Smithsonian.com

A few months after the purchase of my iPhone, I’ll admit it: I’m an app addict. Luckily, there are plenty of great free apps out there. And here’s some of my favorites in science:

View pictures on the NASA app (image courtesy of NASA)

NASA App: Lots of pictures, a launch schedule, mission updates and plenty of videos to keep you up-to-date with the space agency.

Space Images: View images from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory of everything from Earth to the Universe. Browse by planet or search the database for your favorites.

NASA Lunar Electric Rover Simulator: Maneuver the LER across the surface of the Moon, through a lunar camp and pretend to be a future astronaut.

Planets: A personal planetarium in your pocket. Just go outside at night and start up the program. It will produce a chart the sky at your location.

Dinosaurs: The American Museum of Natural History developed this app, which lets you explore their collection of photos of fossils. (For more dinosaur apps, see our sister blog.)

Geotimescale: A handy geologic time scale from Tasa geology.

The Chemical Touch, Lite Edition: An easy-to-use periodic table of elements.

Molecules: View three-dimensional renderings of molecules. Rotate them up and down, left and right. The app comes preloaded with a few—including DNA and insulin—but more can be downloaded easily from the RCSB Protein Data Bank.

3D Brain: Rotate the brain, explore various structures and learn more about what each does.

Skeptical Science: If confronted with a global warming skeptic, pull this app up on your phone and you’ll have counterarguments at the ready.

Science Friday: Podcasts and videos from the Friday afternoon show on public radio.