27+ iOS apps curated and reviewed
Celestron SkyPortal is the household name in celestron, but it's far from the only option. We track 27+ alternatives and competitors on iOS — many free, many higher-rated than you'd expect.
| # | App | Price | Rating | Ads | In-App Purchases | Updated |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | Free | 3.6★ (346) | No | No | Aug 2026 |
| 2 |  | Free | 3.3★ (161) | No | No | Aug 2026 |
| 3 |  | Free | 4.2★ (27) | No | No | May 2026 |
| 4 |  | Free | 4.8★ (64K) | No | No | Aug 2026 |
| 5 |  | Free | — | No | No | May 2026 |
| 6 |  | Free | 4.6★ (535) | No | No | Aug 2026 |
| 7 |  | Free | 4.7★ (171) | Yes | Yes | Jul 2026 |
| 8 |  | Free | 4.4★ (216) | No | Yes | Aug 2026 |
Explore the cosmos with a comprehensive astronomy suite. Discover stars, planets, and celestial events, and enhance your stargazing with detailed information and audio narration. Connect to compatible telescopes for automatic object location.
This app guides you through the night sky using your smartphone and a compatible telescope. It identifies celestial objects and directs your telescope for optimal viewing, making astronomy accessible for beginners and enthusiasts alike.
This app redefines stargazing and astroimaging with AI-powered real-time stacking and processing. Explore the cosmos through a user-friendly planetarium interface, easily locate celestial objects, and share stunning images with others.
Explore the universe with access to live and on-demand NASA+ videos, a vast collection of stunning images, and the latest mission news. Discover interactive augmented reality experiences and track the International Space Station's path.
Explore Earth's Moon in real-time 3D with realistic lighting and detailed terrain. Manipulate the view, switch to Telescope mode, and learn about lunar features and spacecraft. It also displays the Moon and Sun's position in the sky.
This app calculates the precise position of celestial poles in your telescope's polar scope reticle for accurate alignment. It supports a wide range of reticles and corrects for atmospheric refraction, offering precision even at lower latitudes. Features include night mode, moon phase, and astronomical databases.
This app provides a comprehensive tool to determine the best times for stargazing. It offers detailed forecasts for weather, seeing conditions, transparency, and light pollution. Ideal for both amateur and professional astronomers using any viewing equipment.
This application connects to a specialized handheld microscope, allowing users to view magnified images on their mobile devices. It facilitates exploration and discovery of the microscopic world directly from a smartphone or tablet.
This app helps you find and track the Northern Lights. It provides forecasts, real-time alerts, and guides you to the best viewing spots with detailed weather and light pollution data. Plan your trips and capture stunning photos of the aurora.
This app helps you find celestial objects in the night sky using your device's camera. It identifies stars for accurate alignment, guiding you to targets even with light pollution or partial clouds. Advanced features assist with telescope and binocular use for deep sky object hunting.
Explore the cosmos with an AI-powered planetarium. Identify stars, planets, and satellites by pointing your device at the sky. Discover celestial objects in augmented reality and share your stargazing experiences with others.
This app simplifies telescope aiming by guiding you to celestial targets without needing your phone's camera or direct sky pointing. Simply align with a bright star, and it helps you find objects of interest.
This app allows users to quickly open and view FITS files on iOS devices using GPU acceleration. It features automatic image stretching and supports various color formats and bit depths, making astronomical image analysis more accessible.
This app helps you process videos of planets, automatically cropping them to center the celestial body. It offers various image editing tools and advanced features like wavelet layers for detail extraction and denoising. You can also trim videos before stacking and save your edited images.
Access NASA's daily astronomy images and explanations from professional astronomers. Explore stunning visuals of the universe, save your favorites, and share them with others.
This professional controller facilitates astrophotography by offering broad compatibility with major camera brands and astronomical equipment. Its design emphasizes simplicity, restraint, and modernity for an intuitive user experience.
Explore a next-generation satellite constellation through interactive 3D animations. Understand how advanced connectivity solutions can be tailored for various industries and create virtual networks.