These star charts are for the first of the month for each month of the semester, and show the available stars and constellations at 8 pm. If you print the chart, orient it over your head with north pointing orth and you will be able to identify stars and constellations that are setting (toward the west), transiting (near the north-southine overhead), and rising (towards east). Since the stars rise 4 minutes earlier each night (or an hour earlier in two weeks), you can see the star chart for the next month to see what the sky looks like at 10 pm on a given night. Remember that the stars always use standard time, so during daylight savings time subtract an hour from local time (EDT) to get the correct EST for your starfinder.
The planets (wanderers) including the moon are always on the move relative to the stars so they are not plotted on the above charts. To find the planets you must use Skyglobe. This software is available only on a PC for now. Go to the PC lab or the nearest available PC linked to the Virtual Classroom and under Physics 155 find and use Skyglobe. Set it for Storrs and the local date and time. Once you have acquired the skychart including planets available, print it and copy the position of the available planets onto your downloaded starfinder chart using positions relative to nearest stars. For example, Mars is near the sickle in Leo at the beginning of spring semester 1995 so you can copy it's position onto your printed starfinder chart. Then go outside at night and try to find Mars and notice its changing position during the semester.
- Fall Star Charts
- Spring Star Charts