Software Alternatives & Reviews

KStars VS Celestia

Compare KStars VS Celestia and see what are their differences

KStars logo KStars

KStars is a Desktop Planetarium for KDE.

Celestia logo Celestia

Real-time 3D visualization of space
  • KStars Landing page
    Landing page //
    2018-11-23
  • Celestia Landing page
    Landing page //
    2021-09-19

The expandable free and open-source real-time space simulator that lets you explore our universe in three dimensions.

KStars videos

Astrophotography: stellarmate kstars and Ekos review

More videos:

  • Review - Part 1: Introduction to KStars

Celestia videos

Celestia Review - with Tom Vasel

More videos:

  • Review - Celestia - Shut Up & Sit Down Review
  • Review - Celestia Review with the Game Boy Geek

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to KStars and Celestia)
Space Simulator
31 31%
69% 69
Universe Simulator
12 12%
88% 88
Virtual Universe
27 27%
73% 73
Education & Reference
58 58%
42% 42

User comments

Share your experience with using KStars and Celestia. For example, how are they different and which one is better?
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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Celestia should be more popular than KStars. It has been mentiond 26 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

KStars mentions (3)

  • Is there a utility that will read my FITS files and map the image size and locations on a sky map?
    KStars can do this. It can either use the World Coordinate System data from the FITS file or plate-solve to derive the location from the image data. Source: about 1 year ago
  • Best FOSS Astronomy Software
    Kstars is a powerful, flexible astronomy application that you will find useful. Source: over 1 year ago
  • Maps of the stars
    Printed sky atlases are pretty obsolete, now that we have technology. https://edu.kde.org/kstars/. Source: over 1 year ago

Celestia mentions (26)

  • My 9 year old nephews drawing of stars
    I think Celestia could be a good one. I also thought about SpaceEngine, but AFAIK it was kind of terrible at generating realistic planetary systems, among other things (pricey, huge, etc.). Source: about 1 year ago
  • What are the best resources to explore space from my computer?
    Celestia was something I played with before. Pretty interesting. Source: about 1 year ago
  • Lunar Occultation of Mars
    Celestia looks as though it would do it. Source: over 1 year ago
  • Tips to visualize Apollo 17 trajectory
    I'm looking for data and software to visualize the Apollo 17 trajectory (especially the "powered descent", lunar rendezvous and entry). I'm thinking of using celestia. I'm look for a data tables as well (time stamp, position for each part of the stack). Any tips are appreciated. Source: over 1 year ago
  • Help rediscovering a certain night sky exploration program?
    Yes, that's Celestia most likely. I'm not sure it is still maintained though. Source: over 1 year ago
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What are some alternatives?

When comparing KStars and Celestia, you can also consider the following products

Stellarium - Stellarium is a free open source planetarium for your computer.

Sky Map - Sky Map (formerly the Google Sky Map) turns your Android-powered mobile phone into a window on the...

Space Engine - Space Engine is a realistic virtual Universe you can explore on your computer.

Sky Guide - A window to the stars has never been more beautiful and easy to use.

Universe Sandbox - Universe Sandbox ² is a physics-based space simulator where you can simulate Events and even break physics and friction with certain features.

SkyView - SkyView is powerful, easy-to-use app that answers questions about stars, constellations, and more.