Learning of the Star Chart

What is a star chart?

Star charts are just like the road maps used to help us travel to new places, but instead navigating roads and important landmarks, a star chart navigates the night sky. They are used to identify and locate astronomical objects such as stars, constellations and galaxies. Understanding how to use a star chart is one of the easiest ways to start learning the night sky.

    

Before using a star chart...

First things first: 

Ensure that the star chart used is the correct year, month, and time. The start chart can only be used in the exact year, month and time. Online star charts are updated every month. If

Next:

Find out which direction you’re facing. look at a map of your area, which will have the compass points labelled and should help you find out which way your house is facing. Next, match your map to the night sky. If you are looking towards the south you need to move your sky chart so that it shows the southern sky. Most star charts look like they have the compass points around the wrong way round, but because it is a map of the sky you have to hold it over your head, facing down, and then east and west will be the right way round. 

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Star charts show brighter stars as big dots and dimmer stars as small dots, so identifying Orion is a good place to start as this constellation not only has three stars in a straight line making up Orion’s belt, but also two bright stars Betelgeuse and Rigel that are easy to spot. It will be easier to use the map to navigate the rest of the sky after spotting Orion.