Map of the starry sky and solar system. Stars and planets in the sky. Now. Look! Star map installation

Constellation and star map JPG

One of the best, in my opinion, star map. The equatorial part of the starry sky is built in cylindrical projection, and the poles are in azimuthal. Thanks to this, refractions at the junctions of these projections are reduced to a minimum amount, but do not be surprised that some constellations are seen twice: on the maps of the poles and the equatorial one. presented as a jpg image in fairly high resolution.

Google Sky constellation and star map

An interactive map of the sky, stars, constellations and galaxies that has no equal. A lot of work has been done, and from a huge number of photographs taken by the Hubble orbital telescope, a map of the entire starry sky has been compiled, by increasing the scale of which you can see the starry sky, which is in no way visible not only with the naked eye, but also in an optical telescope from Earth. In addition, this constellation map makes it possible to collect starry sky in constellations, look at their historical images, as well as take a tour of our solar system, examine the sky in the invisible infrared and microwave spectra.

Google Sky

Map of constellations and starry sky from Google Earth service (Google Earth)

Taking Google Sky and Google Map as a basic basis, Google programmers and artists went even further and created a browser program that, connecting to a single database via the Web, downloads maps of the Earth and star maps, as well as more maps of the Moon and Mars. Project Google Planet The earth is rapidly unfolding and is open to anyone who wants to make their own contribution. For example, you can apply constellation map 3D model own objects, if someone else has not already done this. The service also allows you to record videos based on the map, add voice or music accompaniment to them and save it as a video file.

Google Earth service

Constellation and star map Photopic Sky Survey

Another fascinating, cool, interactive starry sky project with easy navigation. Just like in the previous case with Google Earth, constellation map obtained by combining a large number of real 5-megapixel photographs into one picture and obtaining circular panorama of stars and constellations.It is possible to display a layer with connected constellation features on top, however, unlike Google Sky and Google Earth, the image cannot be saved.

is a free program - a virtual planetarium that allows you to see:

  • star map;
  • constellations;
  • planets of the solar system;
  • and other objects of the vast space.

Observing the planets and studying the constellations of the starry sky will be interesting for both children and adults.

Night sky over Japan

Mars with satellites

Stellarium is easy to learn and use.

The program interface is completely Russified. In the settings menu, however, there are items in English, but they are not particularly important (for example, the help item “about the program”).

Settings panels are equipped with tooltips.

Program settings.

In the lower left corner, when you hover the cursor, two panels with settings appear

The top icon on the left panel opens the location settings window for stargazing:

Here you can select a location by entering coordinates, selecting a city and country from the list, or selecting a point on the map. You can use the default location of your choice; to do this, you need to check the appropriate box.

The second icon opens the time setting window.

The third will show you the view settings.

On the first tab, called “Sky,” you can configure the display of stars: absolute and relative magnification, turn on/off flickering and dynamic sensitivity adaptation.

You can also turn on/off the atmosphere display. Settings for planets and satellites include enabling/disabling planets, their labels, orbits, modeling the speed of light and scaling the Moon.

You can also turn star, nebula, and planet labels on or off, and change the size of the labels. And even adjust the number of passing meteors per hour...

In the “Notations” tab, you can configure the “celestial sphere”: display in the sky the equatorial grid, equatorial grid j2000 (this is the grid of the epoch j 2000, i.e., the times of 2000), azimuth grid, equator line, meridian, ecliptic and cardinal directions .

There are also constellation settings: constellation lines, names, contours and images of constellations (more on this below) and image brightness. You can also select projections; projection descriptions are displayed to the right of the name.

In the “Terrain” tab, you can select the landscape that will be shown during observation, such as the ocean, or the landscape of other planets, such as Mars or Saturn. You can also control the display of the ground, haze above the ground, and set the selected landscape as the default landscape.

