Sky & Telescope's Interactive Sky Chart is a Java applet that simulates a naked-eye view of the sky from any location on Earth, at any time of night, on any date from 1600 to 2400. Charted stars and planets are the ones typically visible without optical aid under clear suburban skies. Some deep-sky objects that can be seen in binoculars are plotted too.

The applet should work properly in most Java-enabled Web browsers. For best results on a PC, use Internet Explorer 6 or Netscape 7; on a Mac, use OS X 10.3 with Safari. If you have trouble getting the Sky Chart to open on your computer, please review our detailed system requirements to check whether you're using a supported operating system and/or to download one of the supported browsers.

If you find that you have a compatible system but still cannot load the Sky Chart, there are three likely reasons: 1. If you've installed a "pop-up stopper" (or one exists in your browser's toolbar) to block advertisements that automatically open in new browser windows, you'll probably have to turn it off, as our Sky Chart needs to open in a new browser window. 2. You may have a problem with your Internet connection. This is especially likely if you are seeing pages on other Web sites load very slowly. We suggest you contact your Internet service provider in this case. 3. You may need to download and install (or reinstall) the Sun Java Virtual Machine and/or may need to manually start Java on your PC. See our system requirements page for more information.

Quick links:

• How to Open the Sky Chart
• How to Change Your Location and Time Zone
• How to Change the Date and Time
• How to Change the Sky Chart's Display
• How to Print the Sky Chart