Uncle Al's Star Wheels

Uncle Al's Starwheels are inexpensive star maps, adjustable for any time of night in any month of the year. Such maps are also called planispheres. They are based on the Lawrence Hall of Science (LHS) Sky Challenger star wheels thatmay be purchased through the LHS Store.

See latest version of Uncle Al's Starwheels,
both Northern Hemisphere and Southern Hemisphere,
at Uncle Al's website.

Download Messier Catalog Excel File

To Use the Sky Wheels

Set date and time of night by rotating the Star Wheel in the Star Holder until your desired time of night lines up with the desired date.

To find a constellation note which horizon it is closest to and orient the Star Holder so that horizon is near is at the bottom, making that part of the sky to look right-side up.

Constellations higher in the sky (closer to the zenith) are closer to the center of the map.