Home on Stellarium Labs

Highly Requested Augmented Reality (AR) feature is here!

Mon, 07 Apr 2025 00:00:00 +0000

The wait is finally over! We’re excited to announce that our Augmented Reality (AR) feature is now live in Stellarium Mobile, a feature many of you have been eagerly requesting!

This innovative tool lets you seamlessly blend the night sky with our app’s intuitive interface using your device’s camera, taking your stargazing experience to new heights.

Update to the latest version of Stellarium Mobile now and enjoy!

To access this feature, press the compass button on the bottom center of the screen then point the device to the sky. Once Sensor Mode is active, press the compass button again

If you need any assistance or encounter any issues, feel free to email us at help@stellarium-labs.com . We’d love to hear your feedback!

Introducing Tours feature!

Mon, 07 Apr 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Exciting News! The latest Stellarium Mobile update is here, featuring our brand-new Tours!

Get ready to explore different constellations, sky cultures, planets, moons, deep sky objects.

To start your journey, go to the app’s Menu in the upper left corner, then select Tours and choose the Tour you would like to see.

Curious about what’s waiting for you? Here’s a sneak peek of the available Tours:

Summer Constellations. Learn how to find the most prominent constellations in the summer sky.
Winter Constellations. An overview of the most prominent winter constellations and tips on how to locate the using Orion as a reference point.
Kamilaroi and Euahlayi Skies. Explore the skies of the Kamilaroi (also known as Gomeroi) and Euahlayi people, an Australian Aboriginal cultural group located in the northern part of New South Wales.
Inuit Astronomy. Discover the sky culture of the indigenous people in the arctic areas of America, i.e. central and northeast Canada and Greenland.
Belarus Under the Stars. Astronomy constellations found in Belarus, a country in Eastern Europe.
The Messier Objects. Explore the most famous deep-sky objects in the night sky.
The Planets. A brief look at each of the eight main planets, providing an overview of their distinct attributes and intriguing aspects.
The Moons of our Solar System. A journey through fascinating moons of the Solar System, revealing their unique features.

We’re thrilled to bring you this exciting new feature, and we can’t wait to hear what you think!

Let us know if you have any feedback or suggestions on the Tours feature or any other aspect of Stellarium Mobile. We’d love to hear from you! Share your thoughts, and let us know if there are any features you’d like to see added or improved.

In any case, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us at help@stellarium-labs.com if you encounter any issues. Our support team is always here to help.

Ready to start exploring the universe like never before? Update Stellarium Mobile now and experience the full wonders of our new Tours feature!

Clear skies!

Total Solar Eclipse - April 8, 2024

Thu, 04 Apr 2024 00:00:00 +0000

A Total Solar Eclipse will be visible to various parts of North America on Monday, April 8, 2024. This event showcases the Moon completely covering the Sun, providing a short moment of darkness and a spectacular sight for us to witness. For a reference on which areas the eclipse will be visible, check out this video from NASA

We duly remind everyone to observe solar safety. Do not look directly at the Sun without proper solar glasses and use appropriate solar filters for your equipment. Improper solar observation can lead to permanent eye damage.

With that warning out of the way, here is a summary of the 5 stages of the Total Solar Eclipse we can expect to see.

Stage 1: First Contact

The edge of the Moon first touches the Sun’s disk, creating a small ‘bite’ out of the Sun’s shape.

Stage 2: Second Contact

The Moon’s silhouette becomes more pronounced against the Sun’s disk, covering a larger portion and darkening the sky further.

Stage 3: Totality

The Moon completely covers the Sun, plunging the area into darkness and revealing the Sun’s corona.

Stage 4: Third Contact

The Moon’s edge starts to move away from the Sun’s disk, ending the total solar eclipse phase. Diamond ring effect may briefly appear as the Sun’s corona reemerges

Stage 5: Fourth Contact

Moon’s silhouette completely separates from the Sun’s disk, marking the end of the eclipse.

How will it look like on your location? Find out on Stellarium Mobile!

As always, we wish everyone clear skies on this event! Feel free to share with us your observations on our social media accounts. We are looking forward to seeing your experiences!

Witness the Perseid Meteor Shower 2023

Mon, 07 Aug 2023 00:00:00 +0000

As summer nights envelop us in their warm embrace, the cosmos has a captivating spectacle in store for us – the Perseid meteor shower. An annual celestial event, the Perseids are one of the most anticipated meteor showers of the year. On the night of August 13, 2023, nature’s fireworks will light up the night sky, promising a mesmerizing display of shooting stars. Let’s dive into the basics of this breathtaking event and how you can make the most of this cosmic extravaganza.

What are the Perseids?

The Perseid meteor shower occurs when the Earth passes through the debris left behind by Comet Swift-Tuttle. These tiny fragments, no larger than a grain of sand, burn up upon entering Earth’s atmosphere, creating bright streaks across the sky – the shooting stars. Named after the constellation Perseus from which they seem to originate, the Perseids are known for their high activity and brilliance.

For a more interactive experience, we got you covered. With Stellarium Mobile, you can virtually explore the night sky and track the Perseid meteor shower’s radiant point. See how the shooting stars appear to originate from the Perseus constellation and anticipate the dazzling display in real time.

View constellations on Stellarium Mobile!

Available on Google Play and the iOS App Store

When and Where to Watch

The peak of the Perseid meteor shower in 2023 will grace our skies on the night from July 17, 2023, until August 24, 2023 peaking at the night of August 13. For the best viewing experience, find a location far away from city lights, preferably in an open area. This allows your eyes to adjust to the darkness, enhancing your chances of spotting more meteors. Make sure to check the weather forecast for your area beforehand, and aim for clear, cloud-free skies.

Timing is Key: The best time to observe the Perseids is during the predawn hours, as the radiant point (the spot in the sky from which the meteors appear to emanate) climbs higher. But don’t worry, you can start seeing meteors after nightfall too.

Comfortable Seating: Bring a blanket or reclining chair to lie back and comfortably gaze at the sky. Patience is your friend during meteor showers.

No Telescopes Needed: Unlike stargazing, you don’t need any special equipment for meteor showers. Your naked eyes are your best tools.

Perseus Constellation: While meteors can appear anywhere in the sky, it’s a good idea to face northeast towards the Perseus constellation for optimal viewing.

Stay Patient: Meteors can be sporadic. Relax, enjoy the beauty of the night sky, and be ready to make a wish on every shooting star.

The Perseid meteor shower promises to be a celestial event you won’t want to miss. With a bit of planning and some patience, you’ll be treated to a captivating display of meteors streaking across the night sky. So, mark your calendar, find a cozy spot, and prepare to be amazed as the universe puts on a show just for you. We wish you clear skies and a happy meteor watching!

Update 1.11.0

Tue, 09 May 2023 00:00:00 +0000

UPDATE ALERT! Stellarium Mobile version 1.11.0 is now released and it includes improvements we hope you will all love!

Improved Search feature

Navigating and searching in the app is now easier! Take a look at the improvements in the Search feature of the app:

Filters have been added and it is now possible to search among objects that are Visible Now or will be Visible Tonight

Wondering what would be visible with a telescope? Only have binoculars? Or just observing with your naked eyes? We got you! These filters can also be added to view only what would be best for you to observe.

Aside from this, you can also add catalog filters that will be helpful for Messier marathons for example!

Improved planet rendering

Planets Mars, and Earth and Saturn’s moon, Titan have improved planet rendering. Atmosphere has been added! Check it out below:

Rings of Saturn shadows

Viewing Saturn in the app has also improved as its rings now cast a shadow on this majestic planet!

Added missing Deep Sky Objects

We are very grateful to users that reported missing Deep Sky Objects in the app and we are happy to announce that we have resolved and added the missing Deep Sky Objects.

We are always happy to hear from you and get your feedback.

Many other bug fixes

Aside from the improvements mentioned above, there were many other bug fixes on this update.

If you encounter any issues with the app, feel free to email us at help@stellarium-labs.com and we will be happy to help.

Update 1.10.0

Fri, 02 Dec 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Stellarium Mobile has been updated! Here are the improvements this version 1.10.0 brings!

Improved GUI layout on large screens
Added new Sky Cultures: Arabic Ancient, Blackfoot, Bugis, Mandar, Ruelle, and Anutan
App is now available in Turkish, Indonesian, and Filipino
Improved support for LX600, Synscan, and bluetooth telescopes
Many bugs and translation fixes.

We would like to sincerely extend our gratitudes to everyone who reported issues and helped us improve the app and also for users who gave assistance with translation!

We are always looking for ways to improve and we are always happy to get your feedback! If you have any suggestions or features you wish to see or if you encounter any issues, feel free to let us know and we will be here to help!

Capturing a Meteor - Perseid Meteor Shower 2022

Tue, 09 Aug 2022 00:00:00 +0000

The time has come again for one of the most awaited meteor showers of the year, the Perseid Meteor Shower.

The Perseid Meteor Shower is observed by many astronomers and astronomy enthusiasts around the world. It is well-known for the amount of meteors that can be observed throughout the sky. During its peak, it is expected that observers can see up to 60 meteors per hour, especially those on excellent dark sites.

Furthermore, this particular meteor shower is known for fireballs, which can be prominently seen as they are brighter and longer than a usual meteor streak.

This year, the Perseids can be observed from July 17 to September 1^[1], with its peak on the night of August 12 until morning of August 13.

While these bright meteors can be observed even with the naked eye, a lot of observers attempt to capture these beautiful streaks in the sky. As such, we conducted a pen-and-paper interview with Ms. Margareth Custodio, who has had vast experience on astrophotography for tips on how to get that perfect meteor shot!

The best location

Choosing the best location is tricky, but definitely essential. Ms. Margareth recommended to find an area where there are no high buildings or houses around you. She further recommended hiking or setting up at public parks as these locations are good for observing and photography of the night sky.

Equipment and setup

Ms. Margareth shared with us the three main equipment that you need for photographing Perseid meteors. These are camera, it can be smart phones or DSLR, tripod for stability and star map like Stellarium Mobile to guide you where to locate your target object in the night sky.

Setting camera elements

After setting up your camera and tripod, don’t press the shutter just yet! It is important to properly set up camera elements to achieve that perfect shot. First and foremost, Ms. Margareth made it clear that you should change your camera file/format into RAW/CR2. Most of the DSLR produce RAW/CR2 format, and some smartphones already have a setting of RAW format. She also added that you should set your white balance (WB) into Monochrome so when it’s time to process your images, you will not have a hard time putting temperature/color to your image.

Furthermore, Ms. Margareth also discussed with us four camera elements that can be manipulated to produce good astronomy images:

Manual/Pro Setting Setting your camera into Manual setting will enable you to adjust the aperture, ISO, and exposure time.
Aperture Aperture is the value of how low-wide, high-small the opening of your lens is. The lower the value of aperture the wider the lens opening, it means that when you choose to use lower aperture light from the object will be bright. This setting is good when capturing meteor/s. f/3.5 f/2.5 you can manipulate aperture only on a DSLR but also it depends on what lens you are using, the main value I get when using an 18-55mm lens is f/5.6. The aperture on smartphones is fixed to f/2.5, but still, it depends on what phone you are using.
ISO ISO is sensitivity to light, low-dark, high-bright. The best setting for capturing meteor/s with an ISO of 800-1600. If we will put the ISO to a high value, you will see grains on your images which are called noises
Shutter speed/Exposure time it’s a value of time in seconds that your camera is exposed to your object. We use the term exposure time for photography of meteors because we will be using 25-30 seconds of exposure. The more exposed your camera is to your object, the more it will gather light from it.

Recommended settings for meteor/s photography

Ms. Margareth shared with us that the usual settings she uses for DSLR is f/3.5-5.6, ISO 800 and exposure time to 25 seconds while for smartphones, ISO 1000 and exposure time of 25 seconds. She further mentions an automated setting for smartphones called night mode and she encouraged beginners to explore the manual settings, for you to know which setting of values are best fit to your taste.

Expected issues and challenges

Like any other hobby or interest, there are lots of issues and challenges that are expected when attempting to photograph meteor/s. When asked about the expected issues, Ms. Margareth detailed some of the most common issues in astrophotography. Weather comes in as the first issue in which we do not have any control over but you should always check your local weather forecast before planning on observing and imaging the night sky. Next is light pollution which is one of the enemies of enthusiasts and astronomers. Instead of having a dark sky you might get an orange-red sky at night due to light pollution. If you really can’t go out of town, lower your ISO setting so you won’t get any orange-red sky and change your WB to monochrome.

Another issue that is expected is obstructions. Ms. Margareth shared with us her experience with obstructions having lived in a business center city in the Philippines: what I do is I use them for additional objects/art on my image. Or I’ll go to a dark area, still in the city, as long as it doesn’t have too much light from houses or buildings.

image captured by Ms. Margareth Custodio

Of course, one important attitude an astrophotographer should have is Patience. Ms. Margareth emphasized that you need to have a lot of patience when imaging meteors. They don’t shower like rain. In an hour of observing you can get 1-6 meteors depending on the meteor shower event and to your area. If you will observe and want to do imaging of meteor shower pick the best meteor shower event. And as expected, one of the most famous meteor showers is the Perseid meteor shower!

She also added that meteors don’t just come from their radiant, we have sporadic meteors that did not come from the radiant. She also recommended using Stellarium to locate the radiant of the meteor shower, then check the sky and locate them. If you see your radiant in a high position, this is the best time for you to take images.

View constellations on Stellarium Mobile!

Available on Google Play and the iOS App Store

Additional tips for beginners

We cannot end the interview without asking for additional tips for beginners and she did not hesitate to advise: If your camera has a wide-angle lens or if you have a fisheye lens, this is a good lens to use when imaging the meteor because you will see the entirety of the sky. You won’t be having a hard time which area you will point your camera at. Research about the meteor shower event you want to see. Always use star maps so you won’t be lost in the night sky and bring your friends or family when observing meteor showers.

image captured by Ms. Margareth Custodio

That was insightful! We wish that this helps you in capturing the infamous Perseid meteors.

Feel free share your experiences and tag us on our social media accounts:

Facebook

Twitter

Youtube

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^{^{App Store®}} ^{^{Google Play and the Google Play logo are trademarks of Google LLC.}} ^{^{Italicized words and phrases indicate verbatim from official interview}} ^{^{[1] Reference:

Meteor Shower Calendar| IMO}}

Moon-Mars Conjunction - July 21, 2022

Thu, 21 Jul 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Don’t forget to look up tonight, stargazers! Moon and Mars will be very close together!

It is expected that tonight, July 21, 2022, our very own natural satellite, the Moon, will be in a conjunction with the Red Planet, Mars. A conjunction is an event in which two celestial objects can be observed close to one another in the sky.

For this conjunction, the Moon and Mars are expected to be as close as 0.5° at around 15:06 UTC time.

