10 Mobile Astronomy Apps for Stargazers

One of the best parts of summer is sitting outside on a warm night, glass of wine in hand (or bar of dark chocolate, whatever your pleasure), good company by your side and nothing but brilliant sparkly stars above you. If you’ve ever had the good fortune of spotting a shooting star, you’ve witnessed an amazing display of light and cosmic energy.

You always hear people talking about the relative insignificance of the human race in the grand scheme of the universe. That feeling is never more reinforced than when you start to explore astronomy and what really lies beyond our galaxy.

Whether you’re a stargazer who can only point out the Big Dipper and Little Dipper, or whether you much prefer calling it Ursa Major and Ursa Minor, the following 10 mobile apps can help you in your stargazing pursuits.

1. Star Walk – 5 Stars Astronomy Guide

You look up at the stars, but you have no idea what you’re seeing – until now. Star Walk is an amazing app that lets you simply point your device to the sky and automatically map out the constellations. You can also track moving satellites, look at skies from nights past or the future and tap anywhere on the screen to get a star’s exact position in the sky. (iOS)

Cost: $2.99

2. SkySafari 3 Plus

Yes, it’s on the pricey side, but SkySafari 3 Plus is a great companion for any stargazing enthusiast. It contains an enormous database of constellations at your fingertips, with information about star coordinates, physical parameters, orbital parameters and more. Using the iPhone’s built-in gyroscope, you can find and search for anything in the sky, including planets, moons, asteroids, comets, named stars, brightest stars and much more. The developer of this app also provides an accessory to the app: SkyFi enables SkySafari 3 to work as a telescope controller. (iOS)

Cost: : $14.99 (Depending on your astronomic knowledge, there are different versions. For fewer features, SkySafari Lite is $2.99; and for a whopping 500 MB, 15 millions stars, 740,000 galaxies’ worth of information, SkySafari Pro is $59.99)

3. Google Sky Map

This is a free app that also offers the ability to point Android devices to the sky and map out constellations. In addition, users can search for planets, grids, deep sky objects, and also use the search functionality to find something specific in the atmosphere. It provides a simple interface and is a great tool for identifying anything in the sky. (Android)

Cost: FREE

4. Astronomy Picture of the Day

Stuck at work and counting down the hours until nightfall? Astronomy Picture of the Day can tide you over until your date with the cosmos. The photos, hand-picked by NASA astronomers, are different each day and are accompanied by thorough descriptions. Shake your device for a random image, and even share that extra special photo of Saturn with a friend. (iOS and Android)

Cost: FREE

5. star3map

Here’s another great Android app for stargazing that offers similar functionality as some of the more feature-rich iOS apps. It includes constellation/satellite/planet tracking, as well as search functionality and social sharing. There’s also an Earth View mode that lets you see our planet from space with cool day/night shading, as well as viewing bands to determine when satellites are visible from where you are.

Cost: $4.99

6. Nasa App HD

In addition to providing information and images about our universe, the NASA App HD offers cool features like live streaming of NASA TV, on-demand videos from NASA, current mission and launch information and more. There is also a detailed Satellite Tracker and data on current visible passes for the International Space Station in your region. (iPad)

Cost: FREE

7. SpaceMap

Remember the part about the human race’s insignificance? Watching the intro video to this app makes that point abundantly clear. This app goes beyond what’s just in the sky above by placing it into the context of the entire solar system, galaxy and universe. It maps everything you want: 47,000 asteroids, 400 exoplanets, 5,000 galaxies – with amazing 3D effects and animation. SpaceMap provides an intuitive interface and visually stimulating experience that makes you feel intergalactic. (iOS)

Cost: $5.99

8. Planets

This app gives you in-depth information on all the planets (with the exception of Pluto, poor guy). You can locate planets in either 2D or 3D mode and select different visibilities of the sky, such as X-ray, Infrared, Microwave and Radio. There is also a Globe function that lets you view a rotating 3D image of all the planets and the moon. (iOS)

