Help guide

Stargazing in the app: sky map, Live sky and red night mode

A free sky map for Android and iPhone that shows the stars, planets and Moon above you, even without internet. This guide shows you how to use every part of it.

Updated 2026-11-14 · For the Indian Space Hub app

What is it? Stargazing is a free, ad-free sky map in the Indian Space Hub app. It shows the Sun, Moon, planets, 8,876 stars, all 88 constellations and deep-sky objects for your location and time. Everything is calculated on your phone, so it works offline. Tap the eye icon for red night mode to protect your night vision, and the question mark next to it to open this guide.

Free, no ads, Android 8.0+ and iPhone
Works offline: sky map, Live sky, Tonight, Moon
Positions checked against NASA/JPL data
Your location is not sent to our servers

Get started

How to use the Stargazing app

Four steps from install to your first look at the sky.

Install the free app
Get Indian Space Hub from Google Play (Android 8.0 and above) or the App Store (iPhone). It is free and has no ads.
Open Stargazing
Open the app and tap Stargazing. The Stargazing home screen has your night sky, the main tools and your settings.
Set your location
Tap Use my location for a one-time GPS reading, search for a city or town, or type latitude and longitude. The sky is calculated for this place.
Look up
Open Live sky and hold your phone up, or open the Sky map. Tap any star or planet for its name and details.

Red night mode

Protect your night vision with red night mode

How do I turn on red night mode? Tap the eye icon in the top corner of Stargazing. The screen turns dim red so your eyes stay adjusted to the dark. Tap it again to turn it off.

Why red?

Your eyes need around half an hour in the dark to see faint stars at their best. A bright white or blue screen undoes that in seconds, while a dim red screen barely affects the part of your eye used for night vision. It is the same reason astronomers use red torches.

Find the eye icon
On the Stargazing home screen, Sky map and Live sky, the eye icon sits in the top corner, next to the question mark help button.
Tap it once
The whole screen switches to a dim red palette. The icon lights up to show red night mode is on.
Dim your phone
Turn the phone's own brightness down as well, and use the app outdoors away from bright lights.
Tap again to switch off
Tap the eye icon again to return to the normal colours. You can also switch it from the Layers sheet or the home screen settings.

Need help in the app? The question mark button next to the eye opens this guide in your browser. It needs an internet connection, so read the steps above before you head out to a dark site.

Features

What you can do with Stargazing

Every part of Stargazing, and what it does.

Live sky

Hold your phone up and the sky on screen follows it. Point at a star, planet or the Moon and it lights up with its name. Choose Follow phone or Drag to look, and turn on the optional camera view.

Sky map

The whole sky above you on one chart. Pinch to zoom, tap any object, and search for planets, stars, constellations, galaxies and nebulae.

360° sky

Drag to look around the whole sky. It needs no motion sensors, so it works on any phone.

Tonight's sky

The best targets for tonight, when each is highest, and a timeline from sunset to sunrise showing when it is fully dark and when the Moon is up.

Moon

Phase, rise and set times, distance, and a calendar of the month ahead.

Time travel

See the sky at any date and time, or animate it forwards to watch planets and stars move.

Observing plans

Pick targets for a night and see when each one is best placed.

Telescope tools

Magnification and field of view for your telescope, eyepieces and camera, coordinates for GoTo mounts, and star-hop routes to find faint objects.

Astrophotography

Stack a Moon or planet video, or a burst of photos, into a sharper, cleaner image, right on your phone.

Observation journal

Record what you saw with notes and photos, and earn badges.

Location

Set where you are

How do I set my location? Tap the location icon, then choose Use my location, search for a place, pick a saved place or enter coordinates.

GPS mode

Use my location takes one fresh GPS reading and shows its accuracy and when it was updated. The position refreshes once when Stargazing opens, and you can tap Refresh location any time. It never tracks you in the background.

Manual mode

Search a city or town anywhere in the world, or enter exact latitude and longitude. The place you chose stays selected, and GPS never replaces it.

Offline places

Places you choose are saved on your phone, up to ten, so you can pick them again without internet. You can remove any saved place.

Privacy

Your location is used on your phone to calculate the sky and is not sent to our servers. To name your place, your phone's own location service (Google or Apple) may look up the nearest place. Place search sends only the text you type to the Open-Meteo search service.

Layers

Show or hide sky layers

What does the sky map show by default? Everything. All layers are on, including the part of the sky below the horizon, so you can see the whole sky. Turn any layer off in Layers.

On by default

Constellation lines and names
Official IAU constellation boundaries
Star names for notable stars
Solar system: Sun, Moon and planets
Deep-sky objects: galaxies, nebulae and clusters
Altitude grid for navigating the sky
Below the horizon, shown dimmed, so you can see what has set or is about to rise

Red night mode is separate and is off until you turn it on with the eye icon.

Troubleshooting

Fix common problems

Quick fixes for the most common problems.

The map points the wrong way

Move away from metal, magnets and cases with magnetic clasps, then wave the phone in a figure of eight to recalibrate the compass. Make sure the phone is held as the screen describes, for example flat with the top towards north in the Sky map.

My location is wrong or old

Tap Refresh location and wait for a fresh GPS reading, ideally outdoors or near a window. Allow precise location in your phone settings. The sheet shows how accurate the position is and when it was updated. If it still fails, search for a place or enter coordinates.

I cannot find my village in search

Search covers cities and towns worldwide but not every small village. Enter the exact latitude and longitude from a map app instead, and tap Apply location.

