Night sky

Have you ever looked for pictures in the stars at night? Like the sky is a giant dot-to-dot puzzle?

We call groups of stars which form a picture in our imagination, a constellation. 

We use coordinate systems to find the position of a point on a surface. 

For example, Latitude and Longitude are used to locate a position on the Earth's surface. They are both measured as angles.

The Earth's atmosphere is vital for life. But did you know it can cause problems for astronomers. 

Welcome to our stargazing glossary! 

Here, you'll find key terms that will help you better understand the wonders of the night sky. 

The Sun appears above the horizon each day. This happens not because the Sun is moving, but because the Earth spins on its axis. 

Take a look at our sky maps, which are refreshed daily, to help you understand what you can see in the sky each night. 

The main part of each image shows the objects' positions visible in the sky at that time. This includes stars, the Moon, and planets. 

A finder chart is a map of a small region of the sky. Astronomers use these charts to find particular stars within an image. 

The charts are also useful for communicating which object on a map is being referred to.

Stargazing is something that we can all do. You just need to look up at the night sky. But with a little planning, you can make the experience even better.