuals. Perfect for both casual stargazers and serious astronomers.
- Realistic night sky display
- View from Earth or solar system
- Over 18 million stars
- Integrated NASA space events
- Stories behind constellations
- Night vision color mode
- Hubble Space Telescope images
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Distant Suns: The night sky, reimagined. 2013 finalist in the Family category of TabTimes' best tablet app contest; "I am putting together some mobile astronomy apps for our local "Sky's the Limit" Observatory in Twentynine Palms, CA. I have been searching for something as good as, or better than, Distant Suns. Short answer: I have not found it yet. ...nothing portrays the night sky as well as Distant Suns. Distant Suns has been your personal guide to the cosmos since 1985. First on the desktop, now right in your hands. While others play games, you can travel to the stars. Award-winning Distant Suns has the reputation of both having one of the most realistic displays of the night sky, while being one of the easiest to use astronomy apps for casual sky watchers as well as serious astronomers. •Named in the "100 Essential Apps" by iLounge •Featured on NPR's MarketPlace Features include: •No Internet required. Just a sense of wonder. •View from the Earth or out in the solar system •Simply aim and gaze. •Over 18 million pinpoint stars scintillating like diamond dust in the palm of your hand (18 mil? Yup.) •Integrated with NASA's Night Sky Network space events in your area (US only at present) •What's Up? Gives a quick one snapshot overview of the evening's sky •Realistic ghostly band of the Milky Way •Stories behind each constellation •Viewpoint Lock keeps any object centered •Current weather patterns on the earth, updated daily •Change the look of the stars •Galaxies, nebula and star clusters •Hubble Space Telescope images •All 8 planets (or 9 for you purists) •GPS aware •Special color mode preserves your night vision. •Touch the sky to reveal hidden data for each object •Planetary data and information First Light is a proud member of Moms with Apps, a collaborative group of family-friendly developers with family-friendly apps. Twitter: @distantsuns Support: www.distantsuns.com
Heliosphere
Explore a real-time 3D simulation of the solar system, planets, moons, and spacecraft using accurate astronomical data. Learn about celestial bodies and space missions with educational content and quizzes.
- Real-time 3D solar system simulation
- Live spacecraft tracking
- Deep sky exploration
- Comprehensive astronomy education
- Time travel from 1900 to 2100
- Planet-centric viewing mode
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Explore the solar system at your fingertips. Heliosphere is a real-time 3D solar system simulation powered by NASA JPL Horizons data. It accurately recreates the orbits of planets, moons, comets, and dwarf planets while tracking the real positions of active spacecraft. * Real-time 3D Solar System Simulation — 8 planets, 5 dwarf planets, 10+ moons, and 4 comets — Precise Keplerian orbit calculations based on real astronomical data — Time travel from 1900 to 2100 — Pan, zoom, and rotate for a free-roaming perspective — Switch to planet-centric viewing mode * Live Spacecraft Tracking — Voyager 1, 2 | Pioneer 10, 11 — Cassini | Juno | New Horizons | Parker Solar Probe — Real position data from NASA JPL Horizons API * Deep Sky Exploration — Over 150 bright stars — 530 Milky Way stars — 124 deep-sky objects (Messier, NGC/IC catalogs) * Comprehensive Astronomy Education — 6 difficulty levels from middle school to graduate — Core concepts: Kepler's Laws, gravity, escape velocity, and more — Mission timelines for Voyager, Cassini, New Horizons, and others — 60+ quiz questions to test your knowledge — Historical space event date-guessing challenges * Free for Everyone — All content available at no cost — No ads — 11 languages supported Experience the beauty of the cosmos and the wonder of science through scientifically accurate data and intuitive interaction.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Heliosphere at Free against Distant Suns 5's $2.99. Heliosphere also leads on update cadence (every 3 days vs every 5 months). Distant Suns 5's advantage is rating (4.3 vs 3.0) and review sentiment (77% vs 50%). On ads, in-app purchases 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
Heliosphere is free to download; Distant Suns 5 costs $2.99 up front. Distant Suns 5 sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Heliosphere sells 3 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Distant Suns 5 holds the better App Store score, 4.3 against 3.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Distant Suns 5 has 97 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 77% of Distant Suns 5's written reviews are positive against 50% of Heliosphere's.
Distant Suns 5 ships an update every 5 months, Heliosphere every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on October 22, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Distant Suns 5 | Heliosphere |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $2.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 4.3 (97 ratings) — better | 3.0 (2 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 76.9% of reviews — better | 50.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 97 — better | 2 |
| Update frequency | Every 5 months | Every 3 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, Vision Pro |
| Requires iOS | 14.0 — better | 18.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 815 MB | 37 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Mike Smithwick | CHUNGKIL KIM |
Customer experience
Distant Suns 5
Heliosphere
Bugs and requests
Distant Suns 5
Reported bugs
5 issues- Crashes when accessing preferences
- Inability to sync with iCloud
- Unresponsive or freezing app
- Incorrect or outdated information displayed
- Compatibility issues with newer iOS devices
Requested features
5 requests- Add more detailed information on celestial objects
- Improve compass and tracking functionality
- Provide better support for astrophotography
- Introduce a dark mode for night viewing
- Add more customization options for the user interface
Heliosphere
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Distant Suns 5
- Hubble Guide Star Catalog$0.99
Heliosphere
- 1 Coffee$2.99
- 3 Coffees$8.99
- 5 Coffees$14.99
Questions
Is Distant Suns 5 free?
Is Heliosphere free?
Which has better reviews, Distant Suns 5 or Heliosphere?
Do Distant Suns 5 or Heliosphere have ads?
Which is updated more often, Distant Suns 5 or Heliosphere?
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