Mars has a magnitude of 0.30. This means that the planet is visible even with the naked eye. The Moon is on the Waning Crescent phase.

Check out this view!

We wish you clear skies tonight!

Download Stellarium Mobile on your devices and know where to look using the Sensor Mode feature of the app*!

We love hearing your observation experiences! Feel free to share with us how your observation went on Facebook and Twitter !

New & improved Field of View Simulator and more improvements! - Update 1.9.3

Sun, 03 Jul 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Stellarium Mobile version 1.9.3 is released and this update contains exciting new features that many of you have been requesting!

The Ocular section has always been a useful tool for observers, especially those that use equipment to view or capture their target objects. This tool simulates how an object will look like depending on your setup’s Field of View (FoV), which further helps observers know which objects will be best to observe based on their setups.

But a lot of our users pointed out that it was a bit difficult to use. They had to compute what their setup’s FoV is, and if they had multiple setups, they had to enter the details every time. This was such a hassle and a waste of time considering sky conditions may change any minute.

This new and improved version 1.9.3 is meant to address these issues!

Enabling the Field of View Simulator

First up, we have renamed the Ocular Section into Field of View Simulator. It can be enabled in the Menu (upper left corner) > Observing Tools > enable Field of View Simulator. Once enabled, a circular button will appear near the lower left corner of the screen.

Press this button and you will be able to view details and setups.

Input your setup details and save!

No need to compute! Just input details of your setup and save so you will not need to input it every single time. The details you will need will depend on which setup you are trying to input.

For telescopes, you will have to enter the Focal length, Diameter, Eyepiece/camera, Barlow/reducer (if any). While for binocular users, you will need to know the Magnification, Diameter, Real field of View or Meters @ 1000m.

You can also save a Reticle (Telrad or Cross Reticle) or Circle-shaped or Rectangle-shaped setups. To edit or delete a saved setup, long press that setup’s button.

Improved Accuracy

Enjoy more accurate rendering of Field of View shapes. No more incorrect distortion computations.

Easily select and interchange between setups

When you save multiple setups, it will be easy to choose and compare which setup will be best as interchanging between setups is only by a press of a button.

A good example for this feature is if you have different eyepieces/barlow, you can save each eyepiece/barlow/reducer combination and check each one for an object.

Know more about your setup!

You can view more details about your setup by selecting the Field of View shape in the sky by pressing on it.

This will show computed values for the instrument setup, including angular Field of View, or actual pixel angular resolution, and more!

Enjoy these FoV simulator experience on Telescope control

Make the most out of your compatible GOTO Telescope as these Field of View simulator improvements is also applied when you use Stellarium PLUS Telescope Control! See here for more information about telescope control (including compatible telescope controllers): TELESCOPE CONTROL IN STELLARIUM MOBILE PLUS

Aside from these improvements on the Field of View simulator, here are other changes that you might have noticed:

User Guide in all supported languages!

The User Guide is now available in all supported languages! To view User Guide, go to Menu (upper left corner) > Help & feedback > Guide.

Improved Translations

We have improved the translations of different sky object types names in this version!

Location settings

Location settings did not go away! You can still adjust the Location in the app to simulate the sky in that location in the Menu (upper left corner) > Settings > Location > turn off Autolocation > input the Location you want to simulate.

Note: Please ensure that the app is given authorization to access your location for accuracy of autolocation. Feel free to email us if you encounter issues.

Observe Menu is now Calendar Menu

You can view details relevant to tonight’s sky including, sunrise/sunset details, Solar System objects’ visibility, satellite passes and astronomical events in the Menu (upper left corner) > Calendar.

Many more layout improvements

Layout improvements have been made to avoid overlapping, or cropping of texts, especially in some languages.

We hope you like this update! Share your thoughts about this new version on our Social Media platforms:

Facebook Twitter Youtube

Please email us at help@stellarium-labs.com if you encounter any issues and we will be happy to assist you.

Feel free to let us know if you have any suggestions or features you wish to see or improve! We are always looking for ways to improve and we are always very thankful for everyone that provides us valuable feedback!

As always, we wish all of you clear skies!

Lunar occultation of Venus - May 27, 2022

Thu, 26 May 2022 00:00:00 +0000

An occultation is an event in which an object appears to be in front of a second object (star, planet, etc) seemingly blocking our view from that second object.

A great example of an occultation is a solar eclipse wherein a portion or the entire surface of the Sun will be covered by the Moon, obscuring our view from the Sun.

But, aside from eclipses, planetary and stellar occultation is a common event in the sky as our Moon is the nearest object to us because it is our natural satellite. This type of occultation wherein the Moon appears to move in front of other objects in the sky is called a Lunar occultation.

Tomorrow, this phenomenon will happen in a few areas in the world, particularly in Asia and Eastern Africa. Check out this view from Stellarium Mobile:

However, the chances of observing this phenomenon will be slim as it is expected to occur in the daytime.

Nevertheless, it is still exciting to be able to observe such a phenomenon using our mobile devices and Stellarium Mobile.

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Available on Google Play and the iOS App Store

We hope that was informative.

Follow @StellariumLabs

We wish you clear skies on your observation nights.

Update 1.8.8

Thu, 28 Apr 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Have you updated to the latest version of Stellarium Mobile?

Here are what’s new!

major performance optimizations
fix a crash at startup on some devices
fix a bug causing stars to be invisible on some devices

We are always looking for ways to improve and would also love to hear any suggestions or features you wish to see.

Feel free to email us at help@stellarium-labs.com for any reports and issues with Stellarium Mobile! Wishing you clear skies!

Available on Google Play and the iOS App Store

Partial Solar Eclipse - April 30, 2022

Tue, 26 Apr 2022 00:00:00 +0000

If you are lucky enough to be residing in the Southernmost part of South America and nearby areas, prepare to witness a Partial Solar Eclipse this weekend!

Before anything else, we would like to remind everyone to use proper solar filters and solar equipment when observing the Sun. Observing the Sun with the naked eye can cause permanent eye damage.

During a Solar Eclipse, our very own natural satellite, the Moon, will be between Earth and Sun. This results in a circular shadow when observing the Sun.

For this coming eclipse, the Sun is expected to be covered at about 40% at maximum.

Check out this view on Stellarium Mobile:

Available on Google Play and the iOS App Store

Have you ever witnessed a Solar Eclipse before? Let us know! Follow us on our social media platforms for latest updates about Stellarium and anything astronomy related.

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Mars-Saturn Conjunction - April 5, 2022

Sun, 03 Apr 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Heads up, stargazers! Set your alarms and prepare to wake up early to witness Saturn and Mars in a conjunction! What’s more? Only a few degrees away, Venus will also be very visible in the sky!

Tomorrow, April 5, 2022, Mars and Saturn are expected to be as close as 0.3 degrees! Both Saturn and Mars are visible in the naked eye so it will definitely be a sight to see.

Best time to observe will be before 5:00 AM and if you have a view of the horizon, you will also be able to see Jupiter rise. Look for the planets near the East cardinal point!

Still wondering where to look? Stellarium Mobile Sensor Mode feature can help you navigate the sky and look for the planets!*

To activate, press the compass button on the bottom center of the screen to set it to Auto. Once set, point the device (back portion) to the sky and the screen should move with your device showing what is above you as you observe!

Feel free to share with us your observation experiences via Facebook and Twitter !

Wishing you clear skies! ( https://twitter.com/StellariumLabs) !

^{^{App Store®}} ^{^{Google Play and the Google Play logo are trademarks of Google LLC.}} ^{^{*Sensor Mode can be accessed on devices with magnetometer sensors or compass included in it.}}

What makes the sky blue?

Wed, 16 Mar 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Stellarium Mobile has a feature that lets you enable or disable the atmosphere. When it is enabled during daytime, we can see that the atmosphere is blue and the sun is shining bright.

But have you ever wondered, why is the sky blue? The answer might be a lot simpler than you thought!

When light coming from the Sun reaches our planet’s atmosphere, it creates an effect called Rayleigh scattering.

You see, sunlight is considered a white light, which is a combination of all colors. A great analogy would be lighting a white flashlight into a prism. As the light passes through the prism, it gets separated into different colors, creating somewhat a rainbow appearance.

The same thing happens with sunlight. Our atmosphere acts like a prism that separates the colors. The bluer spectrum of colors then scatter throughout our atmosphere which makes the sky blue during the day which turns to a little bit reddish during sunrise or sunset.

When you disable the atmosphere in the app, you can observe that the sky turns dark even in the daytime when the Sun is above the horizon. This is because there is no atmosphere that will scatter the sunlight.

Available on Google Play and the iOS App Store

Did you know you can also adjust light pollution settings on Stellarium Mobile?

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Moon-Venus-Mars Conjunction - February 27, 2022

Mon, 21 Feb 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Heads up, stargazers! This coming Sunday, don’t forget to look up to the night sky and observe as the Moon passes close to two planets in our Solar System, Mars and Venus.

On that night, our very own natural satellite is expected to be at about 5 degrees close to Venus and 3 degrees to Mars.

This event is called a conjunction, where two or more objects are close to one another.

Best part about the event? Both Venus and Mars are visible to the naked eye so you can enjoy the conjunction even without the need of other equipment.

The Moon will be at a Waning Crescent phase which means it is relatively ‘thin’ which will also be a wonderful sight to witness.

The optimal time to observe this event will be before sunrise. So set your alarms and we wish all of you clear skies!

Download Stellarium Mobile on your devices and know where to look using the Sensor Mode feature of the app*!

We love hearing your observation experiences! Feel free to share with us how your observation went on Facebook and Twitter !

^Sources:

^{Saint Louis Science Center: Night Sky Update: February 11 – February 19, 2022} ^MOONGIANT ^{EarthSky: What is a conjunction?}

^{^{App Store®}} ^{^{Google Play and the Google Play logo are trademarks of Google LLC.}} ^{^{*Sensor Mode can be accessed on devices with magnetometer sensors or compass included in it.}}

How to know if an object is a planet or a star?

Mon, 31 Jan 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Have you ever looked up and seen a bright object in the night sky? Chances are that the object is not a star, but a planet!

If you were wondering how you can distinguish a planet from a star, we got you covered!

There are three criteria for a celestial body to be considered a planet.^[1]

It must orbit a star
It must be big enough to have enough gravity to force it into a spherical shape.
It must be big enough that its gravity cleared away any other objects of a similar size near its orbit around the Sun.

That being said, other planets can be seen here on Earth because they reflect light from a star. For planets in our Solar System, they reflect the light from the Sun.

Stars, on the other hand, are mostly made up of Hydrogen and Helium. Stars gain energy through nuclear fusion. This energy emits light which makes stars, even those that are light years away from us, visible to Earth,

Light from stars is subject to scintillation because they are so far away from us. Scintillation is the diffraction of light due to its contact with our atmosphere. This is commonly referred to as ‘Twinkle’.^[2]

So, if you were wondering if an object you can see in the sky is a star, see if it twinkles. If not, most likely that object is a planet.

You can also always check with Stellarium Mobile’s Sensor Mode feature.* This feature enables you to point your device to the sky and identify the object you are looking at

Stellarium Mobile is available on Google Play Store and the Apple App Store!

Whether it be a planet, star, satellite, or other object, you will be able to identify it within seconds!

To activate sensor mode, set Sensor Mode to Auto by pressing the mini-compass button on the bottom center of the screen or by going to Menu > Settings > Sensors.

Once set to ‘Auto’, point the device (back portion) to the sky to activate the Sensor Mode.

[1] Source: NASA Solar System Exploration: https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/in-depth/

[2] Source: Sky and Telescope: https://skyandtelescope.org/astronomy-resources/why-do-stars-twinkle/

[3] Compass should be included on your device for Sensor Mode to work

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Our local star - THE SUN

Tue, 11 Jan 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Our Sun is the closest star to the Earth. It is our main source of energy and every living being on the planet is dependent on the Sun.

Did you know that on the Sun’s surface, we can observe many interesting features?

NOTE: DO NOT LOOK DIRECTLY AT THE SUN WITHOUT PROPER SOLAR EQUIPMENT OR SOLAR FILTERS.

One interesting feature of our local star is Granulation, or Granules. Granules are caused by convection currents and are characterized by its grain-like appearance.

Granulation is observable using an H-alpha (Hα) or Calcium-K (Ca-K) filter

Usually mistaken as a glitch on the 3D view of the Sun on Stellarium Mobile Plus, sunspots are another interesting feature of the Sun.

Sunspots are the black spots, often coming in pairs that can be observed on the surface of the Sun.

These sunspots are areas in the Sun that are generally cooler compared to other areas on the Sun’s surface, which is a bit ironic because at first appearance they look like burnt areas.

Aside from being cooler, sunspots are areas where magnetic field is stronger and are where prominences and solar flares occur.

Here are some photos showing sunspots on our solar observation using a white light filter on a 114mm reflector telescope:

Accompanying sunspots, Faculae is another interesting feature of the Sun. Faculae are the bright areas of the Sun that doesn’t contain granulation. All sunspots have an accompanying facula (singular) but not all faculae necessarily have a sunspot. While sunspots are areas that are generally cooler than the Sun, faculae are areas that are slightly hotter than the surrounding photosphere.

Sunspots, Faculae, and Granulation can be observed on the 3D view of the Sun on Stellarium Mobile Plus!

Available on Google Play and the iOS App Store

If you encounter any issues or bugs, feel free to email us at help@stellarium-labs.com and we will provide you with the best assistance.

Frequently Asked Questions

Wed, 05 Jan 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Here is a list of Frequently Asked Questions! Feel free to email us anytime for more assistance and we will be happy to assist you.

The screen does not move with my phone.

The Sensor Mode feature should work on your device as long as your device has a magnetometer sensor or compass included in it. To check whether your device has a compass, search for your device on gsmarena.com and look under Features > Sensors.

Once you confirm that your device has a compass included in your device, please ensure that Sensor Mode is set to ‘Auto’ in the app.

This can be done by pressing the mini-compass button on the bottom center of the screen or by going to Menu > Settings > Sensors.

Once set to ‘Auto’, point the device (back portion) to the sky to activate the Sensor Mode.

Note: Please ensure that there are no magnets or metal pieces near the device. These objects interfere with sensors and are usually found on device protection covers.

How to adjust date and time? Can Stellarium Mobile simulate the sky in the past or in the future?

Date and time can be adjusted by pressing the time in the lower right corner of the screen, then swiping up.

Then you can adjust date and time by pressing the arrow buttons or by typing in your desired date and time.

For B.C. dates, affix a (-) sign in the year. For example for 30 BC, type in ‘-30’ in the year.

Stellarium can simulate from -4999 to 4999 years.

How to change the language in the app

Right now, the language used in the app is the same as the one in your phone’s settings.

In a future release, we plan on adding an option to change it in the app’s settings so please keep updated.

Where are the usual home, back buttons? Your app hides these buttons. I cannot exit the app.

