Stargazing with your phone

Point at the sky.
Know what you see.

Hold your phone up and Starinfos shows what is in that exact spot: constellations, stars, planets and the Moon, live for where you are standing.

Try it in your browser

Free, right now, no install. Best on your phone.

Free in the browser
No account, no ads
Works offline

Coming soon to Google Play.

Coming soon to the App Store.

Sky view with Orion, Taurus, Auriga and Perseus, the Moon and Uranus

Tap anything

Every dot has a story.

Tap a star or constellation to see its name, how high it stands right now, when it rises and sets, and the story behind it.

All 88 constellations come with their lines, the best time of year to see them and how to find them.

Orion highlighted in gold with an info card showing altitude, direction and best time

Where is Jupiter?

Search for a planet, star or constellation. An arrow leads you there, and the target gets a ring as soon as it is on screen.

If the target is below the horizon right now, Starinfos tells you, so you do not search in vain.

Search guidance: Jupiter ringed in gold near the horizon

Your compass is not perfect.
So we say so.

Star positions are calculated to within a few arcminutes. Phone compasses can be off by several degrees, so a short swipe lets you line up the sky by hand.

Tonight

Worth going outside?

When it gets dark, what phase the Moon is in, and at what time and in which direction each planet is best placed tonight.

Calculated for your location, on your device. It knows nothing about clouds, so a look out of the window is still needed.

Tonight: dark hours, Moon phase and the best time for each planet

Red light

Keep your night vision.

One tap turns everything red, including the buttons. Your eyes stay adapted to the dark and you keep seeing faint stars.

Your phone’s brightness stays under your control: turn it down as well for the best effect.

The difference

From “some bright star” to “that’s Vega”.

Guessing which star that isPoint your phone and read the name
Turning a paper star chart in the darkThe sky turns with your phone
Looking for a planet in the wrong placeAn arrow leads you to it
A bright screen ruins your night visionRed light at the tap of a button
No signal out in the fieldThe whole sky is stored on your device

And the little things.

See through the ground

Point your phone down and see the stars below the horizon, shown behind a dark tint.

Sun, Moon, planets

All live, with the correct Moon phase, brightness and rise and set times.

Milky Way

The band of the Milky Way runs through the view as a soft guide across the sky.

Compass help

Tips for calibrating, and a swipe to correct the direction by hand.

Planner · Pro

In the app: 30 days ahead, with meteor showers, plus sky grids and constellation borders.

Time travel · Pro

In the app: move time freely and see the sky of any evening, plus 110 Messier objects.

5,044

stars down to magnitude 6, about what the naked eye can see

constellations with lines, stories and search

110

Messier objects in the app (Pro)

Quick questions.

Who is Starinfos for?

For anyone who looks up and wants to know what they are seeing: families, campers, beginners in astronomy. You need no prior knowledge.

What does Starinfos cost?

The browser version is free. The app is free to use too, with the same sky. Pro is optional, as a yearly subscription or a one-time purchase; the store shows the current price.

How does Starinfos make money?

Through the optional Pro upgrade in the app. There are no ads and your data is not sold. The app sends an anonymous usage statistic; the browser version sends none.

What is the difference between the browser and the app?

Both show the live sky, constellations, planets, search, tonight’s overview and red light. Pro in the app adds time travel, 110 Messier objects, a 30-day planner with meteor showers and sky grids. The app reads your phone’s sensors more directly, so it usually moves more smoothly.

How accurate is it?

Star and planet positions are accurate to a few arcminutes; we test them against an independent astronomy library. The direction depends on your phone’s compass and can be off by several degrees. Nearby metal, magnets and cases with magnets make it worse.

Why does the sky not move on my phone?

Your browser needs permission to use the motion sensor. On iPhone, tap “Show the sky” and allow access. If your browser offers no compass, the sky still follows your phone and you line it up once with a swipe. Without a sensor you can drag the sky with your finger.

What happens to my location?

It is used on your device to calculate the sky and stored there, rounded to about 1 km. It is not sent to us. You can also pick a place from the list or enter coordinates.

Do I need internet?

Only to open the page for the first time. After that the browser version also runs offline. The app needs no connection for the sky itself.

Does Starinfos do horoscopes? Which languages?

No horoscopes: Starinfos is about astronomy. The browser version and the app speak English, German, Spanish, French and Italian.

Clear sky tonight?

Open Starinfos and step outside.