SkySafari 7 Plus

Review by eFreeware

Most stargazing apps stop at pointing your phone at the sky and naming a few bright objects. That is enough for a curious evening, but it leaves the observer who wants to plan sessions, follow events and connect a telescope without a proper tool. SkySafari 7 Plus is built for that second group: it is a full space simulator from Simulation Curriculum Corp. that goes well beyond object identification.

The app costs $9.99, carries no ads and includes in-app purchases. It has been installed more than 10,000 times and holds a 4.4 average from 710 ratings, with the current version released on June 24, 2022 and updated on February 21, 2026. The developer describes it as a guide to the night sky for people who want to go deeper into astronomy, and that framing is useful: this is a paid tool with a serious scope rather than a casual freebie.

Pointing the device and controlling a telescope

The feature the developer leads with is telescope control, and it is treated as the heart of the app rather than an add-on. Version 7 supports ASCOM Alpaca and INDI, two control protocols that let the app talk to a wide range of astronomical devices. If you already own a motorized mount and want software that can drive it, that support is the main reason to consider this app over a simpler chart.

The other headline capability is the simulator itself. Holding your device up lets the app identify stars, constellations, planets and other objects in the sky in front of you. From there you can move the sky forward or backward by up to 10,000 years and animate events such as meteor showers, conjunctions and eclipses. That combination of live identification and a long-range time model is what separates a simulator from a lookup tool.

The developer also provides an Orbit Mode that leaves the Earth's surface and lets you fly through the solar system, plus Time Flow, which compresses days, months and years into a few seconds so you can watch objects move. A night vision mode keeps your eyes adapted to the dark. These are the features that make the app feel like a small planetarium rather than a sky chart.

Planning tools and the Tonight section

Planning is handled largely through the Tonight section, which shows what is visible in your sky on the current night. It gathers Sun and Moon data, event and calendar highlights, and the best-placed deep sky and solar system targets. For someone deciding what to look at after sunset, that is a sensible starting point, and the developer has clearly designed it to help you organize an evening rather than just browse.

The Events Finder is the more powerful search tool. It generates listings of moon phases, eclipses, planetary moon events, meteor showers and planetary phenomena such as conjunctions, elongations and oppositions, and it can look both at tonight and far into the future. Notifications have been reworked so you can choose which kinds of events trigger an alert on your device. If you like being told in advance about an upcoming eclipse or shower, this is the part of the app that does it.

Observation tools have also been improved, with new workflows for adding, searching, filtering and sorting your records. The app is positioned as a place to plan, record and organize what you observe, so the logging side is meant to grow with you over time.

SkyCast, OneSky and the shared sky

Two features bring other people into the picture. OneSky shows what other users are observing in real time, highlighting objects on the sky chart and indicating with a number how many users are looking at a particular object. It is a way of seeing where attention is concentrated on a given night.

SkyCast is more active. You can lead others through the sky using their own installed copy of the app. Starting a SkyCast produces a shareable link for messaging, other apps or social media, and everyone who opens it sees the same tour. For a club outing or a family session, that is a neat way to keep everyone on the same object.

According to the developer, the H-R diagram and the 3D Galaxy view, once paid extras, no longer cost anything. That is worth knowing because it changes what the current purchase includes compared with earlier versions of the app.

What it asks of you

The first requirement is the price. At $9.99 this is a paid app, and there is no advertising inside it. In-app purchases do exist, so the upfront cost is not necessarily the end of the story.

The second point is the upgrade path, and the developer is unusually direct about it: there is no discounted route from SkySafari 7 Plus to SkySafari 7 Pro. If you think you may eventually want the larger database and the extra features the Pro version offers, the developer's advice is to choose carefully now. That is a genuine consideration rather than a marketing line, and it is the kind of thing worth weighing before you buy.

Telescope control is central to the app, but it only matters if you have compatible equipment. The ASCOM Alpaca and INDI protocols cover a long list of devices, yet the feature is irrelevant to someone observing with binoculars or the naked eye. The app still works as a simulator and planner in that case, but you would be paying for capability you may not use.

Getting the most from a session

The sensible way to approach the app is to start with the Tonight section and let it suggest what is well placed. From there, the Events Finder can tell you what is coming in the weeks ahead, and the notification settings let you decide which of those events deserve an alert. That sequence turns a general interest in the sky into a plan for a specific evening.

The learning material is the other half of the experience. There are more than 1,500 object descriptions and astronomical images covering the history, mythology and science of astronomy, and a calendar keeps track of major sky events. Reading about an object before you look for it is a natural way to use the app, especially for someone new to the hobby.

Advanced Search lets you find objects by properties other than their name, which is useful once you move past the famous targets. If you are working through a list of galaxies or double stars, that kind of filtering saves a lot of scrolling. Night Vision is there for the moment you step outside and want to keep your eyes adapted to the dark.

A considered purchase for committed observers

SkySafari 7 Plus earns its price by covering ground that simpler apps do not: telescope control through ASCOM Alpaca and INDI, a sky model that stretches 10,000 years in either direction, event searching and notifications, observation logging and a substantial library of object descriptions. The 4.4 average from 710 ratings suggests that the people who buy it tend to be satisfied with what they get.

The caveats are equally clear. It is a paid app with in-app purchases, and there is no discounted upgrade to the Pro version, so the choice between the two needs to be made before you spend. The telescope features only pay off with compatible equipment. And the app is aimed at someone who wants depth; a casual observer who just wants to know the name of a bright star may find the scope larger than the need.

For the amateur astronomer who plans sessions, follows events and owns a motorized mount, this is a well-equipped tool at a reasonable one-off price. For everyone else, it is a capable simulator that may be more than the hobby currently requires.

What's new in version 7.6.5.3

Fix for issues affecting some encoder telescopes Fix for Moon Age issue Fixed bug affecting some eclipse views