Can You Use Google Sky Map on iPhone?

Google Sky Map is an astronomy app anyone can use to observe the relative positions of stars, constellations, galaxies, planets, and their satellites in the night sky. Think of it as a mobile planetarium you can carry around in your pocket.

Is Google Sky Map Available for iPhone?

Google Sky Map isn't available for iOS yet. It's an Android-only app for now. Several capable star-gazing alternatives are available for the iPhone and iPad you can use instead.

Here are three recommended star mapping apps among the several available on the Apple Store.

Is Sky Map a Google App?

Sky Map started its life as a Google app for Android phones. Google employees developed it as a side project thanks to Google's famed "20% Time rule," where they could spend 20% of their time on personal ideas. Sky Map was donated and open-sourced in 2012. It is now voluntarily maintained by the original developers on GitHub, but not on behalf of Google. 

You can view the active project files on GitHub.

What Is the Best Star Map App for iPhone?

SkyView is one of the top star mapping apps for the iPhone. SkyView has a free and paid version. The screenshots and instructions apply to SkyView Lite, the free version of the virtual telescope. 

1. Connect your iPhone to the internet to work with SkyView.
   

2. Download SkyView Lite from the Apple App Store and open the app.
   

3. Select the location. SkyView can detect your location automatically, or you can set it manually.
   

4. Select Use Camera. SkyView uses the iPhone camera to scan the skies and overlay the star map with your location. You can calibrate your view from within the app too.
   

5. Point the camera at any part of the sky and see the celestial objects superimposed on the phone screen. Choose any object and tap on it. Use the Information icon to read more about the space body.
   

6. Tap the hamburger icon on the top-left to display a menu (it will slide into view from the bottom). Tap the camera icon to take a snapshot of the sky or use the different controls to set up the view. For instance,

   • Select the Night Mode icon to view the skies in an infra-reddish hue.
   • Select the Augmented reality camera icon to superimpose the star map above any real-world object. Switch it off to get back to the night mode.
   • Select the Sky Object trajectories icon to plot the movement of the celestial objects across space.

7. Move the sliders to increase or decrease the visibility of the stars and the size of the planets.
   

8. Tap the Gear icon to open Settings. Explore the options which allow you to enable and disable different features. For instance, select or deselect the different layers of visible sky objects.
   

9. Select the search icon on the upper-right of the screen. Then, choose one of the options from the menu or use the search bar to hunt for one particular object in the sky.
   

10. SkyView uses the current time and date to set up the maps. Tap the Calendar icon to open the date and time picker to select a different period in the past or future.