This project must be done by individuals.
The goal of this project is for you to learn how to use the software package called Stellarium, which allows you to look at the night sky from any point on Earth, on any date, at any time. It can be very useful for figuring out just what IS that bright object in the west after sunset, or making plans for a trip in the future.
Stellarium is free, and runs under Windows, MacOS, and Linux. You can download a copy from
If you don't want to install a copy on your own computer, you can find copies on the computers in the College of Science computer lab, and on the computers out at the RIT Observatory.
In order to receive full credit for this exercise, you must answer both questions below by creating a picture of the night sky at the time in question, and printing that picture onto paper in a printer-friendly manner: invert the color scale first, turning black into white and vice versa.
So, do NOT print out a picture like this:
but instead, DO print out a picture like this:
Here are the two questions you must answer:
What night was that? Make a screenshot showing the sky.
Copyright © Michael Richmond. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.