To view the usual Android buttons, please swipe up from the bottom of the screen and you will be able to exit as usual. Please note that this is standard android behavior.

We have also added an Exit button in the App’s Menu and you can exit that way as well.

I am still very confused. Do you have a User Guide I can read instead?

You will be able to find a User Guide in the app’s Menu > Help& feedback > User Guide. Feel free to also email us at help@stellarium-labs.com for any assistance.

Where are the Satellites? How can I view it in the app?

Satellites are indeed included in the app! You can adjust how much more or how much less Satellite labels you can see by long pressing the ‘Labels’ button and adjusting based on your preferences.

Satellites and comets data is updated at every app launch as long as there is internet connection.

How to enable all constellations? I want to see the constellation names only, not the artwork, etc.

You can adjust which constellations features to see by long pressing the Constellations button and adjusting based on your preferences.

I have a new device and I can’t access my purchase. OR all refund transactions.

For all issues regarding subscription, purchases, or refund, please email us at help@stellarium-labs.com and we will be happy to assist you. If you purchased using a different email address, please provide the email address associated with the purchase or the order number from Google.

For refunds in iOS, please follow the instructions here: Request a refund for apps or content that you bought from Apple

I can’t connect my telescope.

Information regarding telescope control can be found here: Telescope Control in Stellarium Mobile PLUS. Feel free to also check out our Youtube channel as we plan on uploading tutorials very soon:

For more assistance regarding telescope control, please email us at help@stellarium-labs.com with details regarding your setup. We are particularly interested in what brand of telescope controller you are using.

Update 1.8.3

Fri, 24 Dec 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Some users experienced and reported that comets data and comets list in Stellarium Mobile on their devices were empty.

Thank you for your reports and feedback. We are sorry for the issues and we are glad to announce that the latest update, 1.8.3, will fix the comets issue.

Please report to us if you ever encounter issues via email at help@stellarium-labs.com and we would be happy to assist you.

We are always looking for ways to improve and would also love to hear any suggestions or features you wish to see.

Wishing you clear skies!

Observing C/2021 A1 or Comet Leonard

Mon, 06 Dec 2021 00:00:00 +0000

As this year draws to a close, get ready to observe the brightest comet of the year, C/2021 A1 or comet Leonard.

Comet Leonard was first discovered earlier this year, by astronomer Gregory J. Leonard. It is expected to be in perihelion next year in January, while it is closest to Earth this coming December 12.

If you are planning to observe Comet Leonard, Stellarium Mobile can help you locate it in the night sky so you know when and where exactly you could look!

Stellarium Mobile is available on Google Play Store and the Apple App Store!

Search for C/2021 A1 or simply ‘Leonard’ in the search bar and select the comet! Comets and Satellites data is updated at every launch of Stellarium Mobile as long as you have internet connection.

What’s more? You can also see it’s Visibility path in the night sky!

We love hearing from you so feel free to share with us your experiences in observing Comet Leonard!

Follow @StellariumLabs Like us on Facebook

Clear skies!

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Stages of a Lunar Eclipse - Lunar Eclipse November 19, 2021

Tue, 16 Nov 2021 00:00:00 +0000

A Lunar Eclipse is always a sight to see. In the past, it was usually considered a bad omen because the Moon appears blood red. This Friday, November 19, 2021, as we witness another Lunar Eclipse, let us review the stages of a Lunar Eclipse.

Penumbral Eclipse begins

A Lunar eclipse officially begins when the Earth’s penumbral shadow touches the Moon. This event results in a slightly darker appearance of the Moon which is very hard to notice at first glance. The Moon will continue to get darker and darker until it reaches the next stage of the Eclipse

This coming eclipse, this stage, signifying the start of the lunar eclipse begins at November 19, 06:02:09 UTC time.

Partial Eclipse begins

Right when the Moon is nearly dark, the Moon will pass on the Earth’s umbral shadow. This is the part where the blood red color will start to appear on the Moon and is known as a Partial Eclipse.

Partial Eclipse will begin over an hour after, at 07:18:42 UTC time.

Total Lunar Eclipse

The Moon will be entirely blood red in color at this stage.of the eclipse. A Total Lunar Eclipse is usually known as a Blood Moon as the Moon appears blood red in color and was believed to be an ominous sign.

The Total Lunar Eclipse will be at 09:02:55 UTC time on November 19.

Total Lunar Eclipse ends, Partial Eclipse begins again

Once a small part of the Moon is not red anymore, it signifies the end of the Total Lunar eclipse and it will once again be a Partial eclipse. The red hue will slowly fade away after this.

This stage will continue on until the last bit of red is not visible anymore on the Moon.

Partial Eclipse ends

When the last bit of the red color is not visible anymore on the Moon, Penumbral shadow will once again be visible. This means that the Partial eclipse has ended.

This Friday, the Partial eclipse will end on 10:47:04 UTC time.

Penumbral Eclipse ends

The last stage of the eclipse is when the Penumbral Eclipse ends. The Moon will be bright again, as if nothing happened.

This Total Lunar Eclipse will officially end on 12:03:40 UTC time Will you be observing the Lunar Eclipse this Friday? Follow us on our Twitter and Facebook for the latest updates!

Available on Google Play and the iOS App Store

Is the eclipse not visible on your area? Expecting rainy/cloudy weather? We got you covered! Join us in a Facebook Live as we watch the Total Lunar Eclipse via Stellarium Mobile Plus.

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Leonid Meteor Shower 2021

Mon, 15 Nov 2021 00:00:00 +0000

The Leonid Meteor Shower can be observed on November 6-30, 2021. However, this week is the best time to observe it as it reaches its peak.

During its peak on the early morning of November 17, 10-15 meteors are expected to be seen per hour. Sadly, the Moon is expected to be in a waxing gibbous phase that night, which means less meteors for us to observe.

Read: Astronomer’s Love-Hate relationship with Luna

We recommend finding a dark and safe location away from city lights for the best viewing experience.

Where to look?

Look for Leo! Stellarium Mobile have a Sensor Mode feature that will enable you to point your mobile device in the sky and identify which constellation you are looking at within seconds*.

For this meteor shower, search for Leo or Leonids and Stellarium Mobile would show you where to look! Also, don’t forget to turn on Night Mode so your eyes can stay adapted to the night sky.

Read: The reason why astronomers use red lights on observation sites

Download Stellarium Mobile on your mobile devices now!

Will you be observing this year’s Leonid meteor shower? Let us know!

Tweet to @StellariumLabs

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Moon-Saturn and Moon-Jupiter Conjunction - November 2021

Wed, 10 Nov 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Mark your calendars, for two more astronomical events known as conjunctions are expected this week! For tonight, November 10, the Moon and Saturn will be seen together, while on Friday, November 12, the Moon and Jupiter will pass by each other. These are some of the brightest astronomical objects that can be seen with the naked eye, which makes their positions easy to spot in the night sky!

November 10, 2021

This Moon-Saturn conjunction is best observed in the early hours of the evening, and it peaks after 10:00 UTC. During this time, the Moon and Saturn will be descending on the horizon, where Saturn can be seen as close as 4° north of the Moon. To catch sight of this conjunction, look southwest, in the constellation Capricornus; both astronomical bodies can be seen inside Capricornus’ area, where they will stay with the Sea Goat as it goes down in the night sky.

Tonight, the Moon is nearing the end of its Waxing Crescent phase, which is the first phase that it transitions into after a New Moon.

Other objects that can be seen in the night sky at this time are the planets Jupiter, which lies to the northwest of the Moon and Saturn, and Venus, which is flush in the center of the constellation Sagittarius southwest of the conjunction. The Summer Triangle , consisting of Deneb, Altair, and Vega, are also visible at the time of the conjunction, appearing overhead on the western sector of the night sky. The stars of this asterism are among the brightest in their constellations, which makes them easy to spot with the naked eye.

November 12, 2021

This Moon-Jupiter conjunction can also be seen early in the evening, peaking in between 10:00 and 11:00 UTC. In this event, Jupiter will be cruising eastwards away from the Moon, the planet approaching Earth’s lone satellite for as close as 1° within each other. This conjunction can be seen in the southwest sector of the sky, with Jupiter edging at the northwestern corner of Capricornus and the Moon positioned at the southern end of Aquarius.

In this event, the Moon has exited the Waxing Crescent phase and is entering the Waxing Gibbous phase, which is the phase that comes after the First Quarter and before the Full Moon. During this phase, more and more sunlight is reflected off the surface of the Moon, which can drown out some of the fainter objects in the night sky.

Like with the conjunction on November 10, the planets Jupiter and Venus are also visible on Friday night, as well as the Summer Triangle asterism . Another object that can be seen along with the conjunction is Fomalhaut, the brightest star in the constellation Piscis Austrinus as well as the 18th brightest star in the night sky, which is located just southwest of the Moon.

Stellarium shows you an accurate projection of the night sky on any given date and location and provides insightful information on any astronomical object with a single press. To keep yourself up to date with more astronomical events like the Moon conjunctions, download Stellarium on your mobile devices today!

Available on Google Play and the iOS App Store

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Update 1.8.1

Wed, 10 Nov 2021 00:00:00 +0000

This week, Stellarium Mobile has released a new update. This release has improvements to make your astronomy experience much more enjoyable!

The Sky Culture section has a new and improved look!

Have a look at the improved sky culture section that will make it easier to browse and discover different sky cultures from around the world!

Browse Sky cultures from America, Asia, Europe, Middle East, and Oceania!

	Sky Culture
America

Navajo
Tukano
Tupi-Guarani

| | Asia |

Chinese
Chinese Contemporary
Indian Vedic
Japanese Lunar Stations
Korean
Mongolian
Siberian

| | Europe |

Belarusian
Inuit
Norse
Romanian
Sami
Sardinian
Western
Western (H.A. Rey)
Western (O.Hilad)
Western (Sky & Telescope)

| | Middle East |

Arabic
Arabic Lunar Stations
Egyptian

| | Oceania |

Hawaiian
Kamilaroi/Euahlayi
Maori
Tongan

Now, you can also preview a sky culture before you decide to use it! Simply select a sky culture and it will show relevant information about the sky culture including a preview. When you have decided on which sky culture to use, press the ‘Use’ button

A few missing stars in the catalog have also been added in this version together with many other fixes.

Follow @StellariumLabs

If you encounter any issues, feel free to email us at help@stellarium-labs.com

You can also share to us if you have any suggestions or features you wish to see in the future updates

Moon-Venus Conjunction - November 8, 2021

Mon, 08 Nov 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Heads up! Tonight, November 8, a spectacular astronomical event will be visible above our heads.

Our very own natural satellite, the Moon, will share a right ascension with the Evening Star, Venus. This is an astronomical event called a conjunction.

It is expected to be a wonderful view as Venus is known as the brightest object in the night sky next to the Sun and the Moon.

Moon and Venus is expected to be 0.6 degrees close to one another.

To easily locate the event, simply search for Moon or Venus in Stellarium Mobile. Stellarium Mobile has a Sensor Mode feature that will utilize your device’s sensors to navigate through the sky*.

Don’t miss out on astronomical events like this! Download Stellarium Mobile on your mobile devices today!

Follow @StellariumLabs

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Google Play Best of 2021 User's Choice Award Nominee

Wed, 03 Nov 2021 00:00:00 +0000

There are tons of great apps and games on Google Play. That’s why we are very thrilled and honored to be considered for this year’s User’s Choice Award!

Stellarium Mobile - Star Map has been nominated for the 2021 User’s Choice Award. We are ever grateful for your support and appreciation.

Cast a vote in the Google Play Best Of 2021 to support us.

Huge news! We're super excited to be nominated for 2021's #GooglePlayBestOf in the User's Choice category. So grateful for the nomination, @GooglePlay! Vote for us at the link to help us celebrate!
Vote for us: https://t.co/HtaiAQaG1c pic.twitter.com/5kOHIlT0wx
— Stellarium Labs (@StellariumLabs) November 3, 2021

Orionid Meteor Shower

Thu, 21 Oct 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Orionid Meteor Shower is a well known and well-observed meteor shower around the world. As it reaches its peak, here is everything you need to know, including some tips on how to make the most out of your meteor hunt!

Location

Light pollution hinders and greatly affects viewing experience. If you are choosing a spot to view the meteor shower, find a safe area with minimal to no light pollution. You would be able to spot more Orionid meteors.

Moonlight

Aside from light pollution, illumination of the Moon will also affect the observation night. Fortunately, the Moon will be relatively thin during the night of the peak, October 21-22. This will make a great viewing experience

Where to look

The Orionid meteor shower got its name from the constellation in which it originates, Orion. As such, all you need to do is locate the constellation.

That being said, Stellarium Mobile can help you locate the constellation within seconds! The Sensor Mode feature of the app uses your phone’s sensors that will allow you to point your device to the sky and see which object you are looking at!*

Will you be observing this year’s Orionid meteor shower? Feel free to share with us in Twitter!

Tweet to @StellariumLabs

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A Guide on Observing the Moon - Happy International Observe the Moon Night

Fri, 15 Oct 2021 00:00:00 +0000

This Saturday evening, October 16, 2021, is the International Observe the Moon Night! It’s the perfect time to observe the Moon together with astronomers from around the world! As such, we have a few tips and tricks that can help you enjoy the Moon observation!

Locating the Moon

Our Moon is very easy to spot. It is very bright and it’s impossible to miss it in the night sky, especially when it’s near the Full Moon phase.

Nevertheless, if you are wondering where it is ideal to set up your equipment, Stellarium Mobile can assist you with locating the Moon, prior to your observation nights!

Use aperture reducers if the Moon is too bright

There is no doubt that the Moon is beautiful. But if it is too bright, it can cause too much strain in the eyes. This often happens when the Moon is in Full Moon phase and you are observing using a telescope.

A great tip to reduce this effect is to use an aperture reducer. This would help lessen the strain the bright Moon puts in our eyes. A lot of telescopes in the market today, have an included aperture reducer that can be used for this purpose.

Identify the Mares and Oceans of the Moon

A great activity to do is identifying the features of the Moon as you are observing them! This would be a great bonding activity with your family and friends.

And you don’t have to look any further as Labels of the Moon’s features are included in the 3D view of the Moon in Stellarium Plus!

Available on Google Play and the iOS App Store

Imaging the Moon

As it is a worldwide event, prepare to see lots of images of the Moon in our timelines and feed. We assume you won’t want to be left out and would want to image the Moon!

The Moon is a bright object, so the ideal settings for capturing the Moon (if you have a telescope), is usually the lowest ISO setting, shutter speed, etc. Otherwise, it will be over exposed, resulting in unflattering images of the natural satellite.

Feel free to experiment and try different settings until you get the perfect shot that you were hoping for!

Share with us the images you captured, or experiences on your observation nights:

Tweet to @StellariumLabs We hope you have clear skies and Happy International Observe the Moon Night!

