How it works
The map shows the whole sky above you as a circle. The centre is the point straight overhead and the edge is the horizon. Hold it above your head with the top pointing north and the directions will match the real sky, which is why east appears on the left.
Stars down to about magnitude 5.3 are drawn, roughly what you can see from a suburban sky. Bigger dots are brighter stars. Lines join the main stars of each constellation, and the brightest stars are labelled by name.
The Moon and the five bright planets are shown in colour. Use the slider to move up to 12 hours ahead and watch the sky turn as Earth rotates. The background darkens as twilight ends.
Star positions are for the year 2000 and planets are calculated for the moment shown; the difference is far too small to notice by eye.
Everything is calculated in your browser. Your location is used only on this page and is never sent to us. Sky positions are calculated with Astronomy Engine (Don Cross, MIT license). Star positions and constellation lines: d3-celestial data by Olaf Frohn (BSD license), based on the Yale Bright Star and Hipparcos catalogues.
ConstellationsThe 88 official star patterns, the asterisms inside them, and how to start learning them.
Finding your way in the skyFind north with Polaris, measure the sky with your hand, and hop from star to star.
The night sky through the seasonsWhat to look for on winter, spring, summer and autumn evenings from mid-northern latitudes.
Star brightness and magnitudeWhy brighter stars get smaller numbers, and how far you can see under dark skies.