The Night Sky 30°-40° (Large; North Latitude) Review

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(More customer reviews)A rotating starfinder like this one (often referred to as a "Planisphere") effectively shows how the night sky looks at any given time on any night of the year. For instance, if it's 10 p.m. on April 30th, just line up April 30th on the outer wheel with 10 p.m. on the inner wheel. The starfinder will thus display the position and orientation of the constellations that are visible to you at that time. As time passes, celestial objects "drift" from east to west due to the Earth's rotation. Occasional adjustment (rotating the planisphere's inner wheel to keep up with passing time) will sustain an accurate representation. As with any night-time observing aid, it should be viewed with red light.
Planispheres are generally manufactured in incremental versions to accommodate various bandwidths of latitudes from which to use them. For northern latitudes they are most commonly offered in 20/30; 30/40; and 40/50-degree versions. The Night Sky "30-40" matches latitudes from 30 to 40 degrees North, i.e.: - the mid-southern United States. You should select the one that brackets your particular latitude.
Classic boundaries of the constellations are highlighted with lines connecting principal stars down to 5th magnitude. A few of the more significant celestial objects are represent as well, i.e.: - M31. Right Ascension and Declination scales are provided. The front side shows the sky as you face north. Turning the planisphere over (from front to back) shows the sky as it looks facing south - and without distortion.
A good starfinder is a useful tool, and Chandler's Night Sky planisphere has become my personal favorite. It makes for a good learning device as well, and is the planisphere of choice for Terrence Dickinson ("The Backyard Astronomer's Guide"). It is plastic coated, weatherproof, and very durable. Mine has suffered some clumsy mishaps on a concrete observing pad and endured countless hundreds of dew-polluted evenings, but still looks and functions quite well.
Whatever the venue - binocular, telescope, or just plain naked-eye stargazing, I highly recommend Chandler's Night Sky planisphere. I believe it to be the best choice available.

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The Night Sky is a rotating star finder (planisphere) that allows the user to recognize the constellations for any time of night, any day of the year. The sky appears to rotate (due to the rotation and orbital motion of the earth), so to be successful recognizing the constellations a beginner needs to know which stars are above the horizon at any time. This is the full-sized version of The Night Sky suitable for the 30Â-40Â latitude zone (southern half of the US, North Africa, Middle East, etc.). There are editions for the following latitude zones: 50Â-60Â, 40Â-50Â, 30Â-40Â, 20Â-30Â, and the Southern Hemisphere. There are also pocket-sized versions available for the same latitude zones.

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