Planisphere: Latitude 50°N – for use in the UK and Ireland, Northern Europe, Northern USA and Canada

Product Information

Choose the side of the planisphere that matches where you live. If you’re in the UK, you’re in the northern hemisphere. Because this path is predictable, spotting the visible planets, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn becomes quite easy. Neptune and Uranus also travel the ecliptic but require some optical assistance to be seen as planets rather than looking like distant stars.

By lining up the date and time, the stars visible in the window will match the ones in the night sky at that time. Line up the correct date and time and your planisphere will reveal an accurate depiction of the stars in the night sky at that moment. Behind you and slightly to your left, as you face north, you will see the constellation of Orion, one of the most easily recognized constellations. See where it is on the planisphere. Everyone should take their star maps, and use a pencil to write a small ‘N’ for north and ‘S’ for south on the front, before cutting them out. The letters will make sure they don’t get mixed up. Printed over most of the lower disc are the stars, constellations and brighter deep-sky objects that you can see from the UK’s latitude.

April

Advance the date over days and months and you can see how the sky will change. Stars and deep sky objects, DSOs, will come into view and leave the view as the year progresses. This is a very valuable lesson as it helps you internalize how your sky will change over time. The one important point to keep in mind when using one is that planispheres are designed to work at specific latitudes.

For example, 62P/Tsuchinshan will be approaching the Sun in late 2023, with its closest approach to the Sun on 24 December, and its closest point to the Earth on 30 January 2024. At this time of the year it will be within the constellation of Leo, but with a predicted maximum magnitude of 9 you’ll be unable to see this with the naked eye. They don’t look like much, just two discs of cardboard and plastic fastened together with a central pin. For budding stargazers, a planisphere is one of the greatest aids to helping you find your way around the night sky. The motion of the stars marks the passage of time during the night. As Earth turns on its axis, the stars appear to rise in the east and set in the west, just as the Sun and Moon do. This means that you'll see different stars overhead at different times of night. Likewise, as Earth makes its annual trek around the Sun, you'll see different stars from month to month.

A Virtual Planisphere

Many will also have the brighter Messier objects identified on the star chart. For example, the Andromeda Galaxy is also known as Messier 31 or M31. The Messier list of 110 deep sky objects is one of the most popular among armature astronomers and often the first observing list those who are new to the hobby will try to observe. As with any observation close to the Sun, make certain you don’t look directly at the Sun and, if observing with a telescope or pair of binoculars, wait until after sunset or before sunrise to avoid accidentally pointing them at it. You can keep an eye out for the equinoxes and solstices to notice how the length of day and night changes throughout the year. The two equinoxes happen on 20 March ( Spring Equinox) and 23 September ( Autumn Equinox) and the days and nights should roughly be the same length. For all of us in the Northern Hemisphere, the summer solstice will be on 21 June and there will be over 16.5 hours of daylight on this particular day! The winter solstice will be on 22 December, and there will be slightly less than eight hours of daylight.