Mars Images does not have too many options. The user interface is minimal at best. But the app does get you the latest images from the Opportunity -  Mars Exploration Rover. The app shows you a list of images you can go through at your own pace. Images can be opened in full screen. Sharing images with others is pretty easy too.

The app did crash on us a couple of times when trying to grab some of the photos. We did have more success with this on our iPhone 4s. Still, pretty nice app to pick up to keep up with Mars images.

Meteor Shower Guide tells you when you can expect to catch the next meteor shower. The list of upcoming events are included in an easy-to-follow fashion. The alert functionality reminds you about upcoming events so you won’t miss them. Meteor Shower Guide included meteor showers included in the International Meteor Organization and American Meteor Society lists.

As you can see in the above screenshot, this guide shows you relevant information about each event, including peak day/time, moon phase/age, and sun rise/set times. It lets you view meteor showers happening in future years, which is nice. Not a bad tool to have if you want to avoid missing the next meteor shower event.

Planets: it provides you with a 3D guide to our solar system. This works perfectly for those of you who want to observe the planets with your own telescope.

Solar Walk: lets you travel through our solar system and explore them in 3D. It offers 3DTV support too.

Pocket Universe: this cool app teaches you about constellations, bright stars and planets. Just hold your iPhone towards the sky to figure out what you are looking at.

Sky Safari: covers over 300,000 stars, and 30,000 deep sky objects on your phone. It can act as a telescope controller too.

Mars Globe: Mars is one of the most fascinating planets in our solar system. Thanks to this app, you can go through some of the most important features of this planet. It has a fully interactive globe and a ton of useful information.

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Comet has a very simple interface. It includes a list of observable comets and has links to popular websites where you can find out more about these objects. Comet calculates the ephemerides for comets. The database included in this app is not static by any means. As long as you have an internet connection, you should be able to update your list.

Comet for iPhone does not have too many bells and whistles but does what it promises well. The developer promises to add a sky chart in a future update to make it easier for users to look for comets in the sky. We would love to see more graphical elements in this tool. Nevertheless, it is a useful tool for anyone into comets and astronomy in general.

Cassini provides users with the latest images from this mission. Saturn is nice to look at when you are seeing pictures of it in a book. Pictures in this app are at times breathtaking and prove why so many scientists are obsessed with Saturn and its moons.

Cassini for iOS also shows you when the next major event for this mission will be happening. The present position of the spacecraft is only a tap away. This is a simple but fun tool for anyone interested in keeping up with this mission. It is free too!

As of June 2011, over 500 exoplanets have been identified by the Kepler mission. Exoplanet for iPhone provides you with more information on some of these objects. It includes images, 3D plots, and animations to give users a better understanding of these objects. If you are too obsessed with exoplanets, you can rely on push notifications within this tool to get notified about the newly discovered objects.

Exoplanet is a wonderful tool to get you started with your research about these objects. It contains links to thousands of publications to save you time. Background information and detection methods are covered too. The sky chart feature, which displays the position of the planets in your sky is pretty neat.

One does not have to be a student in astronomy to appreciate Exoplanet. It truly puts things in perspective and gives you a glimpse of the vastness of our universe. Will we ever find life on one of these planets? That is something to be excited about.

Rating: 9/10

Wolfram Astronomy Course Assistant provides users with a wealth of information and data on astronomy. It provides you with an overview of constellations. It teaches you about the objects in our solar system, their properties, and specifics. The app covers thousands of stars (with their respective information).

Wolfram Astronomy Course Assistant is a handy tool for students taking computational astronomy in college. It covers the relevant formulas and can be a good conversion tool as well. It can even determine the probability of life in universe. Those of you who have dealt with Wolfram applications in the past are going to find this app’s interface very familiar. The app is developed in a very intelligent fashion and can save students a lot of time learning new and sometimes challenging concepts in astronomy.

If you are taking a college course in astronomy and need a helping hand figuring things out, Wolfram Astronomy Course Assistant can more than help.

Star Map: perhaps the most complete astronomy application for iPhone. It has over 2.5M stars and 13 000 deep sky objects with physical characteristics in its database. Helps you better prepare for special events.

Distant Suns: runs the first application awfully close. It has some of the best graphics we have tested. Just point your iPhone to the sky and let this app identify it for you.

Star Walk: Star Walk gives you information on 9000 stars, planets, and constellations. Star Walk takes advantage of your iPhone’s digital compass to enable you to watch the sky live on your iPhone screen.

SkyVoyager: it comes with a database of 300,000 stars and 30,000 deep sky objects. SkyVogaer can show you the sky from any location, and it also provides you with information on stars, constellations, and other objects.

Oxford – Astronomy: a must have for those of you who are not familiar with the definitions and all types of objects you may see in the sky. It won’t make you a theoretical astronomer but it does teach you a thing or two about astronomy.

What’s your favorite iPhone app for astronomy?

This Oxford dictionary covers astronomy, astrophysics, cosmology, and time-related topics. So whether you have a question about how the time works or want to find out more about red giants, this dictionary has you covered. Oxford’s dictionary of astronomy also covers biographical information for scientists and astronomers of the past.

This dictionary has over 4200 entries, covering various aspects of astronomy. It educates users on key topics such as dark matter, the big bang, and gravity. The index feature saves you time searching for certain topics. Facebook and Twitter are integrated too.

Astronomy – Oxford Dictionary is a must have tool for amateur astronomers. Even experienced astronomy fans can get some value out of this dictionary (as a reference tool). Looking at the heavens and tracking objects are fun. Having some background information can make your star gazing experience more gratifying. That’s what this app helps you with.

Star rover is a cool star map app for iPhone that calculates sky objects in real time, giving you the chance to explore you virtual sky to your heart’s desire. It covers over 120K stars and 88 constellations. You can interact with your virtual sky and see a whole lot more.

Star Rover has beautiful graphics. It can determine your location and lets you interact with its virtual sky. The eclipse, sunset, and sunrise can be simulated too. Star Rover does support pinch to zoom.

Star Rover may not have the most features among astronomy apps for iPhone. At the same time, it has decent graphics and enough features for those who have not owned an astronomy app in the past. It is fairly affordable for what it does.

Rating: 8.1/10