Edmund Scientific Star and Planet locator

[boggissimo]

A dozen years or so ago, when I lived in the US, I got interested in astronomy and bought a 'Star and Planet Locator', made by Edmund Scientific.

Having recently been given my first telescope, I dug the locator out from the dusty cupboard it has been hiding in, but have no idea how to use it. Before I get my head around it, is there actually any point in me trying to use a locator made for a US audience in 2003 when I'm actually in the UK in 2016? Is the information going to be totally incorrect, or just a bit out?

[Tinker1947]

Download Stellarium its likely to do a better job a lot quicker....

http://www.stellarium.org/

[spaceboy]

It matters not if your in the US or UK as it's the northern hemisphere. As for the offset in years I think there will be some variation most notably regarding planet positions but to be honest I don't think it matters regards star positions as you can easily establish what major constellations are over head and adjust to suit. I think most people stick to using free apps on their tablets or phones these days. Alternately you can use http://www.stellarium.org/en_GB/ get a print out of where you want to find stuff and use that.

[Cornelius Varley]

Is it one these planispheres ? http://www.amazon.co.uk/Edmund-Scientific-Star-Planet-Locator/dp/0131402358 . If the planisphere was intended for the US market then possibly the latitude range may be wrong so stars might not be in the right location (the one in the photo was designed for 40 degrees north latitude) . Things have moved on since 2003 and virtual planispheres are available as mobile phone apps or computer programmes such as Stellarium which will be easier to use that an old planisphere.

[boggissimo]

Thanks all. It is a planisphere, yep, same as that Amazon link. I do have Stellarium and a couple of phone apps, but in some ways I thought maybe a simpler tool could be better, at least when you're starting out. As long as it won't be totally wrong, I'll give it a go.

[laudropb]

You could try the Phillips planisphere. I found it very useful for learning the night sky.