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Back-to-back Conjunction - Moon-Saturn and Moon-Jupiter Conjunction

Thu, 14 Oct 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Heads up! Tonight, and tomorrow, we have a back-to-back conjunction involving the planets, Saturn and Jupiter, and of course, our natural satellite, the Moon!

October 14, 2021

Saturn is expected to be as close as 4 degrees to the Moon. Other planets that can also be observed tonight are Venus near the West horizon, and Jupiter which is just a few degrees away from the conjunction.

October 15, 2021

If you happen to miss the Moon-Saturn conjunction, we hope you have clear skies the next night, as on Friday night, October 15, Jupiter will have its turn and it will be in conjunction with the Moon! The Moon is expected to be about 5 degrees south of Jupiter.

As always, we wish you clear skies on this astronomical event.

Feel free to share with us your experience observing the conjunction in our Twitter account:

Follow @StellariumLabs

Don’t miss out on events like these! Download Stellarium Mobile on your mobile devices now!

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Stellarium Mobile 1.8.0

Thu, 23 Sep 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Stellarium Plus version 1.8.0 has been released and this update brings us a lot of new features and improvements to make your astronomy experience even better!

Introducing the Favorites List

Mark your favorite objects in the sky and refer to your Favorites list! This feature is very useful especially if you are observing an object regularly, or if you are gathering data. This saves you the trouble of having to search for it every time!

To add an object to your Favorites list, simply select an object, swipe up, then click the heart button. You would be able to view your Favorites List when you select the search then press ‘Favorites’.

Visibility

Before the latest update, visibility times and charts are available. You would be able to see the highest altitude of the object, its setting and rising time, etc.

Now, in this new update, you would also be able to view the path it has taken and will take in the sky for the next hours.

Menu and Search button

In the latest update, the Menu and Search button has a new look that is opted for less distractions during observations! Check it out:

Time

If you have ever explored Stellarium, you most likely have adjusted the time settings to simulate the sky in the past or in the future, or even on the day you were born!

After this, you would go back to the current time, and to do this, you had to press the time, and then press the ‘set time to now’ button. In the new update, there is a button to go back to real time on the lower part of your screen!

Another detail that is in the new version is viewing the date or time of day above the time.

Mini-compass/set sensor mode to ‘Auto’

A useful feature of Stellarium is the Sensor Mode. This feature utilizes your device’s compass or magnetometer so you could point your device to the sky and identify the object you are seeing within seconds.

In this new update, we added a mini compass on the bottom of the screen. This will help you identify the cardinal points when observing. This also doubles as a button to set the Sensor mode to ‘Auto’.

3D view

Since the 3D view feature was added, it has given us more and more opportunities to learn more and study many objects of the night sky.

In the latest update, we added more features in 3D view for you! You can now see even the darker side of the object by adjusting it on the upper right corner of the screen. We have also made information of the object accessible from within the 3D view!

Another exciting feature added was navigating through different 3D views. Before, in order to navigate from one 3D view to another, we had to press the back button and search for the next object.

Now, you can just select it from one’s 3D view, press the 3D button and it will take you to the next object’s 3D view!

Map of the surface of Moon and Mars

The Moon is a favorite subject to a lot of people and before we celebrate the International Observe the Moon Night next month, we added a feature for all selenophiles out there.

We added labels to the Moon’s mares and oceans. These labels can also be turned on/off on the upper right corner of your screen. You can now identify the features of the Moon!

We also added labels to the surface of MARS! Download Stellarium Mobile and explore!

Which of these features is your favorite?

Follow @StellariumLabs

If you encounter any issues, feel free to email us at help@stellarium-labs.com

You can also share to us if you have any suggestions or features you wish to see in the future updates

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Autumnal equinox 2021

Wed, 22 Sep 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Time flies by so fast and the autumnal equinox is just around the corner. This signifies the first day of fall or autumn. An exciting time as it is, this also means a lot for stargazers around the world.

An equinox is a time of the year when day and night are the same length. It happens twice a year, in March and in September. The equinox in March is called the vernal equinox and the equinox in September is called the autumnal equinox.

After the autumnal equinox, day time starts to get shorter and night time gets longer. For astronomy enthusiasts, that means more time to gaze and observe the night sky!

This year, the autumnal equinox is tomorrow, September 23, 2021. Don’t miss out on astronomical events!

Stellarium Plus features an Observe Menu that will help you take note of upcoming astronomical events and satellite passes.

Available on Google Play and the iOS App Store

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The Galilean Moons - A Closer Look

Fri, 17 Sep 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Jupiter is the largest planet in the Solar System. It has a diameter of 139,820 kilometers. For comparison, Jupiter can easily fit more than 1,300 Earths in it.

The planet is also famous for its weather systems. Its atmosphere composed mainly of Hydrogen and Helium are always hurled up in storms. Among these storms is the Great Red Spot which is the largest anticyclonic storm in the Solar System.

As interesting as its features, Jupiter is also home to many natural satellites. In this article, we will discuss the most famous moons of Jupiter; The Galilean Moons.

The Galilean Moons were first observed by Galileo Galilei in 1610. He discovered it when Galileo pointed the telescope lens made by Optometrist Hans Lippershey. This event was the foundation for the invention of the telescope for astronomical use.

The four moons Io, Callisto, Europa and Ganymede that Galileo saw then, became known as the Galilean Moons that we can still observe to this day.

Ganymede

Named after the cupbearer for the Greek gods, Ganymede is the largest natural satellite in the Solar System. A few years ago, the Hubble Space Telescope found evidence that Ganymede contained saltwater oceans beneath its surface. This ocean is believed to have more water than what we have here on Earth

Among the Galilean moons, Io is said to be the first moon to be observed by Galileo. This moon of Jupiter is the most volcanically active spot in the Solar System. Containing over 400 active volcanoes, its surface is always changing as these volcanoes erupt continuously.

Callisto

Callisto is often described as a hunk of ice and rock. While the previous moon, Io, is very geologically active, Callisto, on the other hand, is said to be geologically dead. This means that there were no signs of tectonic plate movements or volcanic activity on this moon.

Europa

Lastly, we venture on the most promising Galilean Moon to look for life. Europa’s surface is covered with an ice shell and is believed to have liquid water beneath. This gives enough possibility for scientists to think that it may harbor life. Nevertheless, more studies and research is needed to be done to be certain.

The discovery of the Galilean Moons opened so many doors and ideas for scientists. They are the first discovered natural satellites besides our Moon. It provided strong evidence to the Copernican theory and was the foundation of heliocentric model of the Solar System

We hope you liked this trip to the Galilean Moons. 3D view of the Galilean Moons and many other objects is available on Stellarium Mobile Plus!

Available on Google Play and the iOS App Store

Follow @StellariumLabs

Sources:

NASA Solar System Exploration

The Planets

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Moon-Saturn Conjunction - September 17, 2021

Thu, 16 Sep 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Mark your calendars! This coming Friday, September 17, Saturn and Moon will be observed close to one another in an event called a conjunction.

Our very own natural satellite, the Moon, and the ringed planet, Saturn is expected to be as close as 3°45’ this Friday.

On this night, prepare to see the Moon in a Waxing Gibbous phase which makes the view much more beautiful. And just about 4 degrees above the Moon, you would be able to spot Saturn.

Saturn is visible with our naked eye. This means that the conjunction can be observed even without any equipment.

Nevertheless, if you happen to have a telescope or a pair of binoculars, the experience will be much better. Saturn is best known for its rings which are visible with the help of binoculars or a telescope.

Don’t forget to download Stellarium Mobile on your devices to easily spot planets, stars, and other objects in the night sky!

Follow @StellariumLabs

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What is up with Mercury this September 2021?

Thu, 09 Sep 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Mercury is the closest planet to the Sun. It has no natural satellites and its surface is composed of graphite which gives it a grayish color that resembles our Moon.

This September, mark the following dates as it will be the best time to observe Mercury.

Mercury at Greatest Eastern Elongation - September 14, 2021

As Mercury is the closest planet to the Sun, we can only observe it a few hours after sunset or a few hours before sunrise. We rarely see it so high in the night sky. However on September 14, Mercury will be at its Greatest Eastern Elongation.

This means that Mercury will be at its farthest distance from the Sun. It will be best to observe Mercury on this day as the planet will be at its highest altitude in the night sky.

Mercury at Dichotomy - September 18, 2021

Did you know Mercury has its own phases like our Moon? Inner planets, Mercury and Venus both have their own phases. They can appear fully illuminated, half illuminated based on their relative position from the Earth.

On September 18, 2021, Mercury will show us a spectacular view as it reaches its intermediate half-phase, called Dichotomy.

Tips on observing Mercury

Mercury has a magnitude of 0.17. This means that it is visible to the naked eye. This makes it easier to locate the planet in the night sky. This season, Mercury can be seen a few hours after Sunset.

Don’t forget to download Stellarium Mobile to easily locate Mercury.

Available on Google Play and the iOS App Store

Even though Mercury is visible without any equipment, a telescope is necessary if you want to observe its phases i.e dichotomy. Stellarium Mobile has a telescope control feature that will enable you to control your automated mounts!

We hope that was informative. We wish you clear skies on your observation nights!

Will you be observing any of these events? Feel free to tell us on Twitter!

Follow @StellariumLabs

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Jupiter Opposition - August 20, 2021

Wed, 18 Aug 2021 00:00:00 +0000

From the Moon-Venus conjunction , to the Mars-Mercury Conjunction earlier this week, and of course the most awaited Perseid Meteor Shower , this August has truly been full of interesting astronomical events!

If you happen to miss these events however, don’t fret! This coming Friday, August 20, 2021, is a good time to schedule your night sky observations!

On this night, Jupiter will be in opposition. This means that it will be opposite from the Sun. Once the Sun sets in the West, Jupiter will be rising in the East. Furthermore, this means that it will be the best time to observe the Gas Giant!

And in the very unlikely event that you will get bored with Jupiter, the Moon and Saturn will also be visible on this night!

Saturn, Jupiter, and the Moon are all visible to the naked eye. This means that no other equipment is required to take part and observe these events. Download Stellarium Mobile on your devices to easily locate the planets and better orient yourself.

If you can get your hands on a pair of binoculars or a telescope, the night sky experience will be much more fun and enjoyable!

Don’t forget to share with us your night sky experience!

Follow @StellariumLabs

We wish you clear skies on your observation nights

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Mars-Mercury Conjunction - August 18, 2021

Tue, 17 Aug 2021 00:00:00 +0000

This August is indeed full of interesting astronomical events. This week, we have another very interesting conjunction coming up this coming wednesday night, August 18, 2021. And the best part about it is you can view it with your naked eye.

The planets, Mars and Mercury, will be really close to one another on this day. The best time to observe this event would be a few hours after sunset. It is expected that these two planets will be as close as 0.1°.

As mentioned earlier, you wouldn’t need any other equipment to observe the conjunction. Both Mars and Mercury are visible to the naked eye. Look towards the West and you should be able to see it.

But, if you happen to find a pair of binoculars or a telescope, the experience will be much better.

Here’s how the conjunction would look like on SkyWatcher Black Diamond ED80 Refractor and 20mm eyepiece:

Don’t miss out on astronomical events like this! Download Stellarium Mobile on your mobile devices today!

We wish you clear skies on your observation nights! Feel free to tag us on twitter on your experiences in this event!

Follow @StellariumLabs

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Perseids Meteor Shower 2021

Tue, 10 Aug 2021 00:00:00 +0000

The Perseid Meteor Shower is one of the most awaited astronomical events for astronomy enthusiasts all around the world. It is most known for its radiant meteors that are visible even in moderately dark areas.

This photo of the Perseids was even featured in NASA’s Astronomy Picture of the Day a few days ago

When will it be visible?

The Perseids are already visible and you can see them tonight until August 24. However, the peak will be on the night of August 12 until the morning of August 13. On this night, it is expected to see up to 100 meteors per hour.

Where to look?

Perseids are easy to spot because the meteors are radiant. While you can generally look in any direction, it is best recommended that you look at the constellation Perseus as that is where the meteors will come from.

To easily find Perseus, download Stellarium Mobile on your mobile device. You can search for Perseus in the search bar and point your device to the sky to know where it is relative to your orientation.

What needs to be prepared?

If you simply want to see it and count how many meteors you will see, you need nothing else but yourself and Stellarium! It would be much better if you can find a safe and dark location where you can observe as you would be able to see the meteors better. Bring a blanket and something to lie down on and enjoy the meteor shower!

If you want to capture the meteor shower, it would be best to prepare a tripod. It would also help if you have a shutter release remote so the shot will not be shaky. Of course, do not forget your camera!

On the night of the observation

Turn on night mode on Stellarium Mobile and if possible, on your camera when you are locating where to look at and where to set up your camera. Point your device up and search for Perseids in Stellarium.

Available on Google Play and the iOS App Store

Once you find it, set up your camera pointing in that direction and adjust the settings. Capturing the meteor shower may take a few seconds. During this time, avoid moving around too much or making adjustments to your lightings, etc.. If you have a sensitive camera, it may pick up on these small vibrations, ruining your shot.

Don’t forget to share with us how many meteors you were able to see and your images of the Perseids on Twitter! We look forward to seeing it!

Tweet to @StellariumLabs

Wishing you all clear skies on all your observation nights!

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Moon-Venus Conjunction - August 10, 2021

Mon, 09 Aug 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Heads up! On August 10, 2021, A spectacular astronomical event will be visible above our heads.

Our very own natural satellite, the Moon will share a right ascension with the Evening Star, Venus. This is an astronomical event called a conjunction.

It is expected to be a wonderful view as Venus is known as the brightest object in the night sky next to the Sun and the Moon.

What’s even more exciting is that at this event, the Moon will be relatively new in its phase as it is only a few days after the New Moon. This means that the Moon would be thin during this event.

The event will take place after sunset, near the West horizon. Moon and Venus are expected to be as close as 3 degrees. Check out this view from Stellarium Mobile!

Don’t miss out on astronomical events like this! Download Stellarium Mobile on your mobile devices today!

Follow @StellariumLabs

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The Moon - Astronomers Love-Hate Relationship with Luna

Thu, 05 Aug 2021 00:00:00 +0000

If weather permits, many astronomers will schedule their observation night tonight.

Why, you ask? Well, the answer is simple– the Moon will be in the New Moon phase.

It is no secret that astronomers love observing the Moon. We can see a lot of images and pictures of moons from astrophotographers and astronomers alike. It is undeniable that the Moon is one of astronomy enthusiasts’ favorite subjects. Afterall, the Moon is rich with features.

There are impact craters on its surface. One of the most popular ones is the Tycho crater. This crater was named after Tycho Brahe and it is one of the most prominent features of the Moon. There are also other features of the Moon that can only be seen on exact periods on the Moon’s phase. A great example would be Lunar X and Lunar V which can only be seen for about four hours around the First Quarter phase.