The “Star Knowledge” tab allows you to learn ancient knowledge about the stars of various civilizations, such as the Aztec or Polynesian. If you choose one of these knowledge models, the names and shapes of the constellations will be displayed in the sky in accordance with the names of these peoples.

The next icon on the left panel will open a search window for the object you want to see.

The penultimate icon opens the settings window:

In the “Main” tab, you can select the program language, the option to display information about the selected object: all available, short or nothing.

In the “Movement” tab, you can enable/disable movements with the keyboard or mouse, and also select (set) the start time of observation.

In the “Service” tab there are settings for the planetarium parameters, such as: distortion of the spherical mirror, disk field of view, for more realistic star observation, non-horizontal object signatures, if you want to change the position of the star signatures, etc. Screenshot settings, purpose /change the folder for screenshots.

Star catalog settings, you can download additionally nine star catalogs.

"Scenarios" tab. Here you can run an observation script, the program will act “automatically”, all you have to do is observe.

In the “Plugins” tab, you can enable the loading of the plugin when the program starts and configure it. There are eight plugins in total. The last icon on the left toolbar is help.

The first and second buttons on the bottom toolbar include constellation lines and their names, respectively.

The result of their actions is shown in the figure.

The third button shows images of constellations in the sky:

The next two buttons enable the display of grids.

The sixth button turns on the landscape.

The seventh button turns on the display of cardinal directions.

The eighth and ninth buttons allow you to see nebulae and marks of planets of the solar system in the starry sky.

The next button switches between equatorial and azimuthal entry.

The twelfth button positions the selected object in the center of the screen.

Thirteen turns on night mode

The following icon enables full screen mode.

This is what the moon looks like when this option is selected.

The next button turns on the display of Earth satellites.

The last group of buttons controls time, slows it down, speeds it up, etc.

And the last button on this panel is to exit the program.

Download for free Stellarium - star map on your computer

Let's imagine that not long ago you became interested in astronomy. You began to listen to scientific and educational lectures, read the news, buy books and magazines. You may have already purchased a star atlas or downloaded a planetarium program to your computer. Do you recognize yourself? Even if you haven’t had time to do any of the above, but are just planning, it still won’t change the general essence - from now on you are an astronomy lover. Welcome to our ranks!

Yes Yes! Don't let this surprise you. Anyone can become an astronomy enthusiast. It’s enough just to become interested in this science and start studying it. Only…

- What about the telescope? - you ask. - After all, an astronomy lover should have his own telescope? What if I don't have one? What kind of astronomy lover am I without a telescope?

Remember: you are an astronomy enthusiast, even if you don't have a telescope. I personally know many astronomy enthusiasts who study astronomy through reading books, observing with the naked eye, and using binoculars. You can always buy a telescope; the main thing is to decide which telescope you need and for what purpose.

But what to do when you don’t have a telescope yet, but already want to look through it? For example, are you wondering what you can see in it? At the same time, you have no one to go to: your friends don’t have a telescope, there is no astroclub, planetarium or observatory in the city. What to do in this case?
The solution is simple - look through a telescope online! - But how to look through a telescope online?- you ask. - Where can I look for sites that will allow me to do this? Let's figure it out.

In fact, there are a number of sites on the Internet where you can look through a telescope online both in real time and study photos from web cameras that are updated every 30 seconds or several hours. Moreover, on some of these resources you will also be able to access the telescope itself, point it at the object of your choice and even take photographs of it. Isn't it great? However, I warn you, you need to understand that even with the powerful telescopes that are used in broadcasts, you will not see the clear and beautiful pictures that you saw on the Internet. All beautiful photographs are taken using long exposures, so online everything looks completely different. However, everything is being resolved, and in some places you will have the opportunity to take astrophotography, and in fairly good quality.

Below I will list a number of online telescope sites and describe exactly what these resources can offer you. You can find more detailed information on the websites themselves.

Websites with telescopes online

How to share your observations?

