<p>I think the idea of taking a $300 electronic toy into a hot tub is not wise. Especially if your friend likes a glass of champagne while they soak...</p>
<p>So lets go for the $5 solution, and make a &quot;Planisphere&quot;.  This &quot;is a star chart analogue computing instrument in the form of two adjustable disks that rotate on a common pivot. It can be adjusted to display the visible stars for any time and date.&quot; (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planisphere" rel="nofollow noreferrer">wiki</a>)</p>
<p>You can buy them (for slightly more than $5) But I don't know if you'll find one for 61 degrees — that's a long way North!  (but I bet the aurora can be great)</p>
<p>You can get downloadable printable instructions at <a href="https://drifted.in/planisphere/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://drifted.in/planisphere/</a></p>
<p>You can laminate it to make is stronger, but if it gets too soggy, you can just print out a new one.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-10-29T20:46:17.047Z
Useful! They do like beverages during the soak.
Captain Giraffe
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-10-29T20:57:03.853Z
The aurora is not a mythical creature up here =)
Captain Giraffe
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-10-29T20:30:07.360Z
2021-10-29T20:30:07.360Z
James K
<p>There are several apps for phones and tablets that do this.</p>
<p>They use the devices 3D accelerometer + compass and knowledge of location (from GPS, internet or even user entered) to determine the attitude (orientation) of the device, i.e. where it's pointing relative to the Earth.</p>
<p>They use its clock/calendar and an internal (or external) ephemeris to convert the Earth-referenced direction to a space-referenced direction (i.e. right ascension, declination.</p>
<p>Of course as always for apps, shop around and choose one that doesn't find a way to post advertisements within the constellations nor turns on the devices camera and broadcast your hot tub event over the internet :-)</p>
<p>And as noted in <a href="https://astronomy.stackexchange.com/a/47284/7982">@JamesK's answer</a>, don't drop your device into the hot tub!</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-10-30T23:46:43.377Z
2021-10-30T23:46:43.377Z
uhoh
<p>First, apologies; I understand this is like a software request over at Stack Overflow.</p>
<p>I'm looking for a star chart for a friend that likes to stargaze while in his outdoors hot tub. He is at latitude 61 degrees and longitude about 17 degrees.</p>
<p>Is there a map/chart where he can look up in the sky and say
-Oh look here that's the Andromeda galaxy!</p>
<p>while still in the tub?</p>
<p>I'd like the map to follow or at least indicate the seasonal variation.</p>
<p>My budget sits around $300.</p>
<p>Any $5 solutions are of course welcome too.</p>

<observational-astronomy><software>
Looking for an interactive star chart
Captain Giraffe
# Looking for an interactive star chart

(Asked by: username_0 on 2021-10-29)

First, apologies; I understand this is like a software request over at Stack Overflow.

I'm looking for a star chart for a friend that likes to stargaze while in his outdoors hot tub. He is at latitude 61 degrees and longitude about 17 degrees.

Is there a map/chart where he can look up in the sky and say
-Oh look here that's the Andromeda galaxy!

while still in the tub?

I'd like the map to follow or at least indicate the seasonal variation.

My budget sits around $300.

Any $5 solutions are of course welcome too.

**Tags:** observational-astronomy, software


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## 2 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2021-10-29. Score: 3

I think the idea of taking a $300 electronic toy into a hot tub is not wise. Especially if your friend likes a glass of champagne while they soak...

So lets go for the $5 solution, and make a "Planisphere". This "is a star chart analogue computing instrument in the form of two adjustable disks that rotate on a common pivot. It can be adjusted to display the visible stars for any time and date." ([wiki](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planisphere))

You can buy them (for slightly more than $5) But I don't know if you'll find one for 61 degrees — that's a long way North! (but I bet the aurora can be great)

You can get downloadable printable instructions at <https://drifted.in/planisphere/>

You can laminate it to make is stronger, but if it gets too soggy, you can just print out a new one.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: Useful! They do like beverages during the soak.  
> **username_0**: The aurora is not a mythical creature up here =)  

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### Answer by username_2 on 2021-10-30. Score: 0

There are several apps for phones and tablets that do this.

They use the devices 3D accelerometer + compass and knowledge of location (from GPS, internet or even user entered) to determine the attitude (orientation) of the device, i.e. where it's pointing relative to the Earth.

They use its clock/calendar and an internal (or external) ephemeris to convert the Earth-referenced direction to a space-referenced direction (i.e. right ascension, declination.

Of course as always for apps, shop around and choose one that doesn't find a way to post advertisements within the constellations nor turns on the devices camera and broadcast your hot tub event over the internet :-)

And as noted in [@username_1's answer](https://astronomy.stackexchange.com/a/47284/7982), don't drop your device into the hot tub!


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