Aside from craters, the Moon is also famous for its mares. Mares refer to the darker parts of the Moon. The word “mare” originated from Latin, which means “sea”. These parts of the Moon are said to be at a lower elevation.

No matter how beautiful Luna is, when it is in a Full Moon, the Moon’s illumination can be too bright. Astronomers usually use aperture reducers on their telescopes when observing the Moon during this time. This is because the Moon’s light can cause too much strain on the eyes when observing for long periods of time.

Furthermore, this makes it harder to observe all other objects in the sky besides the Moon. This is why, as mentioned earlier, astronomy enthusiasts tend to schedule their observational nights away from the Full Moon and closer to the New Moon.

The New Moon is a phase of the Moon when it is seemingly invisible from our view. During this time, the side of the Moon that is in the shadow faces the Earth. This makes it easier to observe deep sky objects.

Regardless of whether you love or you hate the Moon, it is a fact that the Moon plays an important role in our lives. It is tidally locked to the Earth and responsible for the tides we experience. Without the Moon, life, as we know it, may not exist.

What about you? Do you love the Moon or do you hate it? Have you tried the 3D feature of Stellarium Mobile?

Available on Google Play and the iOS App Store

Let us know via Twitter!

Follow @StellariumLabs

Venus-Mars Conjunction - July 13, 2021

Tue, 13 Jul 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Heads up! On the night of July 13, 2021, a spectacular astronomical event is about to happen! The planets Mars and Venus will be closest to each other in an event called a planetary conjunction.

What is a conjunction? A conjunction is an event where two objects in the Solar System can be seen and observed ‘close to one another’ from the point of view here on Earth.

For the upcoming conjunction, Mars and Venus will be observed on sharing the same right ascension. Since two planets are involved in this event, it is referred to as a planetary conjunction.

The exact date and time for the upcoming conjunction is July 13, 2021, 7:36 UTC. It is expected that the two planets will be 0.5° or 1/2° away from each other. This means that if you have binoculars or a telescope, you would be able to see Venus and Mars at the same time in one field of view.

Here’s how it would look like on a FirstScope and 20mm eyepiece:

Don’t have any equipment? Don’t worry! Mars and Venus are both bright planets and are visible to the naked eye. Locate the conjunction using your phone and Stellarium Mobile!

Available on Google Play and the iOS App Store

We hope you have clear skies during this event and on your observation nights!

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A Quick Guide in observing the Summer Constellations

Tue, 06 Jul 2021 00:00:00 +0000

It’s summer, a time when most people unwind and take a break from life’s many stressors. If you are one of the many who plans on spending their summer away from the city’s bright lights, take a moment to glance up at the clear summer night sky and, like our ancestors, spend the evening sharing tall tales and familiarizing ourselves with the tapestry of distant stars above our heads.

Summer, in general, is a great time for stargazing, and with it comes an assortment of constellations and asterisms that are the best visible between the months of late June to late September in the Northern Hemisphere.

Before we get to know our summer constellations, it’s best to be familiarized with a few of the circumpolar constellations — constellations that never set below the horizon. These constellations allow us to navigate the stars with ease.

First on the list is the Big Dipper, an asterism composed of seven bright stars that make up the tail of Ursa Major, the Great Bear. It is associated with the Northern Hemisphere, for a good reason. Look to the north, and you’ll be able to easily find the Big Dipper. During this time of the year, it’s tilted as if spilling its contents. Trace a line between Merak and Dubhe — the two stars on the dipper’s edge — and the line will be pointing to the North Star, Polaris.

You might have heard about Polaris, the northernmost star in the night sky. It is closely located to the celestial North Pole, meaning that it stays fixed while all the other stars circle around it. This has made Polaris an important star for navigators in the Northern Hemisphere and a favourite object for astrophotographers.

Polaris is also the tip of the Small Dipper, an asterism within the Ursa Minor, the Small Bear. Depending on where you are, the stars that make up the smaller bear are hard to see, but you should be able to make out the Small Dipper.

Once you are able to locate the Small Dipper, we can begin to traverse the night sky without getting lost. Since it is summer, we will start with the splendid Summer Triangle.

The Summer Triangle is not a constellation, but an asterism — a group of prominent stars that form a recognizable shape. The three stars that make up this stellar triangle are the brightest of three constellations: Deneb, in the constellation of Cygnus, the Swan; Vega, in the constellation of Lyra, the Lyre; and Altair, in the constellation of Aquila, the Eagle.

The shape of the constellations often don’t follow the image we have of them in our heads, but the next one on the list thankfully does. Moving over to the southern horizon, we will find Scorpius, the constellation of the Scorpion. What makes this constellation so interesting is that it is located in the centre of the Milky Way band, which is home to many deep sky objects. Antares, the brightest star in the constellation, is the stellar scorpion’s heart and is also one of the largest stars that is visible to the naked eye.

Available on Google Play and the iOS App Store

To the east of the scorpion is the constellation of Sagittarius, the Archer. Sagittarius takes the form of a centaur, a horse-human hybrid with the body of a man atop the four legs of a horse. In the night sky, Sagittarius can be seen pointing his bow at the scorpion, it is said that Sagittarius is shooting the Scorpius, which has been sent to kill Orion, the Hunter. Sagittarius, nowadays, is commonly seen as a teapot asterism. On a clear, good night, you might be able to see what looks like steam coming from the tea pot’s stout.

We hope that was informative! Follow us on Twitter for the latest updates!

Tweets by StellariumLabs

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A Guide on Observing the Delta Aquariid Meteor Shower 2021

Sun, 04 Jul 2021 00:00:00 +0000

The Delta Aquariid Meteor Shower is an exciting yet challenging event to observe. Worry not because this article will provide everything you need to know to observe this meteor shower.

When will it be visible?

The Delta Aquariids will be visible starting July 13 until August 24. Its peak will be on the night of July 28. During the peak, 15 to 20 meteors are expected to be spotted per hour.

Where to look?

The Delta Aquariids is a meteor shower located in the Aquarius Constellation. The easiest way to locate this constellation is by using Stellarium Mobile. Stellarium Mobile is available on Google Play Store and the Apple App Store .

Turn on Constellations and find out what time it will rise above the horizon. You can also search for the Southern Delta Aquariids and it will show you where to expect the meteors will come from. Set Sensor Mode to Auto to be able to point your phone to the sky to see where you should look.

What needs to be prepared?

Before the night of your observation, survey your observation site. If you are observing somewhere else, make sure that the area is safe and secure. Check the forecast weather on that area for the night of your observation. If there is a chance of cloud or rain, it may be best to postpone it.

Find spots where you can set up your tent, sleeping bags or chairs. You should also prepare red lights as the faint meteors may not be visible if your eyes are not adjusted to the dark.

And don’t forget to download Stellarium Mobile and search for Southern Delta Aquariids so you would be able to know where you should look, and what time the area will be above horizon.

At the night of the observation

Turn on night mode on your Stellarium Mobile. If you are observing with someone, be sure to remind them to do the same. Companions are nice to have during observations like these, but be sure to look up while having a nice conversation. Counting how many meteors you were able to see may also be a fun activity

Available on Google Play and the iOS App Store

What makes it hard?

The Delta Aquariids are hard to observe because the meteors are faint. If you live in an area with a lot of light pollution, the chances of seeing it will be really low.

Even in low light polluted areas or observation sites, if the moon is near its full moon phase, you will have a hard time spotting it.

We hope that was informative! Follow us on Twitter for the latest astronomical and Stellarium updates!

If you observed the Delta Aquariids and didn’t post about it, did it really happen? Don’t forget to tag us and let us know how many meteors you were able to see!

Tweet to @StellariumLabs

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3D Tour of the Solar System via Stellarium Mobile PLUS

Fri, 11 Jun 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Stellarium Mobile PLUS now features a 3D view of planets, moons, and even satellites! To access this feature, update to the latest version of Stellarium Mobile PLUS in Google Play Store or the Apple App Store. After that, you can now search for the object you want to view. Then, swipe up from the bottom of the screen and if 3D view is available for that object, you would be able to find the 3D button!

And what better way to introduce this feature than to conduct a 3D Tour of the Solar System! Are you ready?

Sun

Our Sun is the center of the Solar System. It is also the star closest to Earth. With a distance of 1 Astronomical Unit, or almost 150 million kilometers away from us, it is our main source of energy. The Sun is where all planets in the Solar system orbits.

In its surface, you will see dark spots. These are called sunspots and these are spots that are generally cooler compared to the other parts of the Sun.

Mercury

Mercury is the closest planet to the Sun. Surprisingly, it is not the hottest planet in the Solar System. It’s surface is composed of small and large craters. Mercury has no natural satellites or moons.

Venus

Venus is the second nearest planet to the Sun and the hottest planet on our Solar System. It’s thick atmosphere is composed of greenhouse gases traps heat in the planet making it the hottest planet in the Solar System. Like Mercury, Venus has no natural satellites.

Moon

Before we venture on other planets, let’s have a look on our very own natural satellite, the Moon. Our Moon goes by many names, Selene, Luna, and many more. It’s surface is composed of mares and craters, and one of the most popular crater of our moon is the Tycho crater.

Mars

Mars is also called the Red Planet, due to its reddish color. This color comes from iron oxide that is present in its surface. Just like Earth, Mars has polar ice caps, which is why scientists believe that at some point in the past, Mars had liquid water.

Mars has two natural satellites, Phobos and Deimos. but unlike our Moon, they are irregularly shaped

Jupiter

Jupiter is the largest planet in our solar system. It is considered to be a Gas Giant with its atmosphere consisting mainly of Hydrogen and Helium. It has more than 60 moons. Among these were the Galilean moons, Io, Ganymede, Europa, and Callisto, which was first discovered by Galileo Galilei.

Saturn

Saturn is a planet that is most famous for its rings. Its rings are mostly compost of ice and dust that were accumulated because of Saturn’s moons. Like Jupiter, Saturn is a Gas Giant and has a lot of moons. Most famous moons of Saturn include Enceladus, Titan, and Rhea.

Uranus

Uranus is the seventh planet in our Solar System. Many people doesn’t notice it but like Saturn, Uranus has icy rings. Another cool fact about Uranus is that it rotates on its side, which is responsible for weird season patterns in the planet.

Neptune

The most distant planet in our Solar System is Neptune. Neptune is an Ice Giant, mainly composed of water, methane and ammonia. Neptune’s atmosphere has visible and active weather patterns, with the Great Dark Spot being the most famous.

Have you tried the 3D view feature? What other features do you wish to see in the future? Let us know!

Available on Google Play and the iOS App Store

Follow @StellariumLabs

If you encounter any issues or bugs, feel free to email us at help@stellarium-labs.com and we will provide you with the best assistance.

Sources:

NASA Solar System Exploration

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Ophiuchus - the 13th Zodiac Constellation

Fri, 11 Jun 2021 00:00:00 +0000

We were all familiar with the 12 Zodiac Constellations. Whether we first encountered it in a magazine or newspaper with a horoscope section, or we just heard it from our friends, the 12 Zodiac Constellations are one of the most famous groups of constellations that we know. But did you know that there is a constellation that astronomers consider as the ‘13th Zodiac Constellation’?

Before we talk about the controversial constellation, let us first know what a Zodiac Constellation is. A Zodiac Constellation can be defined as a constellation that can be found in the Ecliptic, an imaginary line where objects from the Solar System passes.

Many astrologers use this as a basis of the horoscope calendar. When someone is born, the Sun will be located at a certain Zodiac Constellation boundary, which becomes that person’s zodiac sign. This can then be a basis of a person’s astrological readings.

If you look at the image above, you would see that the Sun’s address right now (June) is in the Taurus constellation. This would mean that if someone would be born today, or if someone’s birthday is today, their zodiac sign would be Taurus.

Now, let us talk about the 13th Zodiac Constellation being mentioned earlier. As defined, these Zodiac Constellations can be found in the Ecliptic, and among these constellations is Ophiuchus, located between Sagittarius and Scorpius.

View constellations on Stellarium Mobile!

Available on Google Play and the iOS App Store

As you can see in the image above, a star from this constellation can be found on the other side of the Ecliptic which makes its boundary a part of the Ecliptic. It is for this reason that astronomers consider it as a part of the Zodiac Constellation.

However, astrologers opted not to include Ophiuchus in the Zodiac Constellations for certain reasons. The origin of the Zodiac Constellations can be dated back more than 2000 years ago. At that time, the position of the stars is really different as to what we see now. The position of the stars that we see changes over time due to the Earth’s wobbly axis.

While we can argue that Ophiuchus should be part of the Zodiac Constellations due to its current position, there still remains the fact that ASTRONOMY IS NOT ASTROLOGY and they are two different fields.

At the end of the day, Stellarium is an Astronomy application.

What is the constellation address of the Sun when you were born? Let us know in Twitter! Follow us for the latest updates

Tweet to @StellariumLabs

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Annular Solar Eclipse - June 10, 2021

Fri, 04 Jun 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Did you miss the spectacular Super Blood Moon that happened last May 26, 2021? Worry not because another astronomical event is about to happen!

On June 10, 2021, an Annular Solar Eclipse will be observed in the northern parts of the globe. This is a famous astronomical event as it is known for its ‘Ring of Fire’. A phenomenon like this happens when the Moon is farthest from Earth as it passes in between the Sun and the Earth which results in a ring-like appearance of the Sun.

The first contact of the eclipse begins at 08:12:20 UTC time*. It will be fully visible in certain parts of Canada, Greenland, and Russia* and a partial eclipse will be visible in parts of Europe, North America, Asia, Arctic and Atlantic regions*.

The eclipse will last for almost 5 hours with the maximum eclipse was at 10:41:54 UTC time*.

IMPORTANT: Never observe or look at the solar eclipse directly with the naked eye. This can result in permanent damage to sight. Please use a solar filter or a welder’s glass no. 14 or higher or use projection method when observing the sun or the solar eclipse

Have you ever witnessed an Annular Solar Eclipse before? Let us know! Follow us on twitter for latest updates about Stellarium and anything astronomy related.

^{Data from timeanddate.com}

A Quick Guide on Imaginary Lines and Grids

Tue, 01 Jun 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Navigating the night sky can be confusing and hard especially if you are a beginner. Luckily, there are imaginary lines and grids that can help you navigate the night sky with more ease. In this article, we’ll have a quick look at each one and discuss what each one is!

Ecliptic

First in our list is the Ecliptic. This imaginary line is a line that passes through the boundaries of the 13 zodiac constellations (Why is it 13, and not 12? Find out in our next article coming out soon)

Another interesting thing about this line is the objects in our solar system, the Moon, the Sun, and the planets, can be found in the ecliptic. This is important to take note when you plan to observe these objects.

Meridian

Another interesting line is the Meridian. The meridian is an imaginary line that connects the North and the South cardinal points. This imaginarily divides the sky into 2 parts.

