Stellarium Web: free online planetarium in your browser
Stellarium Web turns your browser into a planetarium: a live map of the night sky from your location, with planets, stars and constellations you can tap for details. It is free and needs no account. We tried it ourselves.
Quick facts
- What it does: shows a realistic, live map of the night sky from your location. Search any planet, star or constellation and get its magnitude, distance, position and rise and set times.
- Price: free on the web. The mobile apps are free to install; the Android listing shows in-app purchases.
- Platforms: any modern web browser; free Android and iOS apps also exist.
- Best for: anyone curious about what that bright dot in the sky is, and for family stargazing.
What it is
Stellarium Web is the browser version of Stellarium, the well-known open-source planetarium. Its privacy page says it is developed by Stellarium Labs (France) and Noctua Software (Hong Kong), companies founded by the original Stellarium developers. The engine is open source (AGPL 3.0) and draws on the Gaia database of more than a billion stars, per the project README.
We tried it
This was a functional workflow test with scripted input: it checks that the core features work, not the feel of stargazing with it.
- Opened stellarium-web.org in a desktop browser on 21 October 2026, no account. The sky rendered for our detected location with a live clock.
- Searched "Mars": suggestions appeared instantly, and clicking the planet centered the sky on it.
- The info panel showed Mars' magnitude, distance, coordinates, phase and its rise and set times for the day, plus a short description.
Is it free?
Yes. The website is free with no paywall; we used it fully without an account or payment. The mobile apps are free to install, and the Android listing shows optional in-app purchases.
Privacy and data
- The site uses your local time and location to compute the sky map, per its privacy policy; in our test it auto-detected our location.
- Without an account, it may collect technical information like browser type and IP address, and it uses cookies.
- An optional account (for saving observations) collects your name, email and the observation data you add, per the policy.
Our advice
- Step outside at night, open the site, and point the view at whatever catches your eye; the search box identifies it in seconds. This is our advice, not the site's.
- Tap the calendar view to see what is visible tonight from your place.
India
- It is a website, so it works anywhere; the sky map simply follows your location. Our test connection was not an Indian one, but the tool is location-based by design.
Frequently asked questions
Is Stellarium Web free?
Yes. The website is free with no paywall. The mobile apps are free to install, with in-app purchases on Android.
Do I need to sign up?
No. The full sky map and search work without an account; sign-up only adds saved observations.
Does it need my location?
It uses your location and local time to draw the correct sky. You can change the location manually inside the app.
Sources: stellarium-web.org, GitHub. Tested and checked 21 October 2026.