Software Alternatives & Reviews

Space Engine VS Heavens Above

Compare Space Engine VS Heavens Above and see what are their differences

Space Engine logo Space Engine

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

Heavens Above logo Heavens Above

Website for tracking Satellites, Space ships and other space objects.
  • Space Engine Landing page
    Landing page //
    2022-12-13
  • Heavens Above Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-09-26

Space Engine videos

Why You Should Try Space Engine (The Best Damn Space Sim in the Galaxy)

More videos:

  • Review - Space Engine - Seamlessly Explore The Entire Universe
  • Review - Space Engine - What Can I Find In 10 Minutes?

Heavens Above videos

Review: Heavens Above app Android IOS

More videos:

  • Review - Heavens Above
  • Tutorial - How to download and use Heavens Above Satellite Tracking App

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Space Engine and Heavens Above)
Space Simulator
100 100%
0% 0
Photos & Graphics
0 0%
100% 100
Virtual Universe
89 89%
11% 11
Universe Simulator
73 73%
27% 27

User comments

Share your experience with using Space Engine and Heavens Above. For example, how are they different and which one is better?
Log in or Post with

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Space Engine seems to be a lot more popular than Heavens Above. While we know about 122 links to Space Engine, we've tracked only 4 mentions of Heavens Above. 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.

Space Engine mentions (122)

  • I'm trying to make a basic political borders map of a galaxy that's not the milky way
    I mean, there are plenty of good deep sky images out there. Try looking at the New General Catalogue (NGC) objects for something that strikes your fancy. Alternatively, you could cruise around in Space Engine and bookmark an interesting galaxy to get screenshots from multiple angles, which is what I usually do. (SE is available on Steam for a reasonable price.). Source: 10 months ago
  • Asteroid's Near Miss of Earth Undetected for 2 Days
    Computer says yes: https://gravitysimulator.org/ https://spaceengine.org/ Once the mass, velocity, heading of an object is known it becomes easier to track and fine tune parameters meaning time of intersect with earth can be calculated which gives orientation of planet and entry attitude. An exact street addres | sub metre grid reference is a big ask, but the "line of breakup" arcing across a narrow slice of the... - Source: Hacker News / 10 months ago
  • Infinite Photorealistic Worlds Using Procedural Generation
    Space Engine[1] is another popular one [1] https://spaceengine.org/. - Source: Hacker News / 11 months ago
  • Galaxy/Universe Creator/Generator
    This is a bit of a tall order. There are none that I know of; most folks I know who do galaxy maps either make them by hand with their digital paint tools of choice, or utilize the procedurally-generated ones from Space Engine. Up until recently SE had a free (old) version available on the site; you should still be able to find a mirror of it somewhere but I don't know of one personally. Otherwise, SE is available... Source: 11 months ago
  • The true overlords
    Numbers as overwhelming as these are meaningless to our little minds. Then, do yourself a favor. Download Space Engine and see for yourself what it's like to visually behold the mindblowing immensity we are talking about. Now, take into account Multiverses, and consider the possibility that all those Universes may be fractal-like with n-infinite dimensions. Contemplate that we probably know absolutely nothing... Source: about 1 year ago
View more

Heavens Above mentions (4)

  • Did anyone else see this "UFO"?
    The Heavens Above site will give predictions of satellite passes based on location and time, and will predict brightness as well. For example, here's a guess at the 501 location for last night (you might have to set the date yourself). Looks like the SL-16 R/B satellite or the Resurs 01 rocket stage are good candidates; they're about the right time and direction. If you knew time, location, and/or direction more... Source: 11 months ago
  • Can someone help me find what this is?
    Heavens-Above (multiple platforms, lists satellites). Source: over 2 years ago
  • See a Satellite Tonight
    Also worth noting: https://heavens-above.com/main.aspx But this has a much nicer UI/UX! The street view rendering is particularly impressive. - Source: Hacker News / about 3 years ago
  • Is this a satellite? Please be nice, I really want to know. Plane flies over for comparison.
    I have seen planes where they look like just flashes of lights until you get into a really dark place and can see the lights that are always on. I think they fly at higher altitudes for faster, more efficient travel. There are a couple of ways to check into this, though. Heavens-Above tracks satellites and flightradar24 has a playback function for times going back a week. Source: about 3 years ago

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Space Engine and Heavens Above, you can also consider the following products

Celestia - Real-time 3D visualization of space

Satscape - A satellite tracking program for Windows, Mac OS and Linux.

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

See A Satellite Tonight - Free web app to explore satellite locations.

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.

ISS Detector - Tracking the International Space Station. See it fly by.