Cost: FREE

9. Hubble Top 100

The images included in the Hubble Top 100 app are as astounding and mystifying as the stars themselves. Taken directly by the Hubble telescope itself, the images feature breathtaking colors, lights and patterns of swirling gases and air. Information accompanies each photo, as well as a slideshow with techno-ish music to fuel your cosmic mood. (iPad)

Cost: FREE

10. Buzz Aldrin Portal to Science and Space Exploration HD

Who better to create an app about space than an astronaut himself? Buzz Aldrin, lunar module pilot on Apollo 11 and the second human to walk on the moon, has created this beautiful app that features a mix of personal perspective, commentary from NASA and a variety of other sources. The app features video, Twitter and news feeds and roundtable discussions on planetary exploration, space tourism, Hubble and anything else you’d want to know about space exploration. (iPad)

Cost: $3.99

Image courtesy of iStockphoto, sololos

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Wheretoget.it Helps You Find the Garment You’re Looking For

The Spark of Genius Series highlights a unique feature of startups and is made possible by Microsoft BizSpark. If you would like to have your startup considered for inclusion, please see the details here.

Name: Wheretoget.it

Quick Pitch: Tap into a community of knowledgeable shoppers to identify the clothing or accessories you’re looking for.

Genius Idea: Using crowdsourcing to find the perfect outfit.


All too often, I will come across a beautiful garment — on the street, in a newspaper photograph (yes, I still read those) — immediately feel I must have it, and then despair because I haven’t the least idea where it’s from, or if it’s even still in stores.

Enter Wheretoget.it, which co-founder and CEO Nicolas Metzke described simply as the “Quora for shopping” in a #fashion140 panel we did together this spring. Its premise is simple: Log in, upload a photo of a garment you’re curious about and tag the image with a few basic details.

With any luck, Wheretoget.it’s community — which, from what I gathered from looking around the site, are extremely savvy shoppers — will help you identify the piece in question, or at least something similar. During pre-launch pilot tests, Metzke says the community was able to identify items correctly, or at least one similar enough to satisfy the searcher 84% of the time.

Users are incentivized to answer questions with points, badges and status recognition. Metzke says the company is also working with merchants to trade in points for shopping vouchers or gift cards.

The site also functions as a discovery engine, drawing visitors to items they weren’t necessarily looking for before arriving. Users can opt to follow other users as well as queries, just as they can with Quora.

The Paris-based startup, which launched in May 2011, was founded by three seasoned entrepreneurs: Metzke, co-founder of Ciao.com (acquired by Greenfield Online for $154 million in 2005); Gilles Babinet, founder of Musiwave (sold to Openwave for $121 million in 2005) and now president of France’s National Council of Digital Business and Society; and CTO Romain Moyne, a 23-year-old who started is first business at age 16.


Series Supported by Microsoft BizSpark


Microsoft BizSpark

The Spark of Genius Series highlights a unique feature of startups and is made possible by Microsoft BizSpark, a startup program that gives you three-year access to the latest Microsoft development tools, as well as connecting you to a nationwide network of investors and incubators. There are no upfront costs, so if your business is privately owned, less than three years old, and generates less than U.S.$1 million in annual revenue, you can sign up today.

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Potential Plugin Security Breach Forces WordPress.org To Reset Passwords

WordPress.org is forcing users to reset their passwords after several popular plugins were compromised by hackers.

“Earlier today the WordPress team noticed suspicious commits to several popular plugins containing cleverly disguised backdoors,” Automattic founder Matt Mullenweg said in a blog post. “We determined the commits were not from the authors, rolled them back, pushed updates to the plugins, and shut down access to the plugin repository while we looked for anything else unsavory.”

Mullenweg says that AddThis, WPtouch and W3 Total Cache were the plugins that were compromised in the attacks.

As a precautionary measure, WordPress.org is force-resetting all passwords on WordPress.org. This doesn’t affect WordPress-powered blogs, but does affect WordPress.org forums, trac and code commits to plugins or themes.

