One of the biggest challenges for someone starting out in astronomy is to learn and navigate the night sky. Fortunately, there are many resources available to help you. In case you missed these on the Home Page, you might try a few in the box below to get started. Then dive into some more detail.
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Charts & Highlights
The Moon
Meteor Showers
Astronomy Magazines
Planispheres
Deep Sky Objects
FAS Astronomers Blogs
Messier Marathons
Celestial Measurements
Observing Hints & Etiquette
Several resources publish Highlights and Sky Charts of the night sky for various times of the year.
Night Sky Highlights
NASA Skywatching
NASA What’s Up
In The Sky (Astronomy Magazine)
This Week’s Sky (Sky &Telescope)
This Month’s Sky (Cosmic Pursuits)
Monthly Night Sky (Farmers’ Almanac)
The Sky Live
In-The-Sky.org
The Current Night Sky (Maps & Charts)
Interactive Sky Chart (Sky & Telescope)
Outreach Resources (NASA/JPL)
What’s Out Tonight (Ken Press)
The Evening Sky Maps
Celestial Almanac (Sky & Telescope)
Annual/Seasonal Sky Maps & Charts
Getting Started in Astronomy (Sky & Telescope)
Sky Maps (Astronomical League)
Welcome Guide, pages 3-6 (Imaginova Publishing)
The Constellations (IAU)
Information from timeanddate
Online “Planetariums”
The Night Sky (One-Minute Astronomer)
The Seasonal Night Skies (FAS Articles – Spring and Summer coming soon)
Other Resources
The Moon is often an interesting target to observe. It is best observed during the first or third quarter Moon.
Moon Phases (Introduction)
Image Credits: NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University
Current Phase of the Moon
Meteor Showers
Information about astronomy, including observing highlights for the current month, are available from several astronomy magazines.
If you’re old fashioned, you might try an adjustable “star wheel” known as a Planisphere.
A planisphere allows you to dial in the day of the year and the time of night to see a map of the night sky as it appears on the selected day and time.
Guide to the Stars (Ken Graun/Amazon)
Once you really get going, you can track down some of those Deep Sky Objects.
Open Star Clusters
Small and younger clusters of stars that formed at approximately the same time.
Globular Star Clusters
Larger and older clusters of stars found outside the plane of the Milky Way. These clusters are over 10 billion years old and contain hundreds of thousands to millions of stars.
Nebulae
Gaseous clouds, typically composed mostly of hydrogen, where new stars are being formed. Although at least one, the crab nebula, is a supernova remnant.
Planetary Nebulae
The remnants of stars after they expanded into a red giant where material was blown away from the surviving star core.
Galaxies
Large collections of stars such as the Milky Way and Andromeda.
To guide you, pick up a copy of Left Turn at Orion by Guy Consolmagno and Dan M. Davis. You can find this book on Amazon. They have a Left Turn at Orion webpage as well.
Messier Catalog
A hundred or so of the most noticeable objects are classified as Messier objects
- “Messier Objects.” Constellation Guide.
- “The Messier Objects.” in-the-sky.org.
- “Messier Catalog: A List Of Deep-Sky Objects.” starlust.
- “Hubble’s Messier Catalog.” NASA Science.
Caldwell and NGC Catalogs
Other objects are found in the Caldwell Catalogue.
Most have a designation from the New General Catalog and have NGC numbers.
- “Caldwell Catalogue.” Constellation Guide.
- “The Caldwell Objects.” in-the-sky.org.
- “The New General Catalog (NGC).” in-the-sky.org.
Other Resources
- “Best Deep-Sky Objects for Beginners (Northern Hemisphere).” Star Walk. March 7, 2024.
- David Fuller. “Best deep-sky objects for beginners.” Astronomy. December 6, 2022.
- Michael E. Bakich. “The Deep Sky.” Astronomy.” March 15, 2010.
- “The Deep Sky.” FAS Astronomers Blog. June 2022.
FAS has several Astronomy Blogs with more information about observing the planets, stars, and other objects.
If you’re even more adventurous, you might try a Messier Marathon. This is an attempt to find most of the Messier objects in a single night. Good Luck!
Celestial Measurements
When you do venture out into the night, there are some helpful hints and rule you should follow:
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