Gaia Sky vs Heavens-Above
Gaia Sky
gaiasky.spaceHeavens-Above
heavens-above.comSide by side
| Figure | Gaia Sky | Heavens-Above |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | Yes | — |
| Web | — | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | — |
| macOS | Yes | — |
| Linux | Yes | — |
| iOS | — | Yes |
| Android | — | Yes |
| API | Yes | — |
| Self-hosted | Yes | — |
| Plans published | 1 | 2 |
| Spec score · Astronomy Apps | 9.0 (#1) | 8.4 (#7) |
| Headquarters | Heidelberg, Germany | Munich, Germany |
| Privacy | The website says it does not use cookies, tracking codes, analytics scripts, or other privacy-invasive mechanisms. | The privacy policy says the site collects browser and visit information, including IP addresses, and may use cookies to track site use and preferences. |
| Purpose | Gaia Sky is a real-time 3D astronomy visualization platform for exploring the Universe with scientific datasets. | Heavens-Above provides predictions and information for observing satellites and other objects in the sky. |
| Support | The project directs bug reports and feature requests to its source repository and says old releases are not supported. | The FAQ welcomes suggestions, corrections, and bug reports, but says the team cannot reply to every email and only understands email written in English. |
Plans
In their own words
Heavens-Above
Heavens-Above provides satellite predictions and sky information through Android, iOS and web access. The website lists 10-day predictions for selected satellites, daily predictions for brighter satellites and Starlink passes from a launch. It also offers a live sky view, interactive sky chart, dynamic 3D Starlink orbit display and interactive 3D ISS visualization. Charts and information cover the Sun, Moon, planets, comets, asteroids and constellations. The Android app includes predictions for the ISS, visible satellites and radio satellites, plus orbit and ground-track views, night mode and an orientation-based tracker. Selected passes can be added to a device calendar. Predictions run locally, with a data connection needed every few days. The free plan costs nothing; Heavens-Above Pro costs $4.99, paid once and removes Android adverts. Predictions become less accurate farther from the current date.