DEVELOPERS BLOG

This Week in BlackBerry World: Astronomy Edition

BLACKBERRY WORLD / 03.21.16 / BVE

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Yesterday, March 20th, was the March Equinox. This is the day when the sun shines directly on the equator, giving most of the world equal amounts of day and night. For us in Canada, and the rest of the Northern Hemisphere, it also signifies the beginning of Spring! Yes, I may have woken up to sub-zero temperatures and a sprinkling of snow on my car, but for the next 3 months, the days will only get longer (more sunlight) and warmer!

In light of this yearly event, we wanted to share some of our amazing astronomy apps available on BlackBerry World.

StarTracker

Gaze into the stars and constellations right from your BlackBerry! This highly responsive, visually appealing applications is perfect for astronomy fanatics or anyone interested in seeing the world beyond. The amazing user experience is driven by support of the BlackBerry device gyroscope, digital compass and accelerometer.

ORBIT

With Orbit, you have the world in your pocket! Explore our beautiful planet in magnificent 3D while it slowly spins through space. Fly around the earth in your own virtual satellite, zoom in & out, watch the sun rise and set, see the city lights come on at night!

MoonCalc Pro

This amazing app provides rich, real time calculations of Moon phase, age, illumination, distance, apparent size, coordinates and so much more! Change the date and location to see which moons have passed or what is coming!

SunCalc Premium

Similar to MoonCalc, but for the sun! This advanced native Sun tracking tool, delivers you all you need to know about the Sun and daylight. You can track the Sun’s position in the sky, get exact times of all events (sunrise, sunset, dawn, dusk and more). Check out the interactive graph for the entire year, calculate the direction and length of shadows casted by objects of any height or other important astronomical data of the Sun and a bonus 14-day weather forecast!

StarFinder Prostarfinder_screen

This native application is a quick way to find celestial objects in the sky. Instantly locate stars, planets, constellations, galaxies, nebulae, clusters, asterisms, meteor shower radiant, and more, all within just a few seconds.

SATtracker

Interested in the location of the International Space Station? You can track it and another 1,000 satellites with this awesome app. Use it to see their current orbits and locations and to calculate their visible night time passes over any location.

Regardless of the methods used, take some time today and tonight to explore the space around you. Sit back and stare into the stars, letting your mind drift into space and wonder about the endless possibilities.

Know of other great astronomy apps? Let us know in the comments!

Missed the previous episodes? Check them out to discover more high-quality apps for your BlackBerry.

BVE

About BVE

Bryan Van Engelen has been with BlackBerry since 2010. He is part of the Developer Programs and Outreach team, focusing on customer and developer engagement and support. @bve21