Perhaps the oldest way of navigation, especially by the sea, is by the use star charts. Star charts have been used for human navigation since time immemorial. Star charts are made to be maps of the night sky. For guidance and further study, astronomers divide these into grids to easily use them.

Star charts are used to identify and locate astronomical objects such as stars, planets, constellations and galaxies. Star charts differ from an astronomical catalog which is a listing or tabulation of astronomical objects for a particular purpose.  An astronomical catalog is typically grouped together because they share a common type, morphology, origin, means of detection, or method of discovery. Normally, astronomical catalogs are the result of an astronomical survey of some kind. Because of these groupings, a type of star chart is formed, the planisphere.

Star hopping is a hobby so abundant nowadays. Star hopping is a process used to locate objects in the night sky. To star hop, the observer uses well known or well charted bright objects to find his way to a desired object. A predetermined path of bright stars is often drawn up before the observing session. First, you must obtain a star chart so that you can make accurate drawings that you can compare with what you see in the telescope eyepiece or finder scope.

Old civilizations have their own way of star charting. Until the Meiji Restoration, charting of the heavens in Japan (like most astronomical observation) was closely tied to divination and calendar reckoning for astrological purposes. While there were some variations in choice of stars, delineation of asterisms by Japanese chart makers closely followed traditions and developments in China. For ancient Chinese and later Korean and Japanese cartographers, four talismanic animals marked the four seasons and four cardinal directions… the Azure Dragon of the East (Spring), the Red Bird of the South (Summer), the White Tiger of the West (Fall), and the “Genbu” (Black Tortoise) of the North (Winter) [actually there were five, the other "direction" being "center"... earth]. Corresponding to each of the celestial “palaces” were seven “stations” of the moon. Moon “stations” or “lodges” were of course, based on the daily (or nightly) position of the moon among the stars. Origins of these associations are somewhat obscure and even controversial. In China, they appear to be at least 3500 years old, some estimates dating much earlier. In Japan, their first confirmed “existence” is found in the 7th century (probable dating) Takamatsu Zuka Kofun (Pine Tree Burial Mound) and the recently explored Kitora Tomb.