A single map charts every star in the Northern Hemisphere

Mapping the Northern Sky

A single map charts every star in the Northern Hemisphere

Florian Winkler's star map catalogs the Northern Hemisphere's night sky using data from Stellarium, the HYG Database, and W. H. Finlay's Concise Catalog of Deep-sky Objects. It plots accurate positions and brightness for stars, Messier objects, and constellations, with symbols distinguishing brightness and variability and labels giving Bayer designations. A stereographic projection places Polaris at the center, with declination and right ascension forming the grid and the ecliptic traced as a dashed circle.

While it's easy to get lost in the details of the map, it never overwhelms.
  1. CosmicShadow

    Understanding what is in the sky and what's around it is a fun skill to have, you can always tell which direction is what, the time of year (in case you forgot) and the time of night, assuming you are looking outside frequently enough to notice the change. You can even tell how much time has past if you are in the same spot and have a point of reference (like in a hot tub facing a tall tree) using your hand to measure. You can use Stellarium on your computer or phone to help see what's up there as well as a planisphere to know exactly what is up today at your lattitude and where it is at what hour.

  2. lucagiftzek

    That sounds pretty interesting as a project. I could see it a lot also as a phone app.

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2026-10-23