I find it wonderful
I find this app to be a lot of fun, especially to stay aware of our place in the solar system. Its actually quite beautiful.
One night, I was awake and looked out the bedroom window. In the sky were several bright objects. I was pretty sure they were planets because they didnt twinkle, but I wasnt sure which ones. One was slightly reddish, so I strongly suspected it was Mars, and two were so bright I thought they must be Jupiter and Saturn. Beyond that, I just didnt know.
Then I got my iPad and fired up Skywalk. It immediately showed me everything that was going on, including confirmation that the red one really was Mars. One of the bright ones turned out to be Jupiter, but the other was Venus, which was about as far from the sun in the sky as it could get. In the app, it was immediately apparent that all the planets were in a line (plane of the ecliptic), and looking along that line I was able to spot one more planet (Saturn) that hadnt been quite as obvious as the others.
Skywalk lets you see whats below the horizon, too. During the night, you can see where the sun is, and during the day you can see what constellations, stars, and planets would be visible if the sky were dark.
For me, it seems quite accurate enough. I suspect it depends on the compass in the device youre using. Keep away from magnets and large iron and steel structures!
Ive tried using paper star charts in the past, and since I dont use them often, I could never be sure I was interpreting them correctly. But with Skywalk, its just natural and obvious.
I use it only occasionally, so I kept the free version, but if I used it more often I would get the paid version -- it seems like a great deal!
So, on the whole I am extremely happy with this fascinating app.
EricAtTCC about
Sky Walk Lite, v2.6