Place search says I am offline

Only place search needs internet. Choose one of your saved places, or enter coordinates, and everything else keeps working offline.

Live sky does not move with my phone

Check that Follow phone is on and that your phone has motion sensors. If not, use Drag to look or the 360° sky.

FAQ

Stargazing app questions

Straight answers about the Stargazing app.

What is Stargazing in the Indian Space Hub app?

Stargazing is a free sky map built into the Indian Space Hub app for Android and iPhone. It shows the Sun, Moon, planets, 8,876 stars, all 88 constellations and deep-sky objects such as galaxies and nebulae for your location and time, calculated on your phone so it works offline.

Is the stargazing app free?

Yes. Stargazing is free and has no ads. Every feature, including Live sky, the sky map, Tonight's sky, the Moon, time travel, observing plans, telescope tools, astrophotography stacking and the observation journal, is included in the free Indian Space Hub app.

Does the stargazing app work offline?

Yes. The sky map, Live sky, Tonight's sky, Moon and time travel are calculated on your phone, so they work without internet or mobile data. Only searching for a place by name needs internet. Places you have chosen before are saved on your phone and can be selected offline, and you can always type latitude and longitude yourself.

How do I see what is in the sky tonight?

Open Stargazing in the Indian Space Hub app and tap Tonight's sky. It lists the best targets for tonight, when each is highest, and a timeline from sunset to sunrise showing when it is fully dark and when the Moon is up. For a live view, open Live sky and hold your phone up to the sky.

How do I use Live sky to identify stars and planets?

Open Live sky and hold your phone up. The sky on screen follows where you point it. Aim at a star, planet or the Moon and it lights up with its name, and you can tap it for details. Turn on Follow phone to use the motion sensors, or choose Drag to look to move the view with your finger. An optional camera view shows the sky overlay on top of what your camera sees.

How do I turn on red night mode?

Tap the eye icon in the top corner of the Stargazing screens. It switches the whole screen to a dim red palette. You can also turn it on from the Layers sheet or from the Stargazing home screen. Red light keeps your eyes adjusted to the dark, so you can read the screen and still see faint stars. Tap the eye again to switch it off.

Why does stargazing use red light?

Red light barely affects the rods in your eyes that you use to see in the dark. A bright white or blue screen can take around 20 to 30 minutes of dark adaptation away, while a dim red screen lets you check the map without losing your night vision. That is why astronomers use red torches and red night mode.

Where is the help guide in the app?

Tap the question mark icon next to the red night mode eye in the top corner of the Stargazing home screen, Sky map or Live sky. It opens this guide in your browser, so it needs an internet connection and is always up to date.

How do I set my location for the sky map?

Tap the location icon and choose Use my location to allow a one-time GPS reading, or search for any city or town in the world, or enter exact latitude and longitude. GPS mode refreshes your position when Stargazing opens. Manual mode keeps the place you chose until you change it. Your position is used on your phone to calculate the sky and is not sent to our servers.

Why is my location wrong or out of date?

The app takes a fresh GPS reading when you tap Use my location or Refresh location, and shows how accurate it is and when it was last updated. If you only allowed approximate location, or you are indoors, the position can be off by a kilometre or more. Go outdoors or near a window, allow precise location in your phone settings, and tap Refresh location. If GPS cannot find you, search for a place or enter coordinates.

Can I search for any city or village?

You can search for cities and towns across the world by name. Search uses the free Open-Meteo place search and only sends the text you type to that service, never your GPS position. Very small villages may not be listed, so for those enter the exact latitude and longitude instead.

Why can I see objects below the horizon?

Below the horizon is switched on by default so you can see what has set or has not yet risen, shown dimmed. To hide it, open Layers and turn off Below the horizon. All the other sky layers, such as constellation lines and names, star names, the Solar system, deep-sky objects, official constellation boundaries and the altitude grid, are also on by default and can be switched off in Layers.

How accurate are the star and planet positions?

Positions are calculated for your exact location and time and checked against NASA/JPL data. The compass in a phone is usually good to a few degrees, so Live sky can be slightly off if the phone is near metal or magnets. Move away from them and wave the phone in a figure of eight to recalibrate.

Does stargazing track my location or collect my data?

No. Your location is used on your phone to calculate the sky, only while you use Stargazing, and it is not sent to or stored on our servers. The app does not use background location. To show the name of your place, your phone's own location service (Google on Android, Apple on iPhone) may look up the nearest place name. Place search sends only the text you type to Open-Meteo. Photos and videos you choose for stacking or the journal stay on your phone.

Which phones does Stargazing work on?

Stargazing works on Android 8.0 and above and on iPhone, as part of the free Indian Space Hub app from Google Play and the App Store. Live sky needs a phone with motion sensors, which almost all modern phones have. Without them you can still use the Sky map and the 360 degree sky by dragging.

Can I use my telescope with the app?

Yes. Telescope tools calculate magnification and field of view for your telescope, eyepieces and camera, show coordinates for GoTo mounts, and give star-hop routes to find faint objects. Astrophotography stacks a Moon or planet video, or a burst of photos, into a sharper, cleaner image on your phone.

Can I record what I see?

Yes. The observation journal lets you record what you saw with notes and photos and earn badges. Observing plans let you pick targets for a night and see when each is best. New to stargazing? Learn by exploring has six short visual lessons, Space missions has six small goals with badges, and the question mark button starts a quick tour of the real controls.

Get the free Stargazing app

Included in the Indian Space Hub app for Android and iPhone. No ads.