Have you ever looked up at the night sky just to enjoy the stars? There are so many of them, with maybe even some planets mixed in, and there’s really nothing like that amazing view.Just thinking about the bright stars against the dark night sky is enough to bring a warm and fuzzy feeling. But when looking up, there’s a good chance you won’t recognize what you are seeing.Sure maybe you’ll pick out the big constellations like the Big and/or Little Dipper, and maybe even Orion’s Belt. But there is so much more to the sky than just those, and with the help of an app we can identify it all.

It’s both fun and educational

It is called SkyView, and it is free for both Android and iOS. The concept behind it is pretty simple, as you just open the app and point your phone’s camera up at the stars.Do that, and on the screen you will see what is in the sky, with notable stars, constellations, satellites and planets clearly labeled.You will feel more like an astronomer than ever before, getting a better picture of what is in the sky above. Learn for yourself or use the knowledge to impress your friends, either way you won’t be disappointed.The app will identify what’s in the sky at night and during the day, and can even locate celestial objects while you are indoors (though we aren’t too sure of why you would want to do that). If you want to find something specific you can do that too, using the app’s search function.SkyView Lite has been downloaded more than 9 million times on iOS and was named a Google Editor’s Choice in 2017.

There is a paid version of the otherwise free app

Like many apps these days, SkyView is free but offers extra features if you want to pay.For iOS users, that means an Apple Watch app, a widget that displays the day’s brightest objects, all in-app purchases that are otherwise available and even more objects that can be discovered.With Android, the paid version provides a comprehensive database of thousands of stars, planets and satellites with interesting facts to accompany them.If interested in either expanded version, the cost for both Apple and Android is $1.99.