If you open your brand new starfinder and it looks complicated as hell and you can't figure it out, you're a lazy muther. This whole thing is pretty simple, and if you don't find it quite so simple, the instructions for how to use the thing are written on the back of the packaging it came in. You can work from this thing back if you wan't to know where to find a star in the sky; or you can work this thing forward and figure out which star you actually observed. Either way, there are very few calculations involved, and you only have to get close enough to differentiate between one star and another a little ways away. It's not the most exact science.

Step 1: Find GMT of the Observation. If you have observed a star already, also note your HS and reduce it down to an Ho. If you are estimating where in the sky to find a star, find star time first or the time at which you will make the observation, and base GMT off of that, it should be nearly close enough.

Step 2: Find the LHA of Aries. This value determines how you set up the starfinder, so get it right.

Step 3: Knowing your approximate LAT, pick out the clear plastic template that is closest to where you are. For example, if you are at 29 N, use the 25 N template. Both the templates and base are double-sided, one side is north, the other south. Make sure both match and are of the correct name. Note: With the templates, the print that you can read clearly (does not appear backward) is the print that describes that side of the template.

Step 4: Using your LHA of Aries and the correct template, align the 000 heading on the template to your LHA of Aries found on the base.

Note: The large, circular, graph-looking thing is essentially your view of the sky at that time. The outer ring is your horizon, and each concentric ring inside of that is a different level of altitude. The bearings can be found all the way around the outside edge as well.

Step 5: Find either the star that you are looking for as printed on the base, or use the altitude and bearing that you observed to find the star nearest to that position.

Note: If there is no body on the base in the location that you observed, then the body may either have been a planet or a faint star. To solve for these types of problems, check below.

CT	Time according to ship's chronometer when the observation was taken
CE	Known chronometer error. CE is given to you in Coast Guard problems, or can be found in tabular or graphical format on the bridge.
(+/-) ZD	Zone Description ([+W/-E Longitude]/15)
GMT/Date	Sum of the above (CT,CE, and ZD). All of the times listed in the Nautical Almanac are in GMT, so you need to get this right.

Hs	Raw sextant altitude (what you observed and noted from the sextant alone)
I	Instrument Error (Always published somewhere. Only applies to that particular sextant)
IC	Index Error (If you find the error to be "on" the arc, subtract the value, i.e. take it "off". If the error is "off" the arc, add the value, i.e. put it "on". "If it's on take it off, if it's off put it on.")
-Dip	Correction for the difference between your height of eye and the center of the earth. Value is always subtracted and is found on the first page in the NA, or by the equation .97√(Height of eye)
Ha	Apparent Altitude, equal to the sum of Hs, I, IC, and -Dip. Note: This is the value you enter the NA with for the remaining sextant corrections.
A2	Altitude correction due to refraction. Found on the first yellow page of NA
A4	Altitude correction for Non-Standard Conditions. Found on the third yellow page of the NA. Accounts for variations in temperature and barometric pressure.
HP	Horizontal Parallax, only applied when observing the moon. Found in the Daily Pages of the NA.
Ho	Observed Altitude, Sum of Ha, A2, A4, and HP corrections, used in determining intercept.

GHA of Aries	Hour Angle between Greenwich and first point of Aries. Found in Daily Pages of NA.
+m/s	Minutes and Seconds corrections, always added. Found in the Increments and Corrections section (back yellow pages) of the NA.
Corrected GHA of Aries	Sum of initial GHA of Aries and m/s correction.
(+E/-W) Longitude	Your longitude at the time of observation. If in West longitude, subtract this value from GHA to find LHA. If in East longitude, add this value to GHA to find LHA.
LHA of Aries	Local Hour Angle of Aries (angle from you to Aries). Sum of GHA of Aries and your longitude as described above. Note: This is the entering value for aligning your starfinder template to the base.