Planisphere
Use a planisphere to start learning your way around the sky. A planisphere is a circular star chart that can be adjusted to display the visible stars for any time and date.
![](http://nightskyonline.info/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Planisphere_screenshot_Dominic_Ford-2.jpg)
Planispheres can be bought from good book stores, telescope stores, on-line shops or you can download one free from a number of websites. Dominic Ford has a fantastic one that can be downloaded from here on his website. He has great instructions on his site for how to use it.
Circular sky chart
A highly recommended alternative to a rotating planisphere is the monthly free Skymaps.com chart.
![](http://nightskyonline.info/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/image_part_of_SkyMaps_September_2029_chart.jpg)
This chart has less distortion (because it is only for one month at time) and it has planets shown on it. The chart also has a number of ‘deep sky’ objects marked on it that are visible to either the unaided eye, through binoculars or through a telescope.