This isn’t the first time WordPress has been targeted by hackers; WordPress.com (owned by Automattic and separate from WordPress.org) was the victim of a low-level root access breach in April.

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Sir Mix-A-Lot Likes Big … Facebook Games

Oh. My. God, Becky. Look at this game.

Rapper Sir Mix-A-Lot of “Baby Got Back” fame has just popped the top on a hilarious new Facebook venture.

Called MixNMatch, the game challenges you to answer either-or questions. The catch is that you have to answer them the way another person would. For example, you might have to guess whether Sir Mix-A-Lot prefers zombies or vampires or whether a friend of yours would pick a front rub over a back rub. You can also pose similar questions to your own friends.

If your guesses line up with the celeb’s or friend’s picks, you earn points. The points can be redeemed for virtual goods such as a Sir Mix-A-Lot video shout-out or an exclusive track. If you’re particularly skilled at guessing the rapper’s preferences, you can even win a ride with him in his Lamborghini.

SEE ALSO: 5 Lessons Celebrities Can Teach Us About Facebook Pages

What makes the game giggle-worthy is the animated Sir Mix-A-Lot that coaches players through each round, complete with voice-overs.

It’s a fun concept, and one that we can imagine quite a few celebrities using to engage with their fans.

The game comes from Giant Thinkwell, an interactive agency that specializes in creating online entertainment vehicles for celebrities. MixNMatch is Giant Thinkwell’s first game, and it’s cute and funny enough that we would like to see more from this shop.

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10 Beautiful Social Media Infographics

What’s happening in the world of social media? That’s not a simple question to answer, as this space is quickly becoming one of the busiest, most interesting aspects of our digital lives.

However, if we had to choose the best way to present the wealth of recent information on social media — how companies are using it to improve their business, how individuals are interacting with its many facets, and how it’s affecting our lives — the simplest way would probably be to showcase the best social media infographics from the last few months, and that’s exactly what we did.

We’ve gathered 10 amazing infographics which are still quite fresh, and contain very relevant info. We hope you enjoy them! Let us know which ones you find most insightful in the comments below.

Social Media Users Weigh In on the NFL Lockout

Will there be a lockout for the 2011 NFL season? Will there even be any professional (American) football played this fall? See the predictions from social media users.Graphic courtesy Lab42

The Real Estate Industry and Social Media

Real estate is an industry becoming more and more immersed in social media. This infographic shows how businesses are using it to drive traffic and increase sales.Image courtesy of Postling

The Case Against Having a Social Media Department

Are you sure your company needs a social media department? The decision whether to form one can be daunting, and this infographic shows why.Image courtesy of Flickr, davipt

The Facebook Effect on Relationships

Facebook and relationships: for some, the social media tool is a great way to find new friends and romantic relationships, but for others only a nuisance.Image based on a Flickr photo from rpb1001

Male Social Media Users & Fast Food

Do social media-using guys like junk food? It seems like they do!Infographic courtesy Lab 42, graphic by iStockphoto

How We Use Social Media During Emergencies

Social media is powerful during emergencies such as the earthquake in Haiti and the political revolution in Egypt.Image courtesy of CreditLoan

The History of Social Media

It seems like yesterday that we first started using the term “social media,” but the phenomenon already has a rich history.Image courtesy of OnlineSchools.org

Social Media Valuations

Are we in a new bubble? This infographic explores valuations of some social media companies which may be overvalued – or undervalued, depending on how you view the space.Infographic courtesy Gplus.com

The Winners & Losers of Social Networking

Social networking: everyone knows about it nowadays, but who’s really winning in this industry?Image courtesy of Ignite Social Media

How Small Businesses Are Using Social Media

This infographic breaks down the most popular social media tools amongst small businesses and demonstrates how and why they should be used.Image courtesy of Postling


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iPhone App Lets You Cut Movies Using Clips on Friends’ Phones

Here’s a new development in the social video app war: Recently-launched iPhone app Flixlab has included a feature that allows you to create collaborative videos with friends.