The meridian is significant in telling the time of the day. As a matter of fact, the ‘M’ in the AM and PM that we attached to a time stands for Meridian. Our Sun passes through this line everyday, the time before it passes the Meridian is called Ante Meridian which means ‘before the meridian’ and the time after it passes is called Post Meridian which means ‘after the meridian’

Celestial Equator

This imaginary line is directly above our equator. This line varies depending on how far or near you are to the equator and to the poles. If you are in the equator, this line will be directly above you, or in what we call the zenith.

You can also see in the image above that if you are near the south pole, the celestial equator curves towards the north cardinal point, and vice versa.

Azimuthal Grid

Aside from these imaginary lines, there are also grids that can help us navigate the skies. The first one on our list is the Azimuthal Grid.

This is also known as the Altitude-Azimuth Grid or simply Alt-Az. This grid is based on the object’s altitude and azimuth, relative to the observer. In this grid, the North coordinate point is marked as 0° and the South as 180°. This is marked as the object’s azimuth. Then, for the altitude, the observer’s zenith (the point directly above the observer) is marked as 90° and the horizon is marked as 0°.

Equatorial Grid

Next, in this list is the Equatorial Grid. Some people prefer to use this when navigating the night sky during observations. This is because this grid follows the rising and setting of the celestial objects which makes observation easier.

As you can see in this photo, this grid is centered on Polaris, which is also known as the North star. Like the celestial equator, this grid is also dependent whether you are near the equator or to the poles.

Equatorial J2000 Grid

Last on this list is the Equatorial J2000 Grid. At first glance, this looks similar to the Equatorial Grid but, if you look closer, you will see a difference. This is because the equatorial grid is dependent on the Earth’s orientation and position, but this changes over a period of time.

The J2000 grid is made to compensate for such change in position. You can see this difference also when you see details or information about an object.

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The reason why astronomers use red lights on observation sites

Wed, 26 May 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Whether you are an astronomer by profession, or an astronomy enthusiast, we all share a simple rule when it comes to observation sites; use red lights when observation is ongoing. But what is the reason why we implement this rule?

When the surroundings are dark, our eyes start to automatically adapt by widening the pupil opening of the eyes. This allows more light to enter the eyes, allowing us to see better in the dark.

After this, dark adaptation at the chemical level happens. The light sensors of our eyes, called retina, function through photoreceptors called the rod cells and cone cells. When it is dark, these cells produce a pigment that increases sensitivity of our eyes.

However, when a bright light enters the system, these pigments, called rhodopsin, decays and is no longer effective. When this happens, it can take up to 40 minutes to get our eyes to re-adapt to the dark.

But the good thing is, rhodopsin does not decay when exposed to red light. This is because the rod cells are sensitive up to the peak wavelength of 530 nm, while red lights have a wavelength of 635 nm to 700 nm.

This makes red lights an essential tool for astronomers. Even for our devices, we use red cellophanes to prevent bright lights from the screen in removing our dark adaptation.

Stellarium has a built-in Night Mode feature that makes the display of the application red. To access this feature, press the Night Mode in the Settings.

Available on Google Play and the iOS App Store

We do our best to ensure that your observation nights go smoothly with Stellarium. Here’s an article about how telescope control using Stellarium .

The Flower Moon of 2021 coincides with the Super Blood Moon

Wed, 19 May 2021 00:00:00 +0000

The full moon of May is often referred to as the Flower Moon. This does not mean that the Moon will be filled with flowers nor will it turn into a giant flower in the sky. If so, what does this mean?

The origin of the Flower Moon can be dated back to the time when our ancestors lived their daily lives referencing to the sky whether they should do a certain activity or not. They use the stars’ position, phases of the Moon, shadow from the Sun to tell when it’s time to harvest, or when it’s time to plant, which season it is already, and many more.

Before calendars, the full moon of May is a signal that means spring comes this month. This further means that flowers are about to bloom. Hence the name, Flower Moon.

This year, the Flower Moon coincides with a spectacular astronomical event, the Super Blood Moon. Will you be observing this year’s Flower Moon?

If so, Stellarium offers tools that can help you during night sky observation. From controlling a telescope via network or bluetooth, field of view ocular, to night sky navigation and many more features, Stellarium has it all to ensure that your observation will go smoothly.

Available on Google Play and the iOS App Store

Follow this link to get everything you need to know about the Super Blood Moon coming up on May 26! Explore more Sky Cultures like this story of the Flower Moon on Stellarium!

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We hear you! - Fixed display issues, improved telescope control support and more in this new update

Fri, 14 May 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Since the update of version 1.7.3, some users have reported display errors on their mobile devices. As soon as we received such reports, our developers were hard at work to reproduce and fix this bug. Thus, we are thrilled to report that this display bug will not be present in the updated version, 1.7.4!

This update also brings good news to users of Nexus DSC* and some other LX200-compatible telescopes! Stellarium Plus version 1.7.4 has improved the support for the aforementioned devices. You can read more about telescope control using Stellarium here .

Another change that this new update brings is the fix on the position of Markarian’s chain. This issue was brought upon by a user that has noticed its position is a few degrees off than its actual position. We apologize for this issue and we have fixed it in this new update.

As such, we encourage you, our dear users, to report if you encounter any bugs, issues or errors while using Stellarium. We are also open to any suggestions and questions.

You can send us an email at help@stellarium-labs.com by clicking here or you can also contact us through the Menu in Stellarium Mobile. To do so, simply go to Menu > Help & Feedback > Contact Us.

We will continue to do our best to keep on improving based on your feedback and suggestions!

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^{^{*improved support only applicable for Nexus DSC with the latest firmware update.

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Super Blood Moon - May 26, 2021

Mon, 10 May 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Heads up! A Total Lunar Eclipse is about to happen! It will be visible this coming May 26, 2021! A Total Lunar Eclipse is also referred to as a Blood Moon because it results in a blood red colored moon.

This phenomenon happens when the Earth is between the Sun and the Moon. The Earth casts a shadow that can be observed by looking at the Moon.

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This signifies the beginning of the eclipse and is called the penumbral phase. This coming May 26, the penumbral phase begins at 08:47:39 UTC time.

After this phase, the light from the Sun passes through Earth’s atmosphere and will undergo a process called Rayleigh Scattering.

This separates the sunlight to different spectrums. Once scattered, the red color in the spectrum is reflected to the moon, resulting in the famous blood red colored Moon.

What’s even more exciting is this eclipse is also a Super Moon! A Super Moon happens when the orbit of the Moon is on its perigee. This means that it will be on its closest distance from Earth. This results in a slightly bigger appearance of the Moon compared to usual.

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This Super Blood Moon can be observed even by the naked eye. Stellarium offers tools that can help you navigate in the night sky and observe the Lunar Eclipse.

Check out if the eclipse will be totally or partially visible in your area through the list below!

most of North America
South America
South Asia
Southeast Asia
East Asia
Australia
Pacific Ocean
Atlantic Ocean
Indian Ocean
Antarctica

Is your area not in the list? Don’t worry! You can still observe the ominous looking Super Blood Moon wherever you are in the world using Stellarium!

Available on Google Play and the iOS App Store

For our advanced users, telescope control might be a great tool that will help you in observing, and imaging the Super Blood Moon. Click here to learn more.

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Light Pollution with Stellarium Mobile

Mon, 03 May 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Amidst Light Pollution: Experience the Night Sky through Stellarium

In this modern age, many of us live in urbanized areas. Cities filled with lights are a common sight around the world. While this might be a great indicator of progress, it is a serious concern for astronomy enthusiasts around the world.

Light pollution can be defined as the excessive and unnecessary artificial lights that are leaked into the sky. This greatly depreciates one’s night sky observation experience and can also be very harmful to nocturnal animals.

Bortle Scale is a method of measuring light pollution in a particular area. Light pollution is classified into nine classes with Class 1 as an Excellent dark-sky site and Class 9 as an Inner city sky.

Around the world, there have been efforts to lessen light pollution. Dark sky sanctuaries are being established and awareness campaigns are on the rise.

While there is still a long way to go in our battle against light pollution, we hope you would still be able to appreciate and explore the night sky amidst the light pollution through Stellarium Mobile.

During observations, light pollution adjustment settings in Stellarium Mobile can be a handy tool in navigating through the night sky. It can be accessed by holding down the Atmosphere button in the menu.

Available on Google Play and the iOS App Store

<p align= "right">

^{^{App Store®}} ^{^{Google Play and the Google Play logo are trademarks of Google LLC.}}

App Of The Day

Thu, 31 Oct 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Thursday, Oct 31

Stellarium Mobile reviewed on App Of The Day

Stellarium Mobile just got reviewed by App Of The Day.

Follow the link to read the interview we did with them:

Stellarium Mobile Sky Map - Interview with the developer of a fantastic app

Opening internship positions

Fri, 18 Oct 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Students: we are opening internship positions

Students! We are opening several internship positions on technical, marketing and community management topics.

Where: Toulouse (France), or Taipei (Taiwan) or remotely Duration: 3 to 6 months When: starting from January 2020 Send applications to: contact@stellariumlabs.com

Internship 1: Creation of a multi-resolution and HDR full sky survey

Goals of the internship: Our products related to night sky rendering (stellarium-web.org and apps Stellarium Mobile) currently display images from the full sky originating from the Digitized Sky Survey (DSS), a sky survey completed at the beginning of the 2000’s. In order to improve the realism of our products we would like to re-create our dataset (several hundreds of GB) based on more up-to-date data sets.

Main missions and responsibilities:

Make a review of the existing sky surveys and evaluate whether they match our needs.
Design and implement an image processing pipeline allowing to generate the wanted data.
Modify the rendering engine to integrate the new data set.
Develop the rendering code for seamlessly displaying HDR (High Dynamic Range) images within the rest of the sky simulation.

About you:

You are a student in Software development, Image processing or Astronomy with the following skills and qualifications:

Required skills:

Good level in Python and C on Linux
Understanding of basic astronomy concepts
Good level of English

Wished skills:

Qt, Web development, android/iOS programming
Interest in Astronomy and/or photography

Allowance: 600-1000 EUR / month

Internship 2: Implementation of soft drivers for telescope motors

Goals of the internship: Our mobile products related to sky rendering (Stellarium Mobile apps) allow to control telescopes using the simple LX200 and NexStar serial protocols. We would like to extend these capabilities to telescope mounts exposing only lower level motor control API, such as SynScan UDP protocol or PMC-Eight Mount System. Such low-level APIs require the app itself to implement a telescope mount physical model, and to deal with the procedures of mount alignment and calibration.

Main missions and responsibilities:

Perform a review of the existing low level protocols and define the execution plan
Design and implement a new class of soft driver (JavaScript) as well as the required I/O code (in C/C++)
Test and validate the code on real telescope hardware, in the lab and in the field
Contribute to the definition and implementation of the related GUI

About you: You are a student in Software development, Electronics, Astronomy with the following skills and qualifications:

Required skills:

Good level in C/C++ and JavaScript programming on linux
Experience with embedded systems
Good level of English

Wished skills:

Qt, Web development, android/iOS programming
Interest in Astronomy and/or embedded development

Allowance: 600-1000 EUR / month

Internship 3: Marketing or Community Manager assistant for web and mobile astronomy products Goals of the internship: We are looking for a candidate who will assist us at promoting our astronomy products on the web or in social medias. This includes increasing our visibility on app stores and search engines, as well as improving the quality of our editorial and visual content. The candidate will also engage with our clients, either by doing online support (less than 10% of the time) or by doing market studies with the ultimate goal of contributing to the definition of a strategical road map for our products.

Main missions and responsibilities:

Marketing manager: – plan and organize promotional campaigns on app stores, and other mediums – improve our products visibility in the app stores and perform SEO of our website – perform market studies and contribute to the definition of our marketing road-map

Community manager: – write news articles, updates and how-to on social networks and our mailing list – moderate our users forums, reply to clients requests – manage content on our website (word press) – optionally, write content related to astronomical observations or astronomical targets

Other tasks: – Write user’s documentation – Manage app and website translations

The job’s missions can be adapted depending on the profile of the candidate.

High resolution planet rendering using HiPS

Mon, 13 May 2019 00:00:00 +0000

It is a well known mathematical fact that it is impossible to map a plane on a sphere without introducing distortions (which is why no 2d maps can perfectly represent the globe).

This is a problem for video games and 3d rendering software that need to render planets. If the input textures are not too big, a simple solution is to use an equirectangular projection where the texture UV coordinates directly map to the sphere longitude and latitudes. This is how Stellarium default planet renderer works.

As the planet surveys data gets bigger this simple projection can be a problem, since a single 2d pixel located near the pole will represent a much smaller area compared to a pixel around the equator, so the density of the texture data is not uniform.

An other issue you get when rendering high resolution planet textures is that as the source images get larger, they cannot fit inside the computer main memory anymore, let alone the GPU memory. To solve this you need to split a very large image into a hierarchical tree of images, that you can then load on demand depending on the viewer position and zoom level.

The CDS (Centre de données astronomiques de Strasbourg) created a format that addresses those two issues: the Hierarchical Progressive Surveys (HiPS) .

The projection used in HiPS is the HEALPix projection, that maps the sphere into 12 quads of equal size. The projection also introduces a scheme to split the quads into smaller parts (called pixels) that is nicely fitted to support hierarchical subdivision of a large image.

The HiPS format is nice because it defines not only the projection, but also the directory structure of the images of the survey, optimised for data streaming from online sources.

I added some experimental support for HiPS surveys in Stellarium and the format is also at the core of Stellarium Web.

Introducing Stellarium Mobile Plus

Sun, 12 May 2019 00:00:00 +0000

After more than a year of intensive development; the Stellarium Labs team is proud to release today the first Alpha version of Stellarium Mobile Plus.

Based on our new open source engine, this Plus version was designed from the ground up for showing a potentially unlimited amount of data through an intuitive and minimalist user interface.

In Stellarium Plus we are getting a step closer to the point where all known sky objects are visible in the app! It features:

All known stars: Gaia DR2 catalog of over 1.4 Billion stars
All known deep sky objects: a combined catalog of over 3 millions nebulae and galaxies
All known solar system planets and their natural satellites, including very high multi-resolution imaging for the major ones
All known comets
Many minor solar system objects (10k asteroids)
Most visible artificial earth satellites (including the International Space Station)
A full-sky very high multi-resolution background image

This is an alpha release and the app may still have some glitches. For this reason the app is available on the android app store for a reduced price of 5.99 USD instead of 11.99 for a limited amount of time.

App Store Google Play Store

Major Telescope Control Update

Thu, 09 May 2019 00:00:00 +0000

We have just released version 1.1.0 of Stellarium Mobile Plus, featuring major improvements to the telescope control capabilities.