By the way, having bought a telescope, you will be able to conduct your online broadcasts - share your observations with friends. For this you will need.


It fits any telescope, and with its help you can display an image of the observed object on the screen of your laptop. Next you only need good internet and OBS or XSplit programs. This site will tell you where to download and how to configure the programs. With these programs you can broadcast your laptop screen, for example on Twitch. Then all you have to do is send the link to the broadcast to your friends and it’s done! You will also find the Veber Orbitor 3 video eyepiece in the assortment of our store.

Well, if you were looking for the answer to the question “how to look through a telescope online,” then I hope you found it. I also sincerely hope that you will find the links and information I provided in this article useful.

All the best, good shopping and pleasant observations! Clear skies and may the stars favor you!

It is generally accepted that stars are not visible during the day. However, from the top of Mount Ararat (altitude 5,000 m), the bright stars are clearly visible even at noon. The sky there is dark blue. With a telescope with a lens diameter of 70 mm, you can see bright stars even from flat terrain. But still, it is best to observe the stars at night, when the blinding light of the Sun does not interfere.

The starry sky is one of the most beautiful sights that exist in nature. About 6,000 stars can be seen in the entire sky with the naked eye.(at the same time about 3,000 above the horizon).

Since ancient times, people have mentally united the most noticeable stars into figures and called them constellations. Myths and legends were associated with the constellations. Today, a constellation is a section of the starry sky with conventional boundaries., which includes not only stars, but also other objects - nebulae, galaxies, clusters. ABOUT objects included in one or another constellation are not connected with each other, since they are, firstly, at different distances from the Earth, and secondly, the boundaries of the constellations are arbitrary, i.e. may be changed at any time.

Today on starry sky 88 constellations are identified.


Latin names of constellations are also accepted. All star atlases produced abroad contain the Latin names of the constellations.

Constellations can be divided into three large groups: human (Aquarius, Cassiopeia, Orion...), animals (Hare, Swan, Whale...) and object (Libra, Microscope, Scutum...). To better memorize constellations, noticeable stars in them are usually connected by lines into polygons or bizarre shapes. Below are: Ursa Major, Bootes, Virgo and Leo.


Since constellations are sections, that means they have an area. The areas of the constellations are different. The largest in area is Hydra. In second place is Virgo. On the third is Ursa Major. The smallest constellation in area is the Southern Cross (not visible at our latitudes).


Constellations also differ in the number of bright stars. The most bright stars are in Orion.

The bright stars of the constellations have their own names (usually invented by Arab and Greek astronomers). For example, the brightest star in the constellation Lyra is Vega, in the constellation Cygnus - Deneb, in the constellation Eagle - Altair. Remember the names of the stars of the Ursa Major bucket:


Stars in constellations also have symbols. The letters of the Greek alphabet are used for designation:

α - alpha

β - beta

γ - gamma

δ - delta

ε - epsilon

ζ - zeta

η - this

etc. It is worth remembering the designation and pronunciation of at least the first seven Greek letters. This is how the stars of the Ursa Major bucket are designated:


Typically, the brightest star in a constellation is designated by the letter α (alpha). But not always. There are other systems for naming stars.

Since ancient times, star maps have been compiled. Usually they depicted not only stars, but also drawings of animals, people and objects with which the constellations were associated. Since there was no order in the name and number of constellations, star maps varied. It got to the point that various astronomers tried to introduce their own constellations (by drawing the contours of the constellations in a new way). For example, in 1798, the astronomer Lalande proposed the constellation Balloon. In 1679, Halley introduced the constellation Oak of Charles. There were many other exotic names (Poniatowski's Ox, Cat, Friedrich's Regalia, etc.). Only in 1922 were the conventional boundaries of the constellations finally drawn, their number and names were fixed.

For practical purposes, today they use a moving star map, consisting of a star map and an overlay circle with a cut out oval. Here's the map:


Stars are indicated by circles of various sizes. The larger the circle, the brighter the star it represents. Double stars, variable stars, galaxies, nebulae, and star clusters are also noted on star maps.

