When You Wish Upon a Star, Now You Can Call It by Name

When You Wish Upon a Star, Now You Can Call It by Name Choose a clear night and hold your phone skyward, and the heavens suddenly make sense — that is, with the help of a stargazing application.

If ever there were a type of mobile software guaranteed to elicit a grin, this is it.

These apps — like Starmap, Star Walk, Pocket Universe, Google Sky Map and others — are part of a category known as “augmented reality.” The idea is to point a mobile device toward an object and let an app show you more about what you’re seeing than your own eyes could.

At the moment, the category is in its nascent stages, with one exception — the stargazing apps.

As for which app you should buy, it depends on your level of astronomical expertise, and what device you have. Pocket Universe ($3) and Star Walk ($3) offer great experiences for beginners with an iPhone. Google Sky Map (free) will do the same for Android users. Starmap ($12) and Starmap Pro ($19) will probably appeal to more experienced astronomers.

Open the app in your bedroom and point the iPad skyward, and it will show you whatever you would have seen if you were looking through a telescope in that very direction. Even better, it will label stars, planets and constellations, and offer up details about them in terms that amateurs will easily absorb.

Ever wonder about the constellation that’s tied to your astrological sign? Search for Gemini, for instance, and it will display the constellation as it currently looks in the sky, even if it isn’t visible from your particular vantage point.

Touch “Pollux,” Gemini’s brightest star, and then tap on the information icon. A dropdown box displays a brief description of the star — which, it turns out, is a mere 34 light years from Earth.

The box also includes data that few people other than telescope owners will need, like the RA positioning and the object’s visual magnitude. Such people will find this app useful, but these users are better suited to the Starmap apps, which offer a depth of astronomical information that others lack.