This new update finally allows to control a GOTO telescope directly from the phone, by using NexStar/SynScan or LX200 serial protocols. or any compatible telescopes (most of the current GOTO telescope are compatible with one of these protocols).

In order to have your phone talk to the telescope controller, you first need to connect it to your mount or hand controller. The currently supported modes are:

Network connection (serial over a TCP socket). This covers Wifi enabled telescopes, or LAN connection. Bluetooth connection. Currently bluetooth 2.0, using SPP profile. This one works only on Android, because iOS doesn’t allow apps to use Bluetooth SPP. SynScan App running on the phone: this also currently work on Android only. SynScan app really is a TCP connection to a local socket opened by the SynScan app. Once you define the type of link between the scope and phone, this is basically it! Stellarium Mobile Plus will try hard to automatically recognize the protocol, the type of mount, and mount status and all other available information about the hardware whenever possible.

This code is still pretty new, and there will likely be issues when connecting to specific hardwares. So we would be very thankful if you could report and share success or failure with your specific hardware, and we promise you’ll get first class support to solve your issues 🙂

Download Stellarium Mobile

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Privacy Policy

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Who we are

Our website address is: https://stellariumlabs.com .

What personal data we collect and why we collect it

Comments

When visitors leave comments on the site we collect the data shown in the comments form, and also the visitor’s IP address and browser user agent string to help spam detection.

An anonymized string created from your email address (also called a hash) may be provided to the Gravatar service to see if you are using it. The Gravatar service privacy policy is available here: https://automattic.com/privacy/ . After approval of your comment, your profile picture is visible to the public in the context of your comment.

Media

If you upload images to the website, you should avoid uploading images with embedded location data (EXIF GPS) included. Visitors to the website can download and extract any location data from images on the website.

Contact forms

Cookies

If you leave a comment on our site you may opt-in to saving your name, email address and website in cookies. These are for your convenience so that you do not have to fill in your details again when you leave another comment. These cookies will last for one year.

If you have an account and you log in to this site, we will set a temporary cookie to determine if your browser accepts cookies. This cookie contains no personal data and is discarded when you close your browser.

When you log in, we will also set up several cookies to save your login information and your screen display choices. Login cookies last for two days, and screen options cookies last for a year. If you select “Remember Me”, your login will persist for two weeks. If you log out of your account, the login cookies will be removed.

If you edit or publish an article, an additional cookie will be saved in your browser. This cookie includes no personal data and simply indicates the post ID of the article you just edited. It expires after 1 day.

Embedded content from other websites

Articles on this site may include embedded content (e.g. videos, images, articles, etc.). Embedded content from other websites behaves in the exact same way as if the visitor has visited the other website.

These websites may collect data about you, use cookies, embed additional third-party tracking, and monitor your interaction with that embedded content, including tracking your interaction with the embedded content if you have an account and are logged in to that website.

Analytics

How long we retain your data

If you leave a comment, the comment and its metadata are retained indefinitely. This is so we can recognize and approve any follow-up comments automatically instead of holding them in a moderation queue.

For users that register on our website (if any), we also store the personal information they provide in their user profile. All users can see, edit, or delete their personal information at any time (except they cannot change their username). Website administrators can also see and edit that information.

What rights you have over your data If you have an account on this site, or have left comments, you can request to receive an exported file of the personal data we hold about you, including any data you have provided to us. You can also request that we erase any personal data we hold about you. This does not include any data we are obliged to keep for administrative, legal, or security purposes.

Where we send your data Visitor comments may be checked through an automated spam detection service.

Your contact information Additional information How we protect your data What data breach procedures we have in place What third parties we receive data from What automated decision making and/or profiling we do with user data Industry regulatory disclosure requirements

Privacy Policy for Stellarium Mobile

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

This privacy policy governs your use of the software Stellarium Mobile and Stellarium Mobile Plus (“Application”) for mobile devices, which was developed by Noctua Software Ltd. This service is provided “AS IS”.

What information does the Application obtain and how is it used?

Automatically Collected Information

The Application may collect certain information automatically, including:

The IP address of your device, your operating system, and the type of mobile Internet browsers you use: this data is visible by our servers while processing a request but it is not permanently stored or sent to third party servers.
Approximate location from your IP address: when the device gives no location, the Application asks our server for an approximate location (city level) derived from the IP address of your device, to choose a start position for the sky map. The lookup uses the IP Geolocation by DB-IP database on our server, and the time zone of that location contains information from timezone-boundary-builder , made available under the Open Database License. The IP address is not stored for this and is not sent to third party servers.
Precise Location of the device: the Application collects your device’s precise location to determine the city where you are located and to compute and display an accurate sky map. The precise location data remains on-device and is not sent to our servers or third party servers.
Country code, Language code, Time zone, Platform version, OS version, Firebase Android App ID, Device ID, Ad ID, Package name of the app, Firebase installation ID (FID). We have integrated Firebase Analytics and Firebase Remote Config into our Application to collect data about how users interact with the app. This includes monitoring events such as when users open a dialog or use a feature. This data is sent and stored on the Google Firebase servers and is used to enhance the app’s functionality and overall user experience. This data is anonymous and does not include your personal information (it does not uniquely identify a user).

Other permissions

The application might ask for bluetooth connection permissions when using the telescope control feature in order to connect with external telescope controllers.
If you contact us by email (directly or from within the application), we may collect your email and any information you sent us. This will be used to reply to your query.

Do third parties see and/or have access to information obtained by the Application?

Please note that the Application utilizes third-party services that have their own Privacy Policy about handling data. Below are the links to the Privacy Policy of the third-party service providers used by the Application:

In addition to our own usage, aggregated and anonymized data collected through Firebase Analytics may be shared with other third parties for industry analysis, demographic profiling, and other purposes. This data does not include your personal information.

We may disclose User Provided and Automatically Collected Information:

as required by law, such as to comply with a subpoena, or similar legal process;
when they believe in good faith that disclosure is necessary to protect their rights, protect your safety or the safety of others, investigate fraud, or respond to a government request;
with their trusted services providers who work on their behalf, do not have an independent use of the information we disclose to them, and have agreed to adhere to the rules set forth in this privacy statement.

Your Opt-Out Rights

You can halt all collection of information by the Application easily by uninstalling the Application. You may use the standard uninstall processes as may be available as part of your mobile device or via the mobile application marketplace or network.

You have the right to opt out of the sharing or selling of your personal data.

Sale of personal data: We do not sell your personal data to third parties. If this changes in the future, this section will be updated with information on how you can opt out of sale of personal data.
Targeted Advertising: We do not engage in targeted advertising. If this changes in the future, this section will be updated with information on how you can opt out of targeted advertising practices.
Profiling and Automated Decision-Making: We do not use your data for profiling or automated decision-making that produces legal or similarly significant effects on you. If we start using such technologies, we will provide methods for you to opt out and will ensure transparency about the logic involved and the significance of the effects.

To exercise any of these opt-out rights, you can also directly contact our Data Protection Officer at contact@stellariumlabs.com with the subject “Opt-Out Request.” We will process your request in accordance with applicable laws and inform you once it is completed.

For users residing in Virginia or applicable regions under similar data protection laws, additional rights such as the right to opt out of data processing for purposes of targeted advertising, sale, or profiling are recognized. Please refer to the contact information provided to initiate such requests.

Your Rights to Access Personal Data

Under data protection laws such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), the Virginia Consumer Data Protection Act (VCDPA) or the Lei Geral de Proteção de Dados (LGPD), you have the right to access personal information we hold about you. Here’s how you can exercise this right:

Requesting Access: To request access to your personal data, please contact our Data Protection Officer at contact@stellariumlabs.com .
What to Include: Please provide sufficient information that allows us to verify you are the person about whom we have collected personal data. This may include your full name, email address, if applicable.
Response Time: We will respond to your request within one month of receipt. If your request is particularly complex or you have made multiple requests, it may take us longer, but we will notify you if this is the case.
Format of the Data: You will receive your personal data in a structured, commonly used, and machine-readable format. You can also request that we transmit this data directly to another organization, where technically feasible.

Additional Rights

In addition to your right to access, you also have the right to request the correction, deletion, or restriction of processing of your personal data. Further details on how to exercise these rights are provided in the sections on managing your information and data retention policies.

Data Retention Policy, Managing Your Information

We will retain User Provided data for as long as you use the Application and for a reasonable time thereafter. We will retain Automatically Collected information for up to 24 months and thereafter may store it in aggregate. If you’d like us to delete User Provided Data that you have provided via the Application, please contact them at contact@stellariumlabs.com and we will respond in a reasonable time. Please note that some or all of the User Provided Data may be required in order for the Application to function properly.

Children

We do not use the Application to knowingly solicit data from or market to children under the age of 13.

The Application does not address anyone under the age of 13. We do not knowingly collect personally identifiable information from children under 13 years of age. In the case the we discover that a child under 13 has provided personal information, we will immediately delete this from their servers. If you are a parent or guardian and you are aware that your child has provided us with personal information, please contact us ( contact@stellariumlabs.com ) so that they will be able to take the necessary actions.

Security

We are concerned about safeguarding the confidentiality of your information. We provide physical, electronic, and procedural safeguards to protect information we process and maintain. For example, we limit access to this information to authorized employees and contractors who need to know that information in order to operate, develop or improve their Application. Please be aware that, although we endeavor to provide reasonable security for information we process and maintain, no security system can prevent all potential security breaches.

Right to Lodge a Complaint with a Supervisory Authority

If you are located in the European Union and you believe that our processing of your personal information infringes data protection laws, you have a legal right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority responsible for data protection. You may do so in the EU member state of your habitual residence, your place of work, or the place of the alleged infringement.

To find contact details of your local data protection authority, or for more information on how to proceed with a complaint, please visit https://www.edpb.europa.eu .

Non-EU Residents

If you are not based in the EU but believe we are mishandling your data in violation of local data protection regulations, please contact us directly at contact@stellariumlabs.com so we can address your concerns. If you are still not satisfied with our response, you may have the right to lodge a complaint with your local data protection or privacy authority.

By using the Application, you are giving us your consent to processing of your information as set forth in this Privacy Policy now and as amended by us. “Processing,” means using cookies on a computer/hand held device or using or touching information in any way, including, but not limited to, collecting, storing, deleting, using, combining and disclosing information.

Changes

This Privacy Policy may be updated from time to time for any reason. We will notify you of any changes to the Privacy Policy by updating this page with the new Privacy Policy. You are advised to consult this Privacy Policy regularly for any changes, as continued use is deemed approval of all changes.

This privacy policy is effective as of 2026-10-28.

Data Controller

The data controller responsible for your personal information for the purposes of the applicable data protection law is Noctua Software Ltd., which is registered at:

Noctua Software Ltd
Unit G, 15/F, TAL Building
49 Austin Road
Kowloon
Hong Kong

Our Data Protection Officer is tasked with ensuring the diligent handling of your personal data in accordance with applicable laws and our internal policies. If you have any concerns or requests regarding your data, please reach out to our DPO at contact@stellariumlabs.com .

Contact us

If you have any questions regarding privacy while using the Application, or have questions about the practices, please contact us via email at contact@stellariumlabs.com .

Privacy Policy for Stellarium Mobile and Stellarium VR

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

This privacy policy governs your use of the software Stellarium Mobile, Stellarium Mobile Plus and Stellarium VR (“Application”) for mobile devices or VR headsets that was created by Noctua Software Ltd.

Last updated: 2026 October 28

Automatically Collected Information

The application does not automatically collect any personal information. We do not show ads or use any analytic system that would require sending information from the application to our servers or third party servers.

If you contact us by email (directly or from within the application), we may collect your email and any information you sent us. This will be used to reply to your query.

Does the Application collect precise real time location information of the device?

When you visit the application, we may use GPS technology (or other similar technology) to determine your current location in order to determine the city you are located within and display a location map with relevant advertisements. We do not collect or share your current location with other users or partners.

When the device gives no location, the Application asks our server for an approximate location (city level) derived from the IP address of your device, to choose a start position for the sky map. The lookup uses the IP Geolocation by DB-IP database on our server, and the time zone of that location contains information from timezone-boundary-builder , made available under the Open Database License. The IP address is not stored for this and is not sent to third party servers.

Other permissions

In addition of the location, the application might ask for bluetooth connection permissions when using the telescope control feature.

Do third parties see and/or have access to information obtained by the Application?

We may disclose User Provided and Automatically Collected Information:

as required by law, such as to comply with a subpoena, or similar legal process
when we believe in good faith that disclosure is necessary to protect our rights, protect your safety or the safety of others, investigate fraud, or respond to a government request
if Noctua Software Ltd is involved in a merger, acquisition, or sale of all or a portion of its assets, you will be notified via email and/or a prominent notice on our Web site of any change in ownership or uses of this information, as well as any choices you may have regarding this information.

Data Retention Policy, Managing Your Information

We will retain User Provided data for as long as you use the Application and for a reasonable time thereafter. We will retain Automatically Collected information for up to 24 months and thereafter may store it in aggregate. If you’d like us to delete User Provided Data that you have provided via the Application, please contact us at contact@stellariumlabs.com and we will respond in a reasonable time. Please note that some or all of the User Provided Data may be required in order for the Application to function properly.

Children

We do not use the Application to knowingly solicit data from or market to children under the age of 13. If a parent or guardian becomes aware that his or her child has provided us with information without their consent, he or she should contact us at contact@stellariumlabs.com . We will delete such information from our files within a reasonable time.

Security

We are concerned about safeguarding the confidentiality of your information. We provide physical, electronic, and procedural safeguards to protect information we process and maintain. For example, we limit access to this information to authorized employees and contractors who need to know that information in order to operate, develop or improve our Application. Please be aware that, although we endeavor to provide reasonable security for information we process and maintain, no security system can prevent all potential security breaches.

Changes

This Privacy Policy may be updated from time to time for any reason. We will notify you of any changes to our Privacy Policy by posting the new Privacy Policy here. You are advised to consult this Privacy Policy regularly for any changes, as continued use is deemed approval of all changes.

By using the Application, you are consenting to our processing of your information as set forth in this Privacy Policy now and as amended by us. “Processing,” means using cookies on a computer/hand held device or using or touching information in any way, including, but not limited to, collecting, storing, deleting, using, combining and disclosing information.

Contact us

If you have any questions regarding privacy while using the Application, or have questions about our practices, please contact us via email at contact@stellariumlabs.com .

Privacy Policy for Stellarium Mobile iOS

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

What information does the Application obtain and how is it used?

The Application does not show ads or use any analytic system that would require sending information from the application to our servers or third party servers.

Automatically Collected Information

The Application may collect certain information automatically, including:

The IP address of your device, your operating system, and the type of mobile Internet browsers you use: this data is visible by our servers while processing a request but it is not permanently stored or sent to third party servers.
Approximate location from your IP address: when the device gives no location, the Application asks our server for an approximate location (city level) derived from the IP address of your device, to choose a start position for the sky map. The lookup uses the IP Geolocation by DB-IP database on our server, and the time zone of that location contains information from timezone-boundary-builder , made available under the Open Database License. The IP address is not stored for this and is not sent to third party servers.
Precise Location of the device: the Application collects your device’s precise location to determine the city where you are located and to compute and display an accurate sky map. The location data remains on-device and is not sent to our servers or third party servers.

Other permissions

The application might ask for bluetooth connection permissions when using the telescope control feature in order to connect with external telescope controllers.
If you contact us by email (directly or from within the application), we may collect your email and any information you sent us. This will be used to reply to your query.

Do third parties see and/or have access to information obtained by the Application?

The Application does not utilizes third-party services.

We may disclose User Provided and Automatically Collected Information:

as required by law, such as to comply with a subpoena, or similar legal process;
when they believe in good faith that disclosure is necessary to protect their rights, protect your safety or the safety of others, investigate fraud, or respond to a government request;
with their trusted services providers who work on their behalf, do not have an independent use of the information we disclose to them, and have agreed to adhere to the rules set forth in this privacy statement.

Your Opt-Out Rights

You have the right to opt-out of certain uses of your personal information, including:

Targeted Advertising: We do not participate in targeted advertising.
Sale or Sharing of Your Data: We do not share or sell your personal data to third parties.

If this practice should change in the future, we will update this policy and provide you with a method to opt-out.

Your Rights to Access Personal Data

Requesting Access: To request access to your personal data, please contact our Data Protection Officer at contact@stellariumlabs.com .
What to Include: Please provide sufficient information that allows us to verify you are the person about whom we have collected personal data. This may include your full name, email address, if applicable.
Response Time: We will respond to your request within one month of receipt. If your request is particularly complex or you have made multiple requests, it may take us longer, but we will notify you if this is the case.
Format of the Data: You will receive your personal data in a structured, commonly used, and machine-readable format. You can also request that we transmit this data directly to another organization, where technically feasible.

Additional Rights

Data Retention Policy, Managing Your Information

Children

We do not use the Application to knowingly solicit data from or market to children under the age of 13.

Security

Right to Lodge a Complaint with a Supervisory Authority

To find contact details of your local data protection authority, or for more information on how to proceed with a complaint, please visit https://www.edpb.europa.eu .

Non-EU Residents

Changes

This privacy policy is effective as of 2026-10-28

Data Controller

The data controller responsible for your personal information for the purposes of the applicable data protection law is Noctua Software Ltd., which is registered at:

Noctua Software Ltd
Unit G, 15/F, TAL Building
49 Austin Road
Kowloon
Hong Kong

Contact us

If you have any questions regarding privacy while using the Application, or have questions about the practices, please contact us via email at contact@stellariumlabs.com .

Privacy Policy for Stellarium Stellarium VR

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

This privacy policy governs your use of the software Stellarium VR (“Application”) for VR headsets that was created by Noctua Software Ltd.

Last updated: 2026 May 15

Automatically Collected Information

If you contact us by email (directly or from within the application), we may collect your email and any information you sent us. This will be used to reply to your query.

Does the Application collect precise real time location information of the device?

Other permissions

In addition of the location, the application might ask for bluetooth connection permissions when using the telescope control feature.

Do third parties see and/or have access to information obtained by the Application?

We may disclose User Provided and Automatically Collected Information:

as required by law, such as to comply with a subpoena, or similar legal process
when we believe in good faith that disclosure is necessary to protect our rights, protect your safety or the safety of others, investigate fraud, or respond to a government request
if Noctua Software Ltd is involved in a merger, acquisition, or sale of all or a portion of its assets, you will be notified via email and/or a prominent notice on our Web site of any change in ownership or uses of this information, as well as any choices you may have regarding this information.

Data Retention Policy, Managing Your Information

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Stellarium Mobile terms of use

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Terms of Use

These Terms of Use (“Terms”, “Terms of Use”) govern your relationship with Stellarium Mobile and Stellarium Mobile PLUS (the “Service”) operated by Noctua Software Limited (“us”, “we”, or “our”).

Please read these Terms of Service carefully before using the Service.

Your access to and use of the Service is conditioned on your acceptance of and compliance with these Terms. These Terms apply to all visitors, users and others who access or use the Service.

By accessing or using the Service you agree to be bound by these Terms. If you disagree with any part of the terms then you may not access the Service.

Links To Other Web Sites

Our Service may contain links to third-party web sites or services that are not owned or controlled by Noctua Software Limited.

Noctua Software Limited has no control over, and assumes no responsibility for, the content, privacy policies, or practices of any third party web sites or services. You further acknowledge and agree that Noctua Software Limited shall not be responsible or liable, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with use of or reliance on any such content, goods or services available on or through any such web sites or services.

We strongly advise you to read the terms and conditions and privacy policies of any third-party web sites or services that you visit.

Indemnification

You agree to defend, indemnify and hold harmless Noctua Software Limited and its licensee and licensors, and their employees, contractors, agents, officers and directors, from and against any and all claims, damages, obligations, losses, liabilities, costs or debt, and expenses (including but not limited to attorney’s fees), resulting from or arising out of a) your use and access of the Service, by you or any person using your account and password, or b) a breach of these Terms.

Limitation Of Liability

In no event shall Noctua Software Limited, nor its directors, employees, partners, agents, suppliers, or affiliates, be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential or punitive damages, including without limitation, loss of profits, data, use, goodwill, or other intangible losses, resulting from (i) your access to or use of or inability to access or use the Service; (ii) any conduct or content of any third party on the Service; (iii) any content obtained from the Service; and (iv) unauthorized access, use or alteration of your transmissions or content, whether based on warranty, contract, tort (including negligence) or any other legal theory, whether or not we have been informed of the possibility of such damage, and even if a remedy set forth herein is found to have failed of its essential purpose.

Disclaimer

Your use of the Service is at your sole risk. The Service is provided on an “AS IS” and “AS AVAILABLE” basis. The Service is provided without warranties of any kind, whether express or implied, including, but not limited to, implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, non- infringement or course of performance.

Noctua Software Limited, its subsidiaries, affiliates, and its licensors do not warrant that a) the Service will function uninterrupted, secure or available at any particular time or location; b) any errors or defects will be corrected; c) the Service is free of viruses or other harmful components; or d) the results of using the Service will meet your requirements.

Governing Law

These Terms shall be governed and construed in accordance with the laws of Hong Kong without regard to its conflict of law provisions.

Our failure to enforce any right or provision of these Terms will not be considered a waiver of those rights. If any provision of these Terms is held to be invalid or unenforceable by a court, the remaining provisions of these Terms will remain in effect. These Terms constitute the entire agreement between us regarding our Service, and supersede and replace any prior agreements we might have between us regarding the Service.

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We reserve the right, at our sole discretion, to modify or replace these Terms at any time. If a revision is material we will try to provide at least 30 days notice prior to any new terms taking effect. What constitutes a material change will be determined at our sole discretion.

By continuing to access or use our Service after those revisions become effective, you agree to be bound by the revised terms. If you do not agree to the new terms, please stop using the Service.

Contact Us

If you have any questions about these Terms, please contact us at: contact@stellariumlabs.com

Stellarium Mobile terms of use

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Terms of Use

Please read these Terms of Service carefully before using the Service.

Your access to and use of the Service is conditioned on your acceptance of and compliance with these Terms. These Terms apply to all visitors, users and others who access or use the Service.

By accessing or using the Service you agree to be bound by these Terms. If you disagree with any part of the terms then you may not access the Service.

Links To Other Web Sites

Our Service may contain links to third-party web sites or services that are not owned or controlled by Noctua Software Limited.

We strongly advise you to read the terms and conditions and privacy policies of any third-party web sites or services that you visit.

Indemnification

Limitation Of Liability

Disclaimer

Governing Law

These Terms shall be governed and construed in accordance with the laws of Hong Kong without regard to its conflict of law provisions.

Changes

By continuing to access or use our Service after those revisions become effective, you agree to be bound by the revised terms. If you do not agree to the new terms, please stop using the Service.

Contact Us

If you have any questions about these Terms, please contact us at: contact@stellariumlabs.com

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Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

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Telescope Control in Stellarium Mobile PLUS

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Telescope Control

Since version 1.1.0 Stellarium Mobile PLUS allows to control a GOTO telescope directly from the phone, by using NexStar/SynScan or LX200 serial protocols. Most (but not all) of the current GOTO telescope are compatible with one of these protocols.

In order to have your phone talk to the telescope controller, you first need to connect it to your mount or hand controller. The currently supported modes are:

Network connection (serial over a TCP socket). This covers Wifi enabled telescopes, LAN connection, or SynScan mounts when using the SynScan app (see below).
Bluetooth connection. Currently bluetooth 2.0, using SPP profile. This one works only on Android, because iOS doesn’t allow apps to use Bluetooth SPP.

In many case, the telescope mount hand controller exposes a Serial RS232 port which needs to be plugged into a Serial-to-WIFI or Serial-to-Bluetooth converter so that the phone can access to it. Tested controllers for many type of mounts can be for example found on Astro Gadget .

On Android, for many phones models, it is also possible to connect to the mount using a USB Host adapter cable, and a third party app creating a local TCP socket redirecting ot the USB port. For example the app “BT/USB/TCP Bridge Pro” (3.49€ on Play Store) was reported to work.

Once you define the type of link between the scope and phone, this is basically it! Stellarium Mobile Plus will try hard to automatically recognize the protocol, the type of mount, and mount status and all other available information about the hardware whenever possible.

Using the SynScan app as a bridge between Stellarium Mobile PLUS and the telescope

SynScan-based Wifi mounts such as the SkyWatcher Az-GTi can be controller without hand controller. For this, you need to install the official SynScan android or SynScan iOS apps and use it to connect to the telescope, configure and align it. The SynScan app opens a TCP socket on the phone on port 11882 emulating a regular SynScan hand controller protocol. Once the telescope is setup, start Stellarium Mobile PLUS (keeping SynScan app running in the background) and connect to it using a “Network” connection type, on host 127.0.0.1, port 11882.

Warning 1: On iOS, it is not possible to have the SynScan app running in the background. The only way to drive your telescope on iOS using the SynScan app is currently to have it running on another device (either iOS or android).

Warning 2: on some android phones, the OS decides to kill SynScan app when it’s running in the background, presumably because it’s using too much resources or battery. This causes the connection to be lost between Stellarium and the telescope. To solve this issue, it is necessary to change the android settings for SynScan app to avoid it being killed too quickly. These settings are OS dependent, but usually it helps to disable the battery saving, set Synscan app to “do not optimise”, or “ignore optimizations”. This is how to change these settings on Huawei .

We have been receiving reports about an issue with Synscan and after contacting the Sky Watcher guys, they acknowledged that there is an issue in the recent SynScan apps version. Here is what they said:

The current SynScan Pro app for Android released on Google Play can not work in the background to provide TCP/UDP server communication. We are working on this issue. A temporary solution is to run the SynScan Pro app in a smaller FreeForm window, a floating window, or a splitting window; and run the Stellarium in a larger window; if the user’s Android phone supports these features, as shown in the attached picture.
Users can download and install SynScan Pro for Android version 1.19.16 from our website.

Sky-Watcher website

Using a linux computer as a bridge between Stellarium Mobile PLUS and the telescope

It is also possible to use a computer sitting next to the telescope as a bridge. In this case you need to plug the Serial RS232 port of the telescope hand controller to your PC using a (cheap!) Serial to USB cable. You can then tell your PC to forward the telescope data to a local TCP socket on which Stellarium Mobile can connect.

On linux this can be done with the socat command line tool using a single command:

socat TCP-LISTEN:10000,fork,reuseaddr FILE:/dev/ttyUSB0,b9600,raw,echo=0

This command tells your PC to create a new TCP socket on port 10000 on which it should forward the content of /dev/ttyUSB0. The device /dev/ttyUSB0 is the serial port data coming from your telescope. Depending on your configuration you might need to change the name of the device to /dev/ttyUSB1 etc..

In order for this command to work you must also make sure that your current user is allowed to access tty devices. For example on ubuntu it needs to be part of the tty and dialout groups.

To see the groups you are in simply type:

groups

to add yourself to the groups mentioned above type:

sudo usermod -a -G tty [yourname]
sudo usermod -a -G dialout [yourname]

and logout/login to apply the changes.

You can then connect Stellarium Mobile to your PC by connecting your phone to the same WIFI network, and then inside setup Stellarium Mobile so that it connects to it. You need to select a ‘Network’ link type and use the IP adress of your PC (usually 192.168.x.x) as a host, on port 10000.

Controllers compatibility list

In general, all controllers compatible with some forms of the LX200 protocol, or with NexStar protocol should be auto-detected, even if not specified in the table below.

The following controllers are known to work fine with Stellarium Mobile PLUS:

Brand	Controller	Status	Notes
Meade	LX200 Classic	Tested	Require Serial-to-Wifi/Bluetooth/USB Host converter
Meade	Autostar #497, Autostar #497EP, Audiostar	Tested	Require Serial-to-Wifi/Bluetooth/USB Host converter
Meade	Autostar II	Tested	Require Serial-to-Wifi/Bluetooth/USB Host converter
Meade	Computer Drive System #1697	Should Work	Require Serial-to-Wifi/Bluetooth/USB Host converter
10micron	All	Should Work	Require Serial-to-Wifi/Bluetooth/USB Host converter
Starmate	All	Should Work	Require Serial-to-Wifi/Bluetooth/USB Host converter
Celestron	Nexstar Hand Controllers (Nexstar GPS etc..)	Tested	Require Serial-to-Wifi/Bluetooth/USB Host converter
On-Step	On-Step controller	Tested	Work both on WiFi (port 9998) and Bluetooth
TeenAstro	TeenAstro controller	Tested	Work on WiFi (port 9999) with TeenAstro v1.5.1+
aGotino	aGotino Arduino-based controller	Tested	Work both on WiFi and Bluetooth
SkyWatcher	SynScan Hand Controllers	Tested	Require Serial-to-Wifi/Bluetooth/USB Host converter
SkyWatcher	SynScan Wifi Mounts (Az-GTi etc..)	Tested	Using the SynScan App as a bridge (see above)
AstroDevices	Nexus DSC (likely work on other Nexus)	Tested	Require the last firmware and Stellarium+ >=1.7.3
GOTOTELESCOPE INC.	MX-HD	Tested	Work both on WiFi and Bluetooth

The following controllers are currently not supported:

Brand	Controller	Status	Notes
iOptron	SmartEq etc..	Not working	Currently unimplemented serial protocol
Explore Scientific	PMC-Eight	Not working	Currently unimplemented serial protocol
Omegon	Push+ Go	Not working	Currently unimplemented serial protocol

Other resources

One of our users wrote a guide on How to control your USB enabled scope with Stellarium Mobile PLUS

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