Planisphere annoying

[Rosie2]

I am a beginner but very pleased Skywatcher Skyliner 200p ,but as I say just learning but very keen! got up this morning at 5am , MAD ! to see if I could see Saturn for the first time , it was clear one minute but then the clouds rolled in .I have got Stellarium which is great but its the planisphere I wonder if any other beginners have problems with it , its a Philips it says hold it above head so blue cross is central .I cant see any blue cross! I wear glasses but they do work ! Then I take it outside with my red torch and cant see a thing its too shiny.Cheers to all on SGL.

[kniclander]

know the feeling - I never really got the holding the planisphere upside down thing. I found it easier to look at the planisphere downwards not upwards and then kind of imagine everything reversed. TBH if you have stellarium, you probably won't get much more out of the planisphere.

good luck!

[Wobbly Bob]

WHY do they do that :crybaby: I agree its such a pain trying to read these maps. (Sky at Night, Astronomy Now plus many other mags) adopt the same unatural aspect, hold map over your head, grip red torch in teeth to illuminate map and keep specs in place on nose :shock: Uuugggg WHY.

[ottoman]

yeh i agree with you bob, i bought a philips planisphere, where is that blue cross!! it is on there but its so small.

Ive got a mini laptop with stellarium on it, so the planisphere doesnt get used anymore!

[Tiny]

We have always read the planisphere flat on a table and transposed in our mind. It's not difficult if you know a couple of the brighter stars to get you bearings.

One tip to figure where things are is to know where the pole star is. An old trick to work this out in a sky of bright stars was to use the pointers of the Plough to give a line, then to check which star on that line was the right one by confirming it was about 51 to 54 degrees up in the sky.

To do the degrees check you look at the horizon then, without moving you head look up using you eyes. This gives you 45 degrees and adding a few more gives you a horizontal line to intersect the line of the pointers and give the pole star.

[Rosie2]

Yes its nice to know I'm not alone on this . My greatest difficulty is that I cant see Polaris from my garden., there is so much light polution to the north, I cant see the Plough.

Went on an Astronomy walk on nearby Hengesbury Head on Tues. it was marvellous to be able to see so many things to get your bearings and to have somebody with us to point everything out.

[philsail1]

The problem I have in using a "planisphere," is expanding what's shown on the map, to the scale of the real sky!

I too now find it easier to use "stellarium."

philsail

[continuum]

I agree with everything said about planispheres - frustrating. I have both the Phillips and the Collins versions. They are both as bad as each other. Why are they printed in dark colours - we all know that the night sky is dark so why not print on white? I only use mine indoors and flat down.

Stellarium is much more use as far as I am concerned.

RonJ

[geoff_k]

I keep one in the shed along with some star maps so I don't have to back indoors to consult the PC or whatever and ruin my vision. Rarely use it though as others have said its a pain in the neck (literally)

Much easier with a planetarium program except that on nights when there is heavy condensation I am wary of using a laptop outside.

[Chris77]

I'm new to all this to and agree with phil the sky is very very big and looking at maps and then the sky you loose all sense of scale, then you bring the scope into the equation and it is very easy to get lost. I've just started to read Steve O'Meara's book Deep sky Companions: The Messier Objects and it make alot of sense it talks about finding objects and gives tips to help move around the sky, it will not help with finding saturn (as its about Messier objects) by its still a good read. He's got aother one about looking at the sky with binoculars which looks good to.

[Wobbly Bob]

Being familiar with some constellations, it would be good just to grab this months sky chart, place it on yer lap and locate the more obscure constellations without putting a crick in ones neck.

[ChrisEdu]

I tend to use Stellarium and a constellation guide book. Like others have said though, it can be difficult adapting to the scale of the real thing!

[Doc]

Have never used one.

[Talitha]

I never hold it above my head, it's in front of me like a book. I glance down at it and then up at the star patterns in the sky. Btw, planispheres are a great way to get the approximate time when you've left your watch at home.

[The Warthog]

I generally hold it vertically. BTW, Mine is dark blue on white. I have trouble reading white on dark blue with the red torch.

[geoff_k]

Perhaps you need one of these. Not sure if it's just re-inventing the wheel, so to speak.

http://www.planisphere2.com/