If you are thinking about pulling out your field guides this weekend to do a little stargazing, you might enjoy checking out Starlight HD from Gyrocade, a mobile planetarium for your iPhone or iPad. Just set your location and point the device to the sky. The app will show you which stars you are looking at, in simple images, or with lines drawn in for easy recognition of the constellations. You can even point your device to the ground and see what’s going on far on the other side of the planet. The app is well developed for quick navigation and contains over 100,000 stars from the Hipparcos database, all painted accurately according to their spectral type. The app also contains a plethora of trivia, connecting stars to some of your favorite science fiction. It also contains the folklore behind constellations. You can even map out all the planets from your backyard, including Pluto for sentiments sake.
The Starlight HD app is available for free this Memorial Day weekend. We have been playing with it all morning, with no stars in the sky, just imagining what is beyond our daylight viewing.
Stock up on items you need to survive so you can go without leaving your house for a few days.
And, by the way, don’t forget to keep the tools to help you leave at hand.