star charts and planispheres. a map to the stars
star charts are just a map to the stars. Most maps like the ones meade telescopes sell are great for taking with you to a star party.
The meade star charts include a chart of all the seasons. It is a good idea to have a planisphere. A planispher is a rotating representation of the sky. You can buy them separate or they sometimes come with the star charts.For the people tha thave laptops there is star chart software. Some of these can be really good, but you have to be careful becuase alot will just be a waste of money. Personly I like some of the linux astronmy software that is out there. The windows ones I have used seem to be lacking in features.
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