Comparison

Solar System Scope vs Birth Light Astronomy

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

Head to head
About

Solar System Scope

Explore and discover the solar system and outer space with realistic 3D visualizations and detailed celestial simulations. This app offers an educational and engaging experience for all ages, featuring a comprehensive encyclopedia and a night sky observatory.

Highlights
  • 3D Encyclopedia of celestial bodies
  • Realistic 3D visualizations
  • Night sky observatory with time simulation
  • Accurate orbital parameter calculations
  • High-quality planetary and moon maps
  • Multilingual support
Features
Read full description

Solar System Scope is a fun way of Exploring, Discovering and Playing with the Solar System and Outer Space. Solar System Scope (or just Solar) contains many views and celestial simulations, but most of all - it brings you closer to the furthest reaches of our world and lets you experience lots of fantastic space sceneries. It aspires to be the most illustrative, easy to understand and simple to use space model. - 3D Encyclopedia In Solar’s unique encyclopedia you will find the most interesting facts about every planet, dwarf planet, every major moon and more – and everything is accompanied by realistic 3D visualizations. Solar’s encyclopedia is available in 10 languages: English, Spanish, German, Russian, Italian, Korean and Slovak. More languages are coming soon! - Nightsky Observatory Enjoy Stars and constellation of the night sky as viewed from any given location on Earth. You can point your device at the sky to see all objects in their proper place, but you can also simulate Night sky in the past or in the future. Now with advanced options that let you simulate ecliptic, equatorial and azimuthal line, or grid (among other things). - Scientific Instrument Solar System Scope calculations are based on up-to-date orbital parameters published by NASA and let you simulate celestial positions at any given time. - For Everyone Solar System Scope is well suited for all audiences and ages: It is enjoyed by space enthusiasts, teachers, scientists, but Solar is successfully used even by children of 4+ years of age! - Unique Maps We are proud to present a very unique set of planetary and moon maps, that let you experience a true-color space as never before. These accurate maps are based on NASA elevation and imagery data. Colors and shades of the textures are tuned according to true-color photos made by Messenger, Viking, Cassini and New Horizon spacecrafts, and the Hubble Space Telescope. Basic resolution of these maps is for free – but if you would like the best experience, you can check out the highest quality, which is available with In-App purchase. - Join our vision Our vision is to build the ultimate space model and bring you the deepest space experience. And you can help - try Solar System Scope and if you like it, spread the word! And don’t forget to join the community and vote for new features on our homepage.

About

Birth Light Astronomy

Explore the cosmos and see the stars as they appeared on any date, including your birthday. This app uses your location and augmented reality to guide you to specific stars visible in the night sky.

Highlights
  • View stars from the past
  • Augmented reality sky view
  • Star rise and set times
  • Catalog of over 5000 stars
  • Location-based visibility
  • Customizable dates
Features
Read full description

Birth Light is a simple backyard astronomy app that makes it easy for kids and adults to see back in time by looking at the stars. The stars are so far away that it takes years for their light to reach Earth. If you look at the right star at the right time, you can see the way it looked on the day you were born! Birth Light is an app that shows you when and where to look. Its catalog of over 5000 stars includes every naked-eye-visible star within a thousand light-years of Earth. It uses your location to determine which stars will be visible, and when they rise and set. And it has an augmented-reality mode that shows you exactly where in the sky to look for your birth star. Start by entering your birthday (or any date you want) and you'll see a list starting with the next star to enter your light cone. Tap a star and you'll see basic data about it, along with a scrollable diagram showing when it will rise and set each night. Next tap "Show me in the sky" and you'll see an augmented-reality view of the sky right now, with a helpful arrow that points you toward the star you've selected. Just point your phone until you see the star you're looking for! This app requires GPS.

Screenshots

Solar System Scope4 screens
Birth Light Astronomy3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Birth Light Astronomy at 5.0 against Solar System Scope's 4.4. Birth Light Astronomy also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 1) and review sentiment (100% vs 80%). Solar System Scope's advantage is ratings volume (899 vs 2). On price, update cadence, 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. Solar System Scope sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Birth Light Astronomy asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Birth Light Astronomy holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Solar System Scope has 899 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 80% of Solar System Scope's written reviews are positive against 100% of Birth Light Astronomy's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on November 11, 2026 and November 2, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Solar System Scope versus Birth Light Astronomy: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSolar System ScopeBirth Light Astronomy
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.4 (899 ratings)5.0 (2 ratings) — better
Positive reviews79.8% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings899 — better2
Update frequencyEvery 4 monthsEvery 4 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS13.010.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size154 MB21 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperINOVE, s.r.o.Robert Tempchin

Customer experience

Solar System Scope

All ratings895 ratings
Positive83.7%
Neutral4.5%
Negative11.8%
Written reviews545 reviews
Positive79.8%
Neutral5.7%
Negative14.5%

Birth Light Astronomy

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

Bugs and requests

Solar System Scope

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Crashes when dragging Jupiter
  • Upside-down orientation on tablets
  • Unable to restore purchases
  • Freezes and crashes on launch

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add more celestial bodies (Messier objects, Planet 9/10, black holes, etc.)
  • Enable exploration of other galaxies and deep space objects
  • Improve telescope/zoom functionality
  • Add more moons and irregular satellites
  • Implement continental drift and solar system evolution

Birth Light Astronomy

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Solar System Scope

One-time1
  • HQ Textures / No Ads$5.99
None

Birth Light Astronomy

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Solar System Scope free?
Solar System Scope is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Birth Light Astronomy free?
Birth Light Astronomy is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Solar System Scope or Birth Light Astronomy?
Birth Light Astronomy is rated higher. Solar System Scope averages 4.4 out of 5 from 899 ratings, while Birth Light Astronomy averages 5.0 from 2 ratings.
Do Solar System Scope or Birth Light Astronomy have ads?
Neither Solar System Scope nor Birth Light Astronomy shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Solar System Scope or Birth Light Astronomy?
Solar System Scope ships an update every 4 months, and Birth Light Astronomy every 4 months. Most recently, Solar System Scope was updated on November 11, 2026 and Birth Light Astronomy on November 2, 2026.

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