4 lines can be displayed on the NightSky screens: Horizon, Celestial Grid, Ecliptic and Galactic Equator.

The Horizon line is represented by a cyan line with compass markings. This corresponds to 0 elevation. Due to atmospheric distortion it is usually possible to see a fraction of a degree below the 0 elevation line.

The Celestial Grid is shown in graduations of 1 hour of Right Ascension (RA) and 10 degrees of declination. Astronomers defined the position of stars using coordinates known as Right Ascension and Declination. While Declination corresponds to latitude, Right Ascension is measured in hours east from the vernal equinox - or where the Sun crosses the celestial equator in March.

A yellow line represents the apparent movement of the Sun around the sky over the period of the year. This is known as the Ecliptic.

NightSky attempts to simulate the celestial sphere by using only single pixels to represent the stars. This has the effect of showing the Milky Way as a density of stars as you would see them on a particularly clear night. The Milky Way galaxy is like a flat dish made up of stars and the galactic equator would represent the rim of this dish.

Title, Universal Time, Date (in day/month/year format), Local Sidereal Time (LST) and Position can be selected to be displayed on the displays. Local Sidereal Time is, simplistically, the time relative to the stars where normal time is relative to the sun. This is useful for calculating sky position of stars from their Right Ascension.