The Celestron SkyScout Personal Planetarium -

The Celestron Sky Scout Personal Planetarium

Of all the gadgets being marketed at this time of year, the Celestron Sky Scout Personal Planetarium is the ultimate in cool.

Until recently I had no idea this product even existed, but Consumer Reports has already given it rave reviews. The Sky Scout was awarded "Best of Innovations" at the 2006 Consumer Electronics Show, plus it received other awards from Popular Mechanics and PC Magazine.

If you've ever attempted amateur astronomy, you've quickly discovered as I have that star viewing can be very frustrating through a conventional telescope. You might be able to see a pretty sparkling SOMETHING up in the sky, but unless you're viewing a distinct star cluster like the Pleiades, you usually won't be able to figure out exactly WHICH star you're gazing at. So yeah, big woop, you're looking at a star - only you haven't a clue as to which one you're looking at.

The Celestron SkyScout is designed to give you extremely exact information about each star or planet you're viewing. Also if you're trying to locate a particular star, the SkyScout tells you which direction you need to aim until you get to the exact star you want to see. So it's sort of a cosmic locator.

The SkyScout has an LCD screen that displays info about each star, nebula, or planet you're viewing, plus it can supply audio through its headphones about what you're viewing. This gives you lots of interesting background information about the object.

The SkyScout uses a built-in GPS system to orient on your location, and this is how it can give you exact instructions about how to find any object you want to view in the sky. It compares your location to the star's location and shows you the way.

The SkyScout is small and easy to carry - it's about the size of a paperback book - and it comes with its own carrying case. Keep in mind that although you can look through the SkyScout lens to locate various objects in the sky, it isn't a telescope and it won't magnify the object you're looking at. For that, you'll need to have a separate telescope (or powerful binoculars) with you. But the two tools can work really nicely together. Your telescope allows you to view the object, and the Celestron SkyScout gives you more precise targeting information. Plus the SkyScout has lots of interesting audio about the planets and stars so you can listen to info about the objects through the headphones while you're looking at them through your telescope.

Imagine having a Carl Sagan or another cosmic expert with you, standing at your side and giving you cool information about the things you are viewing in the sky. That's the basic concept behind the Celestron SkyScout.

A friend of mine turned me on to the SkyScout one night when we were out stargazing with a regular telescope. The SkyScout helped us find many more stars than we would have found on our own, and it also gave us lots of information on the different nearby clusters, nebulae, and planets. I felt much more informed about each section of the sky I was looking at.

And since I've always fancied myself a bit of a space cadet, it was nice to learn more about my corner of the sky!

Celestron SkyScout Personal Planetarium

And if you don't already have a telescope or a powerful pair of binoculars, I highly recommend the Celestron SkyMaster Giant 15 X 70 Binoculars with Tripod Adapter. These are high quality, inexpensive binoculars that can be used for star viewing - not just for bird watching! Just use the attached adapter and put them on your tripod, or even try them without the tripod if you've got a steady hand. You can use these with the SkyScout Planetarium - they work nicely together.

Celestron SkyMaster Giant 15x70 Binoculars w/Tripod Adapter