StarLens: Star & Planet Finder

"What's that bright star?" Hold your iPhone up to the night sky and StarLens will tell you.

StarLens reads the pattern of the real stars your camera sees to work out exactly where you're looking — so star and constellation names land right on the stars on your screen.

WHAT YOU CAN DO • See the names of stars, constellations, planets and the Moon over the live camera view • Tap a name for a simple explanation of what it is • Pick the Moon or a planet from "Tonight's sky" and an arrow guides you to it • See when a meteor shower peaks and the best hours to watch, with an arrow to its radiant • Horizon and compass directions, planet rise/set times, star colors and distances • Take a photo of the sky with the names on it and share it with friends • Red night mode that protects your dark-adapted eyes • Works completely offline — perfect for remote dark-sky sites with no signal • Demo mode to try it indoors or in daylight • 15 languages, including English, Japanese, Chinese, Korean, German, French, Spanish and Portuguese

GREAT FOR • Finding out what you're looking at under a starry sky • Exploring the constellations with family and friends • Showing the sky to newcomers at star parties

FOR ENTHUSIASTS StarLens plate-solves every frame against a catalog of about 5,000 stars, so labels never drift the way compass-only sky apps do. The catalog and solver are built in and need no internet connection, so it works just the same at a remote observing site with no signal. It also has a star-field auto-exposure, gyro-stabilized tracking, and an optional technical readout (coordinates, exposure, matched stars).

PRIVACY Camera images and your location are processed only on your iPhone and never sent anywhere. No account, no ads.

TIPS • The less city light and moonlight, the more stars it recognizes • Hold still for a moment to catch fainter stars