Free Constellation App for the iPad

Did you ever wish you could reach up into the night sky and get a closer look at all of the amazing objects in the universe? Sure you could invest in a telescope, but good ones are incredibly pricey. And even if you can spot interesting things, unless your an expert, it's difficult to know exactly what you are looking at. We recently bought an Apple iPad as a research tool for homeschooling and have yet to be disappointed.

There are so many options in the App Store that offer educational opportunities, we are still exploring the free ones. Being summer, star gazing has become one of our favorite family activities. My husband and I can point out a few constellations in the night sky, but when our children began asking questions that we would normally have to research inside at the computer, the iPad app, GoSkyWatch Planetarium was a wonderful tool.

Why GoSkyWatch Planetarium is Better than a Telescope

• Hands on Experience. With your fingers you can pan around and zoom in and out, giving the user a hands on experience.
• Discover Together. The iPad allows your entire family to gather around and discover planets, star clusters and constellations together.
• Current Location. With a wi-fi connection, GoSkyWatch can detect your current location and display the night sky from the specified destination.
  
• Detailed Information. Want more info? Just push the information icon, if that's not enough, select the Wikipedia one, all without leaving the current night sky in the background.
• Connect the Stars. GoSkyWatch gives you the option to outline the constellations along with the opportunity to learn new ones.
• Find Planets. This is difficult to do with the naked eye, but with the iPad and this planetarium app, you can spot them much more easily, as well as see an enlarged image.
  
• Simple and Intuitive. People of all ages will enjoy touching the screen and zooming in and out on different objects exploring the night sky above them.
  
• It's free. And also available on the iPhone/iPod Touch.

The Constellation App in the iPad Commercial

I wanted to point out that GoSkyWatch Planetarium is NOT the constellation app you see in the new Apple iPad commercial. From the research I have done, that app is called StarWalk, it is available for $4.99.

From the screenshots I have seen of the StarWalk app, I think GoSkyWatch is just as neat and you'll save yourself some money!