The starry sky rotates slowly. The reason is the rotation of the Earth around its axis. The earth rotates from west to east, and the starry sky, on the contrary, from east to west. Therefore, stars, planets and luminaries rise on the eastern side of the horizon, and set on the western side. This movement is called daily rotation. It should be noted that the constellations retain their relative positions during daily rotation. The starry sky rotates as a single whole, like a huge celestial sphere. The Earth makes one revolution around its axis in relation to the stars in 23 hours 56 minutes 04 seconds. This period is called sidereal day. Every 23 hours 56 minutes 04 seconds the view of the starry sky is repeated.

But this does not mean that if the Earth does not rotate on its axis, the sky will remain motionless. The appearance of the starry sky is influenced by the movement of the Earth around the Sun. If the Earth did not rotate, the appearance of the starry sky would still slowly change throughout the year. This phenomenon is called annual change in the appearance of the starry sky. We can observe that in autumn some constellations are best visible, in winter - others, etc.


Constellations can be roughly divided according to the seasons of the year into autumn, winter, spring and summer. But this does not mean that in autumn you can only see autumn constellations. On an early autumn evening, summer constellations dominate the sky. As time passes, they lean toward the west, and the autumn constellations rise. In the morning the winter constellations are clearly visible.

The appearance of the starry sky also depends on the latitude of the observation location. At the Earth's poles, the starry sky rotates so that not a single star rises or sets. As you move toward the equator, the number of rising and setting stars increases. In mid-latitudes there are both rising and setting stars, as well as non-setting and never rising stars. For example,in the middle latitudes of the Earth's northern hemisphereThe constellations Ursa Major and Ursa Minor, Cassiopeia never descend below the horizon. But the constellations of the Southern Cross, Crane, and Altar never rise. At the earth's equator, all stars rise and set. If daylight did not interfere, in one day you could see all 88 constellations.

Constellations help with location orientation. It is especially useful to learn how to find the sides of the horizon using the North Star, since it almost does not change its position in the sky. The easiest way to find the North Star is by looking at the bucket from the constellation Ursa Major (to be precise, the line runs slightly to the left of the North Star):


The North Star always hangs above the north point. If you stand with your back to it, then the south will be in front, the east will be on the left, and the west will be on the right.

Some people think that the North Star is the brightest star in the starry sky. But that's not true. The brightest is Sirius from the constellation Canis Major. Polaris is the main navigation star.

To measure the apparent distances between stars and also the diameters of the disks of the planets, the Sun and the Moon, and the apparent sizes of nebulae and galaxies, an angular measure is used. 1 arc degree contains 60 arc minutes, and 1 arc minute contains 60 arc seconds. The diameters of the disks of the Sun and Moon are approximately equal to 0.5º.

Constellations - These are areas of the sky into which the celestial sphere is distributed in order to conveniently navigate the starry sky. In ancient times, constellations were various kinds of figures that were formed by bright stars, often these were the names of heroes of Greek mythology. Our entire starry sky is divided into 88 constellations, which were recorded by the International Astronomical Union in 1930. To date, the names of these constellations have been decided to be considered unchanged, as well as other names of bright stars. Some famous astronomers named discovered stars after themselves, but such names were never officially recognized. There are some companies that sell so-called “certificates” for naming the name of the star you like. So if you think what to give your girlfriend on March 8 or Valentine's Day then give her a “star in the sky.”

Constellations are rightfully considered reminders ancient culture humanity, its myths and its early interest in the celestial bodies. They help historians, astronomers and mythologists very well to understand the way of life and thinking of ancient people. Today, constellations help bright minds in astronomy navigate the sky and quickly determine the positions of various kinds of objects.

The most famous and most noticeable constellations of the zodiac signs

Orion constellations

Location of stars and constellations



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