Google Sky Map brings the night sky to your handheld

It's no easy business, trying to pick out a single star from the night sky. Which is why astronomy apps do the work for you, with your smartphone held over your head. One example is Google Sky Map, a free Android app. It combines information about your location and the direction the phone is pointing and comes up with an image of the night sky, including individual stars and planets.
Just align the back of the phone with the sky and the databank will pull up which heavenly bodies you are looking at.
There are filters, for those who only care about planets or constellations, for example. Manual mode allows searches for particular objects. And, since it doesn't make too many demands on the hardware, Google Sky Map can run on older Androids.