Celestron SkyScout Personal Planetarium | 
 enlarge | Brand: Celestron
Category: Photography
List Price: $199.99
Buy New: $190.00
You Save: $9.99 (5%)
New (42) Used (2) Refurbished (1) from $160.00
Rating:  88 reviews
Media: Electronics
Autographed: No
Memorabilia: No
Optical Zoom: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 3.3
Dimensions (in): 7.5 x 4 x 2.5
MPN: 93970
Model: 93970
UPC: 050234939706
EAN: 0050234939706
ASIN: B000CNPAAA
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Features:
| • | Locates and identifies over 6,000 stars, planets, and constellations with GPS technology | | • | Red LED backlit display for easy-to-read information | | • | Accepts SkyTour SD multi-media cards for interactive tours of the night sky | | • | Includes USB port for easy download of database updates | | • | Measures 7.4 x 2.5 x 4.0 inches (W x H x D) |
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| Customer Reviews: Read 83 more reviews...