Flixlab [iTunes link] is a fairly comprehensive app that allows you to create movies using video clips and photos from your phone’s library (as well as newly shot footage and snaps from Facebook and other albums), tag your friends (so videos will appear on friends’ walls after sharing via Facebook), add themes and transitions (I recommend “Halloween”), and, finally, add music from your library.

“Events” is Flixlab’s collaborative mode. If your friends are using Flixlab, you can create a video using both your footage and your friend’s.

Say you’re at a wedding; if you and your friend are taking pictures and video during the wedding, you’re automatically sharing those images via the app. Just click on “Events” to unearth your friend’s video and photos, and you can add them to your own movie. It’s like having multiple angles. Check out the video below for more info:

This feature really distinguishes Flixlab from other new video-sharing apps, like Blipsnips, Viddy and Socialcam. Still, it could very well face the same issue startup Color has: You need a significant number of people to use the app in order for it to work well.

What do you think? Can Flixlab cut through the clutter?

Image courtesy of Flickr, Gwennypics

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Is Hulu For Sale? [UPDATED]

Online video service Hulu is considering a potential sale after an unknown bidder made an offer for the company, according to several reports.

None of the reports could confirm the identity of the buyer, though CNBC’s Jolua Boorstin says it’s not Google. It’s also unclear how advanced the talks are, and as WSJ reports, Hulu hasn’t even determined if it wants to sell.

The problem for Hulu is that it is heavily dependent on content from Walt Disney (which owns ABC), News Corp. (which owns Fox) and NBCUniversal (which is a subsidiary of Comcast and GE). Each of these companies have an equity stake in Hulu and will have to approve any sale. If even one of these three partners didn’t approve and decided to pull its content from Hulu, it would dramatically affect the value of the online video website.

Hulu has been trying to appease its network overlords with new deals and its Hulu Plus premium subscription option, but it’s also expanding its roster of original programming with several Hulu-exclusive shows.

The company was reportedly preparing for a $2 billion IPO last year, but has pulled back due to concerns about its deals with the networks. Hulu is the second largest video website in the world behind YouTube.

Our bet is that Hulu decides to remain independent, at least for now. There are too many logistical nightmares with any sale, and the company is better off with an IPO, thanks to LinkedIn.

Update: It seems that Yahoo may be the company trying to buy Hulu, according to The Los Angeles Times.

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PR Guy Fired Over Duke Nukem Tweet Hits Back

After Jim Redner, who owns one-man public relations firm The Redner Group, expressed his frustration over bad reviews of his client’s game, Duke Nukem Forever, via Twitter, the game’s publisher dropped him. Now, Redner is out with an explanation for the debacle.

Following less-than-favorable reviews of 2K Games’s Duke Nukem Forever, Redner took to Twitter to express his frustration, writing:

The above tweet got the web buzzing with the term “blacklisting.” Redner later apologized to several news outlets, but 2K Games distanced themselves from the PR man all the same.

Now Redner is out with a statement on Wired explaining the whole debacle. It seems that his anger was triggered by one review in particular, which he declines to identify. “It was a scathing diatribe masked as a review. Hate is a strong word, but I believe after reading his review it is fair to say that the reviewer hated the game.”

He goes on to explain that he never intended to evoke the specter of blacklisting, “I do not support the McCarthy era notion of blacklisting,” he says, going on to explain how publishers have limited numbers of review copies, and that he was going to be more choosy about where they went from now on.

“I personally have sent first person shooter games to one editor knowing that he likes FPS games, but then not sent him a copy of a game based on our national pastime because I know he finds baseball boring,” he says. “That’s not blacklisting. It’s a selection process.”

Although Redner is apologetic about lashing out via Twitter, he still stands by what he said. “It is my opinion that when someone exceeds their journalistic integrity and publishes a scathing, derogatory, uncalled-for review, I have the right to question it,” he says.

Redner joins a long list of people fired for their outbursts on social media. Here are 11 more.

Ashley Payne, Teacher

Ashley Payne, a teacher in Barrow County, Georgia, was asked to resign from her job at Apalachee High School in August 2009 because of photographs and status updates she posted to Facebook.

