Comparison

Celestial Dances vs Cosmic Atlas

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

Head to head
About

Celestial Dances

Explore the orbital mechanics of planets, moons, and exoplanets. This app visualizes celestial movements based on concepts from "A Little Book of Coincidence." Discover intriguing patterns and relationships within our solar system and beyond.

Highlights
  • Explore solar system planet motions
  • Visualize moon orbits
  • Discover exoplanet systems
  • Based on 'A Little Book of Coincidence'
  • Highlights Earth-Venus relationship
Features
Read full description

This app invites you to explore the relative motions of our solar system's planets, their moons, and several exoplanet systems. It is based on ideas presented in "A Little Book of Coincidence" by John Martineau. Are the amazing patterns created by these orbiting bodies just a coincidence, or is something more than that going on? Take a look and see what you think. Be sure to check out the special relationship between the Earth and Venus.

About

Cosmic Atlas

Explore a vast, scientifically rendered universe with lifelike exoplanets and detailed celestial bodies. Navigate through trillions of light years with multiple exploration modes, from first-person flight to telescopic identification. Discover and learn about thousands of planets beyond our solar system.

Highlights
  • Explore 5,000+ lifelike exoplanets
  • Navigate 180 trillion sq light years
  • Six interstellar travel modes
  • First-person planet view
  • Scientifically accurate renderings
  • Telescope identification mode
  • Detailed planet information panels
Read full description

Go beyond star gazing. Visit nearly 5,000 lifelike exoplanets and navigate 180 trillion square light years of the universe beyond our solar system. Featuring 6 modes of interstellar travel and examination, Cosmic Atlas is an open-world space exploration app for those who look up at the night sky and wonder what we may find in the infinite frontier of the universe. Try it free and fly anywhere in the solar system plus six bonus planetary systems for a total of 50+ stunning planets, moons, and dwarf planets. Upgrade for all the incredible planets and features to explore every corner of the Milky Way mapped by NASA, JPL, ESA, and other international space programs. ::::: VISIT THOUSANDS OF PLANETS ::::: First-person view of 4,987 recently discovered exoplanets with stunning 3D models featuring detailed atmospheres and surfaces using science-driven artist renderings, including: [•] Potentially habitable Earth-like planets in the Habitable Zone that can support liquid water [•] Hot terrestrial planets closer to the system's star with landscapes from windswept sands to volcanic infernos or oppressive Venus-like atmospheres [•] Cold terrestrial planets past the habitable zone covered with rocks, frozen deserts, or sheets of ice [•] Jovian gas giants with colorful cloud layers based on the elements visible in the upper atmosphere at different temperatures [•] Neptunian ice giants with outer clouds that appear glassy smooth or enveloped with strings of cool clouds ::PLUS:: High resolution planets, moons, and dwarf planets in our own Solar System created from enhanced NASA mission images ::::: MASSIVE OPEN COSMIC ENVIRONMENT ::::: [•] Over 180 trillion square light years of the Milky Way ready to explore at it’s true scale [•] 116,000+ unique stars individually colored to match their true color temperature in blue, yellow, or red spectrums [•] 3,710 unique planetary systems with confirmed exoplanets [•] Scientifically accurate star positions and luminosity to see what the night sky looks like from distant worlds [•] Data-rich information panels to learn about planet attributes, parent system, discovery method, and research programs credited with its discovery [•] Flag stars and planets to easily revisit later ::::: SIX EXPLORATION MODES ::::: [New!] Telescope :: to point your phone at the sky to identify planets, stars, and distant planetary systems Pilot :: with first person flight controls and autopilot to lock trajectory toward a selected destination Orbit :: to easily navigate systems and rotate or zoom in to examine planets Navigator :: to find nearby systems and planets or revisit saved planets Database :: to browse the complete catalog find new exoplanets, planetary systems, and stars Search :: to find specific stars and exoplanets or nearby planets, moons, and dwarf planets in our solar system ::::: SETTINGS ::::: HDR Lighting :: Active by default, HDR lighting shows realistic relative brightness of stars and planets. Toggle HDR off for consistent lighting with stars and the Milky Way always visible in the background. Systems Only :: Enable to hide labels for stars without exoplanets in Pilot, Navigator, & Telescope modes. Objects with Info Only :: Enable to hide labels for stars without detailed data available. ::::: DATA SOURCES ::::: Using the latest exoplanet data from programs by NASA and the European Space Agency, Cosmic Atlas is a true-to-scale 3D environment where users can freely explore our small section Milky Way galaxy and examine thousands of newly discovered stars and exoplanets. The latest planetary system data is collected from a number of public research programs, including the University of Puerto Rico's Planetary Habitability Laboratory and the NASA Exoplanet Archive, which is operated by the California Institute of Technology, under contract with NASA under the Exoplanet Exploration Program.

