Sky Map

Sky Map Devs

Troubleshooting/FAQ

Find us elsewhere:

About this app

Sky Map is a hand-held planetarium for your Android device. Use it to identify stars, planets, nebulae and more. Originally developed as Google Sky Map, it has now been donated and open sourced.

Troubleshooting/FAQ

The Map doesn't move/points in the wrong place

Make sure you haven't switched into manual mode. Does your phone have a compass? If not, Sky Map cannot tell your orientation. Look it up here: http://www.gsmarena.com/

Try calibrating your compass by moving it in a figure of 8 motion or as described here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k1EPbAapaeI.

Are there any magnets or metal nearby that might interfere with the compass?

Try switching off "magnetic correction" (in settings) and see if that is more accurate.

Why is autolocation not supported for my phone?

In Android 6 the way permissions work has changed. You need to enable the location permission setting for Sky Map as described here: https://support.google.com/googleplay/answer/6270602?p=app_permissons_m

The Map is jittery

If you have a phone that lacks a gyro then some jitter is to be expected. Try adjusting the sensor speed and damping (in settings).

Do I need an internet connection?

No, but some functions (like entering your location manually) won't work without one. You'll have to use the GPS or enter a latitude and longitude instead.

Can I help test the latest features?

Sure! Join our beta testing program and get the latest version. https://play.google.com/apps/testing/com.google.android.stardroid

Find us elsewhere:

⭐ GitHub: https://github.com/sky-map-team/stardroid
⭐ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/113507592330/
⭐ Twitter: http://twitter.com/skymapdevs

Ratings and reviews

Worked amazingly well until it didn't. I loved everything about it until I could no longer calibrate the app. I'm an avid star gazer (amateur), so this was so fun! I even bought the extensions so I could see satellites. But suddenly I couldn't calibrate the program. Even wiping my entire phone and reinstalling didn't help. (north was west). After years of service, I finally uninstalled

Have used for years, and it's mostly great; however... Needs the option to lock labels into one orientation (so that when you hold your phone straight up, then a little further back, the labels don't all flip upside down making them more difficult to read). Also, a setting that lets you keep the heads-up menu from auto-disappearing when you tap a button would be great (i.e. - maybe I'd like to deselect galaxies AND planets without the menu disappearing before I can tap the Planets icon).

Been using since it was a Google app. Recently it thought I was at the equator with Polaris near due north. Used the manual location settings to fix. Also, calibration has been a problem on and off for years. Happy to see a manual option to force calibration in settings. While this app isn't perfect, I prefer it to competitors that I presume are infected with ads and bloatware. Deducting a star for jittery map and occasional bugginess that is corrected with a reboot.

What's new

Adds Comet Leonard, which will be visible for a few days around Christmas.

Sundry translation improvements and a major refactoring of the code.