The Night Sky Atlas provides an image of the night sky, customizable by geographic location, providing star charts so one can easily locate constellations, planets, and other objects in the sky for free. This image is easy to manipulate and search within. It also provides links to current news, images, and data sources related to astronomy so users can always make sure they have the most up-to-date information possible. The Night Sky Atlas is put together using information from both the Astronomical Data Center and the NGC/IC Project LLC, both reliable sources. Meant for amateur astronomers, The Night Sky Atlas provides a comprehensive look at the night sky. The more one knows about astronomy, the more one can use the website. Even for a beginner, using this as a starting point is easy. Little updates seem to occur approximately once a month, to point out unique or interesting astronomical phenomena.
Viewing the website itself provides no access problems, although downloading various files can get slow and may require assistance. The pages load quickly, even when manipulating the star chart. At most, a few seconds are required before the new image loads. When one first arrives at The Night Sky Atlas it looks like a jumbled mess. A star chart takes up most of the page, with a list of constellations down each side. These are links, which take the user to where that constellation can currently be best viewed. At the top of the page is the site's navigation, providing information on any astronomical object an amateur astronomer would be interested in. Although the page looks messy, all of the information is readily available. The colours compliment the site, bringing the night sky to mind. A lighter font makes the text easy to read on the page itself, although sometimes the star charts may strain the eyes to make out the minute details.
Using The Night Sky Atlas is as difficult as you want it to be. If all you want is to view your night sky, you just need to orient the image on your geographic location. To really understand all of the numbers and information provided, further knowledge on astronomy is needed. This website was created by and for amateur astronomers, and anyone with a love for the subject should find it easy to use.
The Night Sky Atlas was created by Gill Couto, an amateur astronomer with a background in engineering. He turned his love for astronomy into an easy-to-use website to help others with similar interests. This is the best free website to view the night sky that I have found online to date. It provides the most information about astronomical phenomena, and gives the best view of the night sky. Unlike a book, the image provided can change, so you can always find the view of the sky that you want to see, although more information on how to read the star charts can be found in books.
Easy to use and to manipulate, The Night Sky Atlas does an amazing job serving its targeted audience. It is fun to play with, and the more knowledge one has, the more one can do with it. This should be recommended by librarians when they receive questions about astronomy and the constellations. It contains valuable information about what we can see in our night sky.
