To begin, you need to know the size of your finderscope’s field and then your lowest power eyepiece. This makes it much easier to use the chart for star hopping. We can create a little tool to help show how much of the star chart we can see in our eyepiece field of view. The outer edge of a circular map represents the horizon. The point directly overhead is called the Zenith and can be found in the center of the chart. Since the sky is above our heads, your star chart is designed to be held overhead when you read it. As the night progresses, this little dome turns so that the stars seem to rise in the east and set in the west. It helps to think of the sky as a dome around the Earth upon which stars and planets reside. We developed an in-depth guide to the celestial coordinate system, if you’d like to learn more detail. The celestial equator mirrors Earth’s equator and the north and south celestial poles are directly above those on Earth. They are called right ascension and declination respectively. The reference frames we use on star charts are equivalent to longitude and latitude used on maps of the earth. Likewise, locating objects in the night sky requires a reference frame for astronomers to navigate. Wouldn’t it be so much easier if you were given exact coordinates, that AZ is 34° North and 111° West? The state can now be located in a jiffy. Let’s say that you wish to locate Arizona on a map, but you only know that it is somewhere in the bottom left in the US. The Milky Way is often shown too, either as an outline or a slightly grayed out area.Ī Sky & Telescope Star Map Night Sky Coordinatesīefore we get into the details of reading star charts, it’s helpful to understand a little bit about night sky coordinates. Since not every night sky object is present here, astronomers use these brighter objects as references for star hopping to fainter ones. In addition to dots, there are gray circles that refer to star clusters and ovals to galaxies. The size of the dot reflects the brightness of the star, the bigger the dot, the brighter the star. Stars are represented as black dots on a white background, which makes it easier to read when observing at night. It’s similar to a planisphere but they have different uses. Normally, a star chart only shows what’s visible to the naked eye under dark skies. It represents the stellar dome with only the brightest stars and objects and the constellations. Similar to how we use terrestrial maps to find destinations on Earth, a star chart is a map of the night sky and one’s guide to navigating the stars. Things to Remember and Other Helpful Tips.Remember to hold your notebook so your mark for north always points north. It’s easy to get lost, so keep track of where you are. Don’t ever go out at night without your parents’ permission.ĭon’t wander around. Before you know it, you’ll have a long list of discoveries.īring a flashlight to help you find your way and to see your notebook, compass or sky map.īring a friend or parent along to help search the night sky. Keep a notebook with you to sketch what you see in the sky and to keep a record of your sightings. With a good star map, there’s no limit to what you can find!īorrow binoculars or a telescope to see these celestial sights more clearly and closer up. And give your eyes a half hour to adjust to the darkness.īring a sky map to help you identify what you see. Find an area away from street lamps, neon signs, and headlights. Stargaze when there is little or no moonlight and the sky isn’t cloudy.
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