Star map
What's up tonight and where to point your telescope
AstroGaze shows the sky as it looks from where you are standing: bright stars with constellation lines, the planets, the Moon and all 110 Messier objects. Enter your coordinates and a time — the map works out the altitude and azimuth of every object, along with its rise, culmination and set times. Nothing to install: the maths runs in your browser.
Solar System
Bright stars
Famous deep-sky objects
Catalogue of night-sky objects
In brief
Which planets are visible tonight?
Open the map and set your location: planets above the horizon appear on the dome, and the list of visible objects gives the altitude and azimuth of each one for the chosen moment. Look for Mercury and Venus near sunrise or sunset; Jupiter and Saturn can stay up most of the night when they are well placed.
How do I point a telescope using altitude and azimuth?
Azimuth is measured from due north, clockwise: 90° is east, 180° south, 270° west. Altitude is the angle above the horizon. Your fist at arm’s length covers about 10° and a spread hand about 20°, so you can aim roughly by hand and then find the object in the finder.
Do I need a telescope to see anything?
No. The planets, the Pleiades and the Andromeda Galaxy are naked-eye objects, and binoculars already show globular clusters and the Orion Nebula. A telescope is for detail — the rings of Saturn, the belts of Jupiter, clusters resolved into individual stars.
When is the best time to observe?
On moonless nights after astronomical twilight ends, away from city lights. Catch an object near culmination: that is when it stands highest and its light travels through the least air. Every object page lists culmination times month by month.