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How do I locate a star?
There are many more ways to locate a star besides using a Star Map. OSR helps you find stars by offering unique apps and tools, like the OSR Star Finder mobile app and our One Million Stars browser app.
In this article, we’ll show you how to find the star named One Million Stars using multiple applications. This example star has the coordinates RA 13h03m33.35 -49°31’38.1” dec 4.83 mag Cen.
About the coordinates
- RA is the abbreviation for Right Ascension and dec is the abbreviation for declination. They are similar to latitude and longitude, but they relate to coordinates in the sky.
- Mag stands for magnitude, which is the brightness of the star. The limiting brightness of stars seen with the naked eye is about magnitude 6.5. With binoculars, you can see to magnitudes of about 10. For magnitudes beyond that, using an amateur telescope is recommended.
- Cen, in this case, stands for Centaurus, one of the 88 constellations that can be found in the sky. Knowing the constellation can help you locate a star more easily.
OSR Star Finder app
Finding a star in the night sky has been made easy with the OSR Star Finder app. Use your OSR Code to find the star, then point your phone to the sky to locate it. If the star isn’t visible because you’re not in the right hemisphere, the app can help you determine when the star will become visible to you. The app can also tell you locations where the star is currently visible.
Google Earth
To find your star with the free version of Google Earth, simply use the following steps:
- Download and install the software
- From the top bar, select the planet icon and choose ‘Sky’ from the dropdown
- In the search field on the left, enter the coordinates in the format 13:03:33.35 -49:31:38.1. This can be derived from the coordinates RA 13h03m33.35 -49°31’38.1” dec 4.83 mag Cen
In addition, you can find your star by visiting the OSR Star Page. Here is an example of a Star Page.
The Online Star Register and One Million Stars
You can look up your star in the Online Star Register, by visiting One Million Stars. Use your OSR Code to fly to your star. Here you can see one of these stars up close.
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