Celestia is an application for real-time 3D visualization of space, with a detailed model of the solar system, over 100,000 stars, more than 10,000 galaxies, and an extension mechanism for adding more objects.



Stellarium is described as 'Free open source planetarium for your computer. It shows a realistic sky in 3D, just like what you see with the naked eye, binoculars or a telescope' and is a very popular Star Map in the education & reference category. There are more than 50 alternatives to Stellarium for a variety of platforms, including iPhone, iPad, Android, Windows and Android Tablet apps. The best Stellarium alternative is Celestia, which is both free and Open Source. Other great apps like Stellarium are Sky Map, KStars, Space Engine and Noctua Stellarium.
Celestia is an application for real-time 3D visualization of space, with a detailed model of the solar system, over 100,000 stars, more than 10,000 galaxies, and an extension mechanism for adding more objects.



Sky Map (formerly the Google Sky Map) turns your Android-powered mobile phone into a window on the night sky.




Open-source astronomy software offering accurate night sky simulation with 100 million stars, Ekos astrophotography suite, stellar observation planner, "What's up Tonight" tool, FOV editor, and a variety of celestial catalogs for comprehensive astronomical exploration.




Space Engine - a real-time 3D space simulator, procedural universe generator and visualiser. It lets you explore the universe in three dimensions, starting from planet Earth to the most distant galaxies.



Space Engine seems to be a game and not a star database for astronomy.


Most users think Space Engine is a great Stellarium alternative.




3D visualization software for ESA's (European Space Agency) Gaia mission to chart about 1 billion stars of the Milky Way Galaxy.




Best Alternative for naked-eye astronomy


3D simulation of the Solar System and night sky - real time virtual orrery and observatory




The WorldWide Telescope (WWT) is a Web 2.0 visualization software environment that enables your computer to function as a virtual telescope, bringing together imagery from the best ground and space-based telescopes in the world for a seamless exploration of the universe.

The Starry Night apps are the most comprehensive educational astronomy apps. Use it with your introductory astronomy textbook or on its own. It's a powerful, portable planetarium that fits in your backpack. It puts thousands of stars and planets at your fingertips.




Welcome to the Atlas of Space — an interactive visualization to explore the planets, moons, asteroids, and other objects in the Solar System.


SkySafari is a powerful planetarium that fits in your pocket. It puts thousands of stars and planets at your fingertips. It lets you find objects in the sky using your device's built-in compass and accelerometer.




Space Engine contains many known planets and nebulas, you can get close to them, search them and even land on planets and view them from other angles