The problem with Payne’s updates? They showed her drinking alcohol and one update used an expletive. Payne was on vacation in Europe and some of her photographs included her visits to the Guinness Brewery and a local pub in Dublin.

Payne’s Facebook page was private, however she had friended some other teachers in her school. When the principal found out about the photos, she was told to render her resignation or face suspension.

Payne sued the school district in November 2009 because she was “not made aware of her rights.”

Christopher Lee, Congressman

Anthony Weiner isn’t New York politician to get in trouble using social media. In February, Representative Christopher Lee (R- NY) resigned from his post after Gawker published emails the married congressman sent to women on Craigslist.

These emails included photos of a shirtless Lee flexing his muscles for the camera. The Buffalo-area representative resigned less than four hours after Gawker posted the emails and photo.

Connor Riley, Would-be Cisco Employee

In March 2009, 22-year old Connor Riley was offered a job at Cisco. Her first instinct — to tweet about her new opportunity — is pretty common for most people of her generation.

Unfortunately, Riley’s tweet mentioned that taking a “fatty paycheck” would come at the expense of “hating the work.” A Cisco employee responded to her tweet, offering to pass her sentiments along to the hiring manager. Riley lost the job before it was even started.

The event, dubbed the “Cisco Fatty” incident, went viral and was a good cautionary tale for individuals of all ages.

Larry Johnson, NFL Running Back

In the fall of 2009, former Pro Bowl running back Larry Johnson sent a series of inflammatory tweets that got him into some hot water with his employer, the Kansas City Chiefs.

After being suspended for a game for his remarks — which included derogatory remarks about his coach and a gay slur directed at a fan — 32,000 Chiefs fans petitioned the team to release Johnson from his contract. The Chiefs obliged.

Chrysler Social Media Employee

When someone with access to the @ChryslerAutos Twitter account accidentally dropped the F-bomb back in March, Chrysler was not amused.

After first claiming that its account had been compromised, Chrysler later admitted that the errant tweet was sent by an employee of the social media agency that handles the Chrysler account.

It appears that the employee accidentally tweeted from the wrong account. When a similar situation happened to the Red Cross Twitter account in February, that organization responded with humor and forgiveness. Not so for the agency employee. The mis-directed tweet was enough to cost the employee his or her job.

Nir Rosen, NYU Fellow

Veteran war correspondent and NYU fellow at the Center on Law and Security Nir Rosen sparked outrage when he made offensive and insensitive tweets in the wake of the news that CBS chief foreign correspondent Lara Logan had suffered a brutal and sustained sexual assault.

Comments like “I’m rolling my eyes at all the attention she’ll get” and “it would have been funny if it happened to Anderson too,” didn’t earn Rosen any online friends.

After backtracking and apologizing for his statements — after first claiming that he didn’t know the severity of the attack when he made his comments — Rosen resigned from NYU.

Tim, CPK Employee

When California Pizza Kitchen server @Traphik sent a message to the company’s Twitter account, proclaiming “black button ups are the lamest shit ever,” CPK’s response was to fire him.

Tim, a comedian with his own YouTube channel, then posted a humorous account of the incident on YouTube. This went viral, CPK was probably annoyed with tons of tweets and phone calls from Tim’s fans, and ultimately, Tim got more exposure for his comedy.

Gilbert Gottfried, Former Aflac Spokesman

Comedian Gilbert Gottfried isn’t exactly known for his tact. Still, when the comedian made jokes about the Japanese tsunami, the people at Aflac, where Gottfried as served as spokesman, were not pleased.

Aflac fired Gottfried from his role as voice of the Aflac duck and then embarked on an innovative social media campaign to find a new spokesduck.

Disgusting Domino’s People

Note to self: Publishing mis-deeds in the workplace is a great way to lose a job.

That’s the lesson that some former Domino’s Pizza employees learned, and we’re glad they did. A few workers filmed themselves doing gross things to food – food that was probably served to customers. They then posted this video to YouTube, because it’s all about the lulz.

