Stellar backyard: Most stars visible with the naked eye are within 1 000 light-years from Earth; in an astronomical sense they are in our backyard.
If all stars had the same energy output, it would be easy to tell their distances: fainter stars would be further away..
Astronomers can map the sky in many ways: observing in different regions of the electromagnetic spectrum, obtaining spectra of stars and galaxies to determine their physical properties and distances, and repeatedly observing to measure the variability, explosions, and motions of celestial objects..
Each MYPICTURE star chart is created using a sophisticated computer programme which can access and sift through the relevant celestial data.
That relevant data being the galactic coordinates – and the size/brightness – of all the stars which are visible with the naked eye from any given point on earth..
Astronomers can map the sky in many ways: observing in different regions of the electromagnetic spectrum, obtaining spectra of stars and galaxies to determine their physical properties and distances, and repeatedly observing to measure the variability, explosions, and motions of celestial objects..
The center of the chart shows stars that are directly overhead.
The outer rim represents the horizon, labeled with the directions north, south, east and west.
To match the sky, the chart must be held overhead, with the chart's north marker pointing north.
And it has to be a chart that was made for the month you're in..
The oldest accurately dated star chart appeared in ancient Egyptian astronomy in 1534 BC.
The earliest known star catalogues were compiled by the ancient Babylonian astronomers of Mesopotamia in the late 2nd millennium BC, during the Kassite Period (ca. 1531–1155 BC)..
Google Sky Maps is a celestial map that shows you objects like stars, constellations, galaxies, planets, or the Earth's moon..
Astronomers can map the sky in many ways: observing in different regions of the electromagnetic spectrum, obtaining spectra of stars and galaxies to determine their physical properties and distances, and repeatedly observing to measure the variability, explosions, and motions of celestial objects..
Best FREE Stargazing Website: Stellarium
Stellarium is the free web version of the popular star gazer app.
Features you'll want to use for Experience Astronomy include… Your Location – In the bottom left-hand corner, you can set your location..
Google Sky Maps is a celestial map that shows you objects like stars, constellations, galaxies, planets, or the Earth's moon..
Online Planetarium - In-The-Sky.org.
Expand the side bar to adjust the time and date.
By clicking and dragging the sky, you can view it from different angles..
Turn the map around so that the horizon for the direction you're facing is right-side up.
The center of the map represents the part of the sky directly overhead.
So a star that's plotted halfway from the edge to the center can be found about halfway up the sky — halfway from horizontal to overhead..
Stellarium Mobile
Stellarium Mobile Free is available for Android for free (with in-app purchases), but there is also Stellarium Mobile PLUS that will cost you $19.99..
Not everyone has the same set of stars in their back yard.
The constellations appear in different positions throughout the seasons, disappearing and reappearing, depending on where you live in the world..
It's Mercury Of all the planets in the Solar System, Mercury has the smallest orbit..
Antiquity.
The oldest accurately dated star chart appeared in ancient Egyptian astronomy in 1534 BC.
The earliest known star catalogues were compiled by the ancient Babylonian astronomers of Mesopotamia in the late 2nd millennium BC, during the Kassite Period (ca. 1531–1155 BC)..
What Planets Are Visible By the Naked Eye? The first step to identifying planets is to know which planets are possible to see without a telescope.
Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn are the five brightest planets in our night sky and, therefore, observable by most people..
Credit for modern maps of the cosmos is often given to Harlow Shapley, who in 1917 published a map of the distribution of globular clusters and correctly concluded that our solar system was located a considerable distance from the center of our galaxy..
They imagined that the Earth was fixed at the centre of things, with the Solar System orbiting around us.
Beyond was the night sky, which they imagined as a sphere with the stars projected on the inside.
This became known as the celestial sphere.
It was the starting point for mapping the stars..
LCOGT (Las Cumbres Observatory Global Telescope Network) Education Space Book and Astronomy Education at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln has an extensive selection of online simulations
Interactives and question banks for undergraduate astronomy.
This is superb background for teachers and some of the topics can be adapted for use with students.
Offers the free online course Hands-On Astronomy: Observing Stars And Planets.
From there
Planning a night of cozy constellation contemplations—or spending the night counting the stars in the Milky Way—is easy.
Your only decision is how far you want to travel.
To see a live map showing the actual positions of each of the planets right now (and also more information on each planet) then please visit the planets page.
A map showing the relative sizes of the solid surfaces of the solar system.
Source: xkcd.com
