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 and, if you haven’t already done so, set your home location.

If they’re not already displayed, 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, turn daylight off by clicking Daylight on the Display palette.

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. This makes it easier to be sure you’re selecting the correct object.

Turn on Onscreen Info by clicking Info in the Display palette. Click the button next to Info in the Display palette. Click in the RA and Dec. box. (Hint: You might want to change the label color to white for better contrast.) Click OK.

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, are visible from your home location in the southern sky (the default view)?

Find the following planets (use Find from the Edit menu, click the magnifying glass icon in the top toolbar, or just double-click the object’s name in the Planet palette).

Mercury
Venus
Mars
Jupiter
Saturn
Uranus
Neptune
Pluto
2. As you find each planet, write down its celestial coordinates.

Open your file manager (e.g., Windows Explorer) and search for the file named The Solar System.inf. (It should be in your \Starry Nights\Example Files folder.) Drag and drop the file onto the Starry Night window.

3. What do you notice about the orbits of the planets in relationship to the ecliptic?

Now find the file named Hale-Bopp.inf. Drag and drop the file onto the Starry Night window.

4. What do you notice about the appearance and position of the comet? About its orbit in relationship to the ecliptic?

Return to your home location by clicking the little house icon in the Tool palette. Turn off the display of planet labels and orbits by clicking Planets on the Display palette. Turn off the display of Comet Hale-Bopp and its orbit by clicking Comets in the Display palette. If Messier objects are not displayed, turn them on by clicking Messier in the Display palette. Click the dot next to Messier in the Display palette. Under the General tab, select Labels. (Hint: You might want to change the label color to white for better contrast.) Click OK to save the changes.

Find the following objects:

Orion Nebula
Trifid Nebula
51 Pegasi
5. Use the Zoom In button in the Tool palette to zoom in on the Trifid nebula. Describe what you see.

6. If you have a modem or other connection to the Internet, right click one of these objects and select Live Bookmark from the pop-up menu. Follow one or more of the links at the LiveSky site and read more about the selected object. Write down some interesting facts you discovered.