STAR WALK 2 The first Star Walk was a multi-award winner, so you can expect big things from its successor

For those who don’t know, Star Walk 2 is a stargazing tool that follows hot on the heels of the original Star Walk, which won an Apple Design Award and was voted one of the App Store’s finest in 2012. It uses the GPS and gyroscope in your smartphone and combines that with masses of astronomical data to give you a picture of the night sky above you.

Just point your phone at the sky for a realtime astronomical map. Point your phone down, and Star Walk 2 will show you the sky in the opposite hemisphere. But go beyond the sky, and the app will take you on a journey through space to show you everything from Earth to the farthest reaches of the known universe.

And it does so with incredible beauty. The new version has 3D models of planetary nebulae, satellites, comets, asteroids and more – the first space exploration program to do so. Developer Vito has also added some nice polygraphic artwork to illustrate the constellations you find, and a suitably spacey soundtrack to accompany your journeys. Whether you’re a space nut or not, this is an essential download. $3.79, VITOTECHNOLOGY.COM, IOS