A Mystery of Space: S T A R S- [How to Use the Planetarium] U12

How to Use the Planetarium
To see a different part of the sky (the default location that you are taken to is constellation Ursa Minor) just use the scrollbars at the bottom and right side of the planetarium.
(the scrollbars are pointed out in the image below)
here is where the scrolling bars are on the planetarium

here is where the scrolling bars are on the planetarium

If you want to turn off the constellation lines and/or names, click on the appropriate buttons. You may also choose the type of constellation pattern you would like to use. The standard set of patterns (the one that is used by default), is the one that most star maps use. The "New" constellation patterns are ones that H.A. Rey made up in the 1940's. They are made to be more logical than the standard ones, but they do leave out some stars.
You can also toggle the number of stars that you can see in the planetarium by clicking on the more or less star buttons. Using less stars makes the planetarium run faster.

« For more advanced users »

If you hold down your left or right mouse button inside the planetarium (in the window that the stars and constellations are located), you will see the RA and Dec coordinates. Here is an explanation of both:

Right Ascension (RA) is similar to longitude on the earth, but is not measured quite the same. Right ascension is measured in hours, instead of degrees. The measurement starts at (similar to the prime meridian on Earth) 0 hours at the "First Point of Aries," and goes to 24 hours, which is actually the same place as 0 hours. So, if a star had a right ascension of 12 hours, then it would be on the opposite side of the sky from the First Point of Aries.

Declination (Dec) is very similar to latitude on Earth, and is measured in degrees. If an object was at 0 degrees in the sky, it would be located at the "Celestial Equator," much similar to our equator. A declination of +90 degrees is located at the North Celestial Pole, and a declination of -90 degrees at the South Celestial Pole. The Celestial Poles are easy to figure out in the night sky because they are directly above the Poles on Earth. For example, if you were at the South Pole on Earth, the Celestial South Pole would be directly above you. You do, though, have to keep in mind that stars next to each other in Celestial Sphere (where how the stars are represented in this planetarium) may be very apart in reality.

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