Star Charts On The Cheap -
Online Astronomy Maps
While there are plenty of astronomy software packages available for the amateur, sometimes the very beginner does not need to look beyond the Internet itself for charting resources.
I remember fondly my first astronomy program. I wrote it myself from Eric Burgesses book, "Celestial Basic" on my Commodore 128... and never got it to run right. Still, it did tell me that the day was coming when astronomy applications would be available for the home computer (and even for the Commodore 128). Some of these packages are fantastic and can do many great things. The thing is, sometimes all you need is a program to draw up a few charts. The best ones are not cheap, with prices easily going over $100 USD. They are also a bit intimidating for the beginner, most a little too complex. There are plenty of free software packages for all platforms, but sometimes even these can be complicated. So, if you are looking at doing a little stargazing with that new pair of 8 x 50 binoculars but don't want to spend any more, look no further than the Internet.
No Operating System Need Be A Barrier
The nicest thing about most of these online star chart programs is that they are platform independent, that is, they are not bound by one operating system or another. All they require is a good browser. Some of the older ones will even operate on older systems, even on 486 processors (or 68040 for the Mac enthusiast out there... like me). Here I am going to list my four favorite. There are more out there, but for me these have the best features with a minimum of distractions. All of the pages were viewed using a Macintosh running OS X 10.4.6 in both Safari and Firefox.
While I use a number of different astronomy applications on my home computers, I like to use these online charts for producing my maps at the Vagabond's Blog and giving credit where due.
This is probably one of the nicest ones out there, and by far the one with the most bells and whistles and an easy interface. Written by John Walker of Autodesk fame, it is essentially an online version of his free Home Planet application for Windows. I admit to a certain satisfaction in using this online version on a Macintosh, but regardless of your platform, you'll find that it runs smoothly and it runs fast.
But before you jump right in and start to use this program, you need to know a little bit about your location. Fortunately, if you don't know the geographic coordinates, you can select from a list of cities and find the one that's closest.
Once you've done that, simply click the "Make Sky Map" button. The first chart it creates is a full sky chart set for the time you requested the map.
Clicking anywhere on this map will produce another chart -
This is your telescope view. Anywhere you click on the map will center in on that location. Just below the map are simple controls that allow you to zoom in and out as well. Also below (as well as on the full sky chart) are a set of options that allow you to change the appearance of the chart as well as update the time and change the location. One of the nice touches here is the fact that all of the setting descriptions are linked to definitions, so the first time user doesn't get too lost. Just above these controls is a link that opens up a help page.
Once you've entered the parameters you want, you can right click on the image (or for single button Macintosh mouse users, Control - click) and save a copy to your computer for further use. My advice - set the color to black on a white background when saving to your computer. This makes a much better chart to print and one that will save you plenty of toner as well (also, if you're still new to this, you might want to turn off the deep sky objects and the boundaries. This will create an easier to use map).
Final Thoughts on Your Sky
In my opinion, probably one of the nicest online charts to use. It works on a multitude of systems and is fast. It might seem a little intimidating to first time users, but by simply following those helpful links you learn not only how to master Your Sky but a little more about the way astronomers find things in the sky.
This page assembled with TextEdit on Macintosh OS X version 10.4.6... believe it or not.