Screenshots

Cosmic Atlas4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Cosmic Atlas at 3.7 against Celestial Dances's 3.0. Cosmic Atlas also leads on update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 30 months) and ratings volume (65 vs 2). Celestial Dances's advantage is review sentiment (100% vs 59%) and in-app purchases (none vs 1). On price and ads 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. Cosmic Atlas sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Celestial Dances asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Cosmic Atlas holds the better App Store score, 3.7 against 3.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Cosmic Atlas has 65 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 100% of Celestial Dances's written reviews are positive against 59% of Cosmic Atlas's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Celestial Dances ships an update every 30 months, Cosmic Atlas every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 3, 2026 and October 21, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 2 level
Celestial Dances versus Cosmic Atlas: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCelestial DancesCosmic Atlas
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.0 (2 ratings)3.7 (65 ratings) — better
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews — better58.5% of reviews
Number of ratings265 — better
Update frequencyEvery 30 monthsEvery 3 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS9.0 — better14.0
Further details — not scored
Size16 MB147 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperThomas BretlCosmic Atlas LLC

Customer experience

Celestial Dances

All ratings2 ratings
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Cosmic Atlas

All ratings63 ratings
Positive63.5%
Neutral7.9%
Negative28.6%
Written reviews41 reviews
Positive58.5%
Neutral12.2%
Negative29.3%

Bugs and requests

Celestial Dances

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

Cosmic Atlas

Reported bugs

8 issues
  • App crashes upon opening
  • Kicked out of the game
  • Cannot connect to server
  • Error that doesn't let user in
  • Planets brighten up unexpectedly
Show 3 more
  • Dark side of planets brightens up
  • Cannot buy upgrades
  • App became free after purchase, now requires new purchase for features

Requested features

7 requests
  • Add more solar system objects
  • Fix Haumea's shape
  • Add more candidates, dwarf moons, hypothetical objects, spacecrafts, anomalies, random asteroids, meteoroids, and comets
  • Add ability to go into planets and see a preview
  • Add more galaxies to travel to
Show 2 more
  • Add a search page/bar
  • Add control for enlarging text

In-app purchases

None

Celestial Dances

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

Cosmic Atlas

One-time1
  • Premium Features$0.99

Questions

Is Celestial Dances free?
Celestial Dances is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Cosmic Atlas free?
Cosmic Atlas is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Celestial Dances or Cosmic Atlas?
Cosmic Atlas is rated higher. Celestial Dances averages 3.0 out of 5 from 2 ratings, while Cosmic Atlas averages 3.7 from 65 ratings.
Do Celestial Dances or Cosmic Atlas have ads?
Neither Celestial Dances nor Cosmic Atlas shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Celestial Dances or Cosmic Atlas?
Celestial Dances ships an update every 30 months, and Cosmic Atlas every 3 weeks. Most recently, Celestial Dances was updated on October 3, 2026 and Cosmic Atlas on October 21, 2026.

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