Making the most of your software

Why Stellarium is such a popular program with astronomers

One obvious appeal is it’s free, but that’s not the main reason. It has lots of features, but isn’t cluttered like many other programs or apps – it shows the night sky realistically without too many lines and symbols. Stellarium also lets you import the details of newly discovered Solar System objects without too much fuss, so you can find out when a new comet will be visible from where you live.

1 Head over to stellarium.org

Download Stellarium from its own dedicated website, making sure to download a version which will run properly on your machine.

2 Find your location

Select your home location either by finding it on the map or selecting it, or somewhere close to it, from the extensive list of locations.

3 Work out your horizon

Choose a foreground that looks most like your own viewing location. This will give you a realistic view of the sky you see when you observe.

4 Alter the time and date

You can move backwards or forwards in time using the time bar to see how the sky changes over days, weeks, years and even centuries.

5 Play with the settings

You can turn the names, outlines and artwork of constellations on and off with the tools bar along the bottom of the screen.

6 Check out other ancient skies

Use the Starlore menu to see how the ancient Egyptians, Chinese and Vikings saw the sky and painted it with their own constellations.