Planisphere - which one?

[Csaba Tizedes]

Hi, I hope I can found here some amateur (or professional) astronomer. I want to order for myself (and for my kids) planispheres. Have you got some good advice how to select the right for me? We are in the northern hemisphere, near Budapest, Hungary (N47.5 E019.0). I myself not beginner in astronomy I was an active Moon and Jupiter moons occultation observer in my student years.

I want to buy a professional instrument to use it to demonstrate how the stars are moves on the sky, how we can specify the directions (N, S, E, W), how we can approximate the sunrise, noon, sunset time and the sun position, how we can spot on the sky the meteor shower radiants, etc...

If you have experience, please send me advices!

Thank you so much!
Csaba

[DA74254]

Hello,
You can easily buy from Amazon (uk), though they are laid out for 50°. (They send this item to Hungary)
50°N Planisphere

Or, if you manage french, one for 47°N
47°N Planisphere

Also, if you wish, you can make one yourself and print it (or glue it) on a thicker cardboard.
In the link, you get to choose the latitude yourself before downloading a .pdf
Do-it-yourself Planisphere

Sky & Telescope has a fine article on how to make yourself, with templates for 30-50° Northern hemisphere.
Edit: Aand here is the link

Good luck and happy making

[Maximilian Hohmann]

Hello!

(12-09-2017 12:02 PM)Csaba Tizedes Wrote:  Hi, I hope I can found here some amateur (or professional) astronomer.

Only amateur :-) (Anyway, I know quite a few professional astonomers who never ever look up to the sky. They don't even know where North and South is. The evaluate terabytes of satellite data on their desk instead...)

Allegedly the best available planisphere is the "Sirius": https://www.astroshop.de/sternkarten/fre...te/p,12557 (Sorry, I only have links to shops in Germany). It is twice as big as normal planisheres and very detailed. A bit clumsy to use maybe.

The most popular one around here (of which I also have one somewhere) is the "Kosmos". It has been in production for over 50 years in different degrees of sophistication. There are noctilucent ones (not sure if they are still made), versions printed on cardboard (a bit delicate when used in late summer with lots of dew) and versions printed on plastic which are more rugged. A current model is this one: https://www.amazon.de/Drehbare-Kosmos-St...F8&s=books

There is also a "mini" Version of the "Kosmos" planishere with about 12cm diameter. I have one of these also and prefer it over the large one, but you need good eyesight - or reading glasses - to see it in the dark. Don't know if it is still produced, I got mine from eBay for 1 Euro.

Another older but excellent planisphere is the "Zodiac". Very rugged construction, almost indestructible. Out of production for a long time, but sometimes eBay or Amazon offer used ones: https://www.amazon.de/Drehbare-Sternkart...te+drehbar

Myself I have not really used a planishere for years I must confess. Apps for the iPad and smartphones have won the battle.

Clear skies!
Max

[Csaba Tizedes]

Thanks for the links.

Thats German planispheres really like instruments. It is clearly shows, Germany still can produce the "first-class German-quality".

Csaba

[Dan]

(12-09-2017 12:59 PM)Maximilian Hohmann Wrote:  Myself I have not really used a planishere for years I must confess. Apps for the iPad and smartphones have won the battle.

But then you lose your dark adaptation. Amateur astronomers need all the help they can get in these increasingly light-polluted skies.

[Maximilian Hohmann]

(12-11-2017 01:12 AM)Dan Wrote:  But then you lose your dark adaptation. Amateur astronomers need all the help they can get in these increasingly light-polluted skies.

Yes, but in order to read the small print on a planisphere you also need to illuminate it somehow. It is just a matter of keeping the level of illumination to the bare minimum and there is no difference between a physical planisphere and a virtual one. All the relevant apps have some form of "night mode" which uses either red colour only or a very low level of dimming.

[Sukiari]

Had a Miller's since I was a kid, still works great.

[WillMarchant]

Here http://www.spaceflightsoftware.com/planisphere.html are some links. I like the large David Levy model.
Best wishes,
Will

[kusmi]

(12-11-2017 01:12 AM)Dan Wrote:  But then you lose your dark adaptation. Amateur astronomers need all the help they can get in these increasingly light-polluted skies.

Usually those apps have a “dark mode” where they display everything in a red color. Most smartphones (at least my iPhone) also has a general setting to adjust the display color. I usually set my whole display to a red-tint then I can even operate different apps while my dark adaptation does not suffer. (On iPhone: Settings -> General -> Accessibility -> Display-Accommodations -> Color Filters. Turn On and select "Color Tint” and choose red as color).

[Dan]

(12-11-2017 09:49 AM)Maximilian Hohmann Wrote:  All the relevant apps have some form of "night mode" which uses either red colour only or a very low level of dimming.

(12-13-2017 05:22 PM)kusmi Wrote:  Usually those apps have a “dark mode” where they display everything in a red color. On iPhone: Settings -> General -> Accessibility -> Display-Accommodations -> Color Filters. Turn On and select "Color Tint” and choose red as color.

Thanks, guess I'm old-fashioned: star atlas and red torch. Equipment: 8" SCT, 11 x 80 binoculars and (mostly these days, sadly) just the naked eye.

[Thomas Puettmann]

Hi, most probably this is too simple for your needs, but here is a very nice DIY planisphere for younger children:
http://sternwarte-recklinghausen.de/data...nkarte.pdf
One just needs to print one page on paper, the other on a transparency, and join both of them with a pin, rivet, or a screw. I have used this planisphere for projects in Kindergarten and elementary school and the kids liked it a lot. We also made our own armillary sphere with fischertechnik (diameter about 60 cm, costs about 15 Euro). An armillary sphere is in my opinion really the best instrument for discovering the daily motion of the sun, the moon, the stars, and the planets. Here is a link to a cardbord one:
http://astromedia.eu/Astronomie-zum-Anfa...o6l2vk5e83