KStars vs Gaia Sky: catalog facts
 KStars |  Gaia Sky |
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Free Free and open source from the KDE community. |
Free Free and open source under the MPL-2.0. |
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Windows, macOS, Linux |
Windows, macOS, Linux |
- Sky simulation with up to 100 million stars, plus comets and asteroids
- Observation planner and calculation tools such as conjunction prediction
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- Uses real scientific catalogs including Gaia star data
- Handles around a billion objects in real time
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- The large feature set takes time to learn
- Some information and imagery features rely on internet resources
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- Large datasets need significant download space and capable hardware
- Aimed at scientific exploration rather than a guided planetarium experience
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Downloadable app |
Downloadable app |
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Open source |
Open source |
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License not stated |
License: MPL-2.0 |
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No account needed |
No account needed |
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Not stated if it works offline |
Not stated if it works offline |
Checked September 23, 2026 | Checked October 1, 2026 |
Catalog facts only. Anything “not stated” is unconfirmed. Check full listings for details.
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