Cosmic Watch vs ISS Detector

Cosmic Watch combines a 3D planetarium, sky guide and clock, rendering Earth and the sky in real time. Point a phone or tablet toward the sky to identify constellations, stars and planets through augmented reality. Views cover the observer’s location, Earth and the solar system; the app also includes geocentric and heliocentric solar-system views, a 360-degree celestial sphere, astrology mode, retrograde motion, a world clock and astronomical-event notifications. A free plan includes the sky guide, views, layers, star names, world clock and notifications. Paid tools add options such as Moon Calendar, meteor showers, saved date, time and location, and Time Control. Cosmic Astro offers Western or Vedic natal charts with interactive 3D horoscopes and PDF export to subscribers and Cosmic Pro members. Cosmic Watch is available for Android, iOS and macOS. Optional self-hosted Matomo analytics can be disabled in settings; the maker says it does not store or share location or network information. The maker presents the app as an educational tool for astronomy concepts and Earth cycles.

ISS Detector helps users find visible International Space Station passes and predict satellite passes for their location. For each upcoming ISS pass, it gives the local start time, direction, highest altitude, and duration, and can notify users minutes before the pass begins. It checks the local forecast and indicates when clouds may prevent a sighting. Premium features add tracking for Starlink, Hubble, rocket bodies, planets, comets, and amateur radio satellites; amateur radio tracking includes transmitter information and Doppler shift calculations. Users can share sightings on social media. ISS Detector says it combines information from NASA, Heavens-Above, the Minor Planet Center, and yr.no weather. It is listed for Android, iOS, macOS, and web. The free plan includes ads and in-app purchases; ISS Detector Pro costs $17.99, paid once and includes all extensions with no ads. Its privacy policy says location calculations happen on-device and precise location is not stored on the maker’s servers. Google Play says data can’t be deleted.