MyRadar tracks weather and lets you explore celestial bodies

NAME MyRadar

WHAT IT IS This fast, easy-to-use app for checking weather conditions and forecasts has been upgraded. Now you can also use it to explore virtual moons on your mobile phone without the pesky dangers of Mars’ 95 percent carbon dioxide atmosphere.

HOW MUCH Free, in-app purchases available from $2.99 and up

COMPATIBLE WITH iPhone, iPad and iPod touch, requires iOS 8.2 or later; Android 4.0.3 and up

WHAT’S GOOD ACME AtronOMatic, which developed MyRadar, has teamed up with the makers of the online game Star Citizen to allow users to explore three of the virtual universe’s moons — Yela, Cellin and Daymar — to create the experience of visiting another planet or celestial body. Pull down the More Info tab and you’ll get data on each of these heavenly bodies such as atmospheric pressure, orbit details and relation to the sun.

Another upgrade to MyRadar is a feature that uses a smartphone’s location feature to detect automatically when a user was in an airport. That user would then receive flight information, status and other data through the app.

Of course, with winter here, the app is still tops for tracking snowstorms as well as providing basic info like temperature and wind velocity so that you know how heavily you should bundle up. And if you have to go out in a storm, MyRadar can help you choose a route to avoid the heaviest storm areas.

WHAT’S NOT To the moon with those annoying pop-up ads.

— The Orlando Sentinel (TNS)