Coordinate Systems

*One of the things you need to know how to do is to find stars and other celestial objects* consistently. You see something one night and want to look at it again another night, but it's moved! Besides, all those stars are very confusing to try to sort out!**
This tutorial about methods for locating stars and other objects in the night sky is very good.
You might specifically be wondering about:	It Is From: The physics department of: College of Saint Benedict/Saint John's University St. Joseph and Collegeville, MN
Right Ascension and
Declination
and see Using a Naked-Eye Star Map at Sky & Telescope

*A Planisphere, or star* wheel, makes observing the stars easier...**
Read Star-Finding with a Planisphere (By Alan M. MacRobert at Sky & Telescope) to learn how to observe the night sky, or This tutorial It is part of the tutorial linked above.

	From CSB/SJU as above.
Here is an Introduction to Sky Maps

When viewing stars from a dark site, it's best to have a flashlight with a red lens cover, or with some transparent red plastic or cellophane wrapped over the lens.

This is because your night vision is less disrupted by red light than by light of other colors, especially white.