Fortunately, some investigative work on the part of Consumerist tracked down the employees behind the video. Domino’s fired the employees.

Today Show Jokester

One of our favorite memes from earlier this year was a classic video from The Today Show archives featuring Katie Couric and Bryant Gumbel attempting to understand the intricacies of the Internet.

Apparently, NBC didn’t find the joke that funny (even though the current crew from The Today Show found it fit to comment on the hilarity) and fired the guy that posted the clip online.

Anthony Weiner, Congressman

The Weinergate saga may be coming to an end — now that Representative Anthony Weiner has resigned from his position in the U.S. House of Representatives — but its repercussions will stay with us.

When the New York City congressman sent a lewd photograph of himself to someone on Twitter as a public tweet rather than a direct message, his social media faux-pas became fodder for comedians and generated public calls for his resignation.

It also opened up a larger discussion about the growing role of social media in politics and the separation between public and private behaviors online.

Image courtesy of Flickr, Mrs. Duncan

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Rob Zombie’s Woolite Ad Shows Hidden Terror of Doing Laundry [VIDEO]

Here are two names you probably thought you’d never see in the same sentence: Rob Zombie and Woolite.

The rocker/horror movie director and the fabric care brand have joined forces for a new commercial. The 30-second spot features clips from Zombie’s movies House of 1000 Corpses and The Devil’s Rejects. The ad also features a Leatherface-type character doing laundry outside and the scrawled message “Don’t let detergents torture your clothes.”

It’s a definite shift in tone for the brand. Woolite’s other campaign is much less edgy: It features What Not to Wear host Stacy London comparing doing laundry today versus years ago. Reps from Reckitt Benckiser, Woolite’s parent company, could not be reached for comment on the new ad.

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Roger Ebert Defends Controversial Tweet About Ryan Dunn’s Death

Film critic Roger Ebert has taken to his blog on the Chicago Sun Times website to explain his controversial tweet about Jackass star Ryan Dunn’s tragic death.

The entry includes a few regrets, and a concession that the timing of his tweet was poor, but Ebert does not apologize for or recant the original tweet: “Friends don’t let jackasses drink and drive.”

“I offer my sympathy to Ryan Dunn’s family and friends, and to those of Zachary Hartwell,” he begins, before going on to say, “I also regret that my tweet about the event was considered cruel. It was not intended as cruel. It was intended as true.”

His explanation reads, “I meant exactly what I wrote. I wasn’t calling Ryan Dunn a jackass. In Twitter shorthand, I was referring to his association with ‘Jackass.’ I thought that was clear.”

SEE ALSO: Ryan Dunn Posted Twitter Pic Hours Before Death [PHOTO]

The blog post goes on to recount the chain of events that led to Ebert’s tweet. In one particular passage, Ebert appears torn between justification and guilt:

“I don’t know what happened in this case, and I was probably too quick to tweet. That was unseemly. I do know that nobody has any business driving on a public highway at 110 mph, as some estimated — or fast enough, anyway, to leave a highway and fly through 40 yards of trees before crashing. That is especially true if the driver has had three shots and three beers. Two people were killed. What if the car had crashed into another car?”

Ebert’s initial tweet reverberated around the web Monday, catching the attention of Dunn’s friend and Jackass co-star Bam Margera, drawing the ire of celebrity blogger Perez Hilton and provoking Dunn supporters to flag Ebert’s Facebook Page. The page was taken down by Facebook Tuesday morning, and later restored.

SEE ALSO: Roger Ebert’s Facebook Page Removed Following Comment About Ryan Dunn

Margera tweeted in response to Ebert’s remarks: “I just lost my best friend, I have been crying hysterically for a full day and piece of sh*t roger ebert has the gall to put in his 2 cents.” An additional tweet reads: “About a jackass drunk driving and his is one, f*ck you! Millions of people are crying right now, shut your fat f*cking mouth!”

Margera has not yet responded to Ebert’s entry.

More About: Bam Margera, Jackass, roger ebert, Ryan Dunn, twitter

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