Ever stared up into the sky on a clear night and wondered what exactly you were looking at? With the Star Walk app on your iPhone you can now find out immediately and use this stargazing guide to learn more about the stars and constellations.
Virginia-based mobile software developer Vito Technology Inc., makers of the business app Task2Gather, has come up with a useful and fun star map that uses your iPhone’s current location in order to provide a picture of the sky located right above you.
Star Walk also allows the user to search the map by stars, constellations, or planets. Selecting one of the above will bring up the chosen object on Star Walk’s screen. The user can then select an object to see more information on it like its size and coordinates. All of this is pretty awesome already, thanks especially to the great graphics and intuitive interface. But the time-lapse function is what makes Star Walk truly great. Selecting the time button on the screen will show the current date and time and an according picture of the stars and planets. Using a scroll bar, the user can scroll through different times, causing the image of the sky to change accordingly. This looks like a time-lapse movie of the stars, going through day and night mode and changing star positions.
Of course Star Walk is not a full planetarium program and any advanced astrologer will probably find the app to be lacking. But as a star map on your iPhone, for $4.99 Star Walk has a lot to offer and will be fun as well as educational to anyone not familiar with all the different stars we see every night. Star Walk could provide more detailed information on the main objects and the search function could maybe include galaxies and comets, but overall Star Map delivers and most users will find what they are looking for.
Star Walk is well developed with great graphics and an interface that is easy to navigate. A great map for anyone wanting to learn a little more about the constellations or as a reference when looking up at the sky at night.
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category: Education