See the Starry Night Freeman Tutorial for detailed directions on how to use Starry Night.

Be sure to write down the date and time of each observation. This is important information in all astronomical observations.

Open Starry Night. The first time you open the program, you’ll be prompted to set your home location (the Home Location dialog box will appear). A list of location categories will be displayed with a triangle next to each one. To show locations within a category, click the triangle beside the category’s name. For example, to view the sky as it appears from New York City, click the triangle beside North America to show a list of countries in North America. Click the triangle beside United States to show cities in the United States, then select New York, NY. Notice that the red circle indicating your viewing location is now over New York on the world map. When you’re done, click the Set Home Location button.

The program will open with two default palettes visible: the Tool palette and the Time palette. Turn on the Planet palette and the Display palette by clicking the corresponding icon on the Tool palette.

If it is daylight in your location at the time you do this project, turn daylight off by clicking Daylight on the Display palette.

Click the dot next to Planets in the Display palette. Under the General tab, select Show Planets and Labels. (Hint: You might want to change the label color to white for better contrast.) Click OK to save the changes.

1. What planets, if any, appear in the southern sky (the default view) from your home location?

Turn on "mouse information" by selecting Mouse Info from the Window menu or clicking the arrow labeled Mouse in the Tool palette. "Mouse information" displays a box at lower left that gives the name of the object or constellation over which your pointer is resting.

2. What is the brightest star (other than the Sun) that appears in the southern sky from your home location?

Find the Andromeda galaxy (use Find from the Edit menu or click the magnifying glass icon in the toolbar at the top of the screen). Use the Zoom In button (the magnifying glass with a plus in the center) in the Tool palette to enlarge Andromeda. Click the tool until the Current Field of View (right below the Zoom In button) is 1º. There is a bright circular object at the lower left of Andromeda. What is this object?

Experiment with the various palettes, tools, and menus to familiarize yourself with how they work. Take some time to just "play" with the program. Try different views of the sky; locate an object in which you’re interested; or change the viewing date, time, or location. (These are just suggestions; use your imagination!) Take notes on your observations; your instructor may ask you to share them with the class.