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How does one draw a star chart like this?

I have:

  1. a star database with coordinates (right ascension - RA, declination - DEC),
  2. observer coordinates (latitude, longitude) and
  3. time of observation.

I need a formula which considers these parameters (mapping star coordinates to a 2D image). e.g.

starX = (90-abs(DEC)) * cos(RA)

starY = (90-abs(DEC)) * sin(RA)

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1 Answer 1

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Try starting with this page from the US Naval Observatory. The formulas are pretty simple and give you azimuth and elevation. The star chart you linked is basically a polar plot then, with the azimuth being the angle of the plot and (90 - elevation) being the radius.

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