Whether you are a professional astronomer looking for an enhancement for your high-powered telescope or the parent of an inquisitive stargazer, the StarWalk App from Vito Technology Inc. is perfect for you.

Not only can this award winning app help you find specific constellations, planets, and stars in the night sky even if you live in Las Vegas where the city lights can obscure the view of any stars whatsoever, it also boasts some amazing features for professional astronomers.

You can even view the night sky directly above your house while sitting on the couch in the comfort of your own home, or find out when the ISS is due to pass overhead.

A Telescope Unlike Any Other

For the novice astronomer, the StarWalk App is simple to use and understand. After setting your location, simply select the Star Spotter feature and point your iPhone to the sky. The screen will display the sky as it actually looks wherever you are pointing, no matter where you move your device.

You can even point it at the floor and it will show you the sky on the other side of the world, or at your ceiling in your home to view the sky as it appears above you.

If you know what it is you are looking for, such as a specific constellation or planet, enter it using the Search function. This feature allows you to find satellites, meteor showers, constellations, nebulae, specific stars or planets, and much more.

After selecting the item you are looking for the app will amazingly direct you, thanks to the built-in digital compass, to where it is you need to be looking.

Are you the parent of a budding astronomer? Not only can you find out where in the sky Neptune is located, you find out a little bit more about the planet itself by simply tapping it on the map. Tap the information icon and receive facts such as what the environment is like on Neptune and how big the planet is. A bonus: a Wikipedia button.

Tap it and you are directed to Wikipedia's information on Neptune. This app is perfect for the student studying the planets and stars. It even boasts a Time Machine feature, where you can literally go back in celestial time and watch the movement of the stars and planets as far back as you wish, or even forward towards the future.

Find out when planets and the sun rise and set, the current moon phase, and even how much of the day will see sunlight in their Sky Live window for any given day. Is there a big meteor shower coming up? The StarWalk app features a handy calendar, which displays all of the celestial goings-on for the day.

Let's say there is a lunar eclipse due to occur, according to the StarWalk calendar. Simply tap the event, and you are directed to the moon, where you can watch it all happen right there on your iPhone.
StarWalk Helpful to Professional Astronomers and Teachers As Well

An amazing feature of this app is the TelRad feature, allowing astronomers to properly aim their telescopes towards a certain object in the sky with ease. TelRad will calculate the angles needed to know the proper place to aim a telescope to find what it is you are looking for in the night sky.

No more calculations by hand, just tell the app what you are looking for and it does all of the hard work for you. Teaching a group of fourth graders about constellations? Make a big impact by hooking your iPhone up to a TV or projector in your classroom using the Apple Digital AV Adapter ($39.00 in the Apple Store), bringing the images of the sky around you captured using StarWalk to your students without having to pass your iPhone around the room.

Availability and Specs

Download StarWalk 5.4 to your iPhone, iPod Touch, or iPad, version 3.0 or later, from iTunes for 2.99. or through the Apple App Store. The app, which won the Apple Design Award in 2010 for its iPad-specific release and was named by Apple themselves as the best app of 2009 and 2010, is available in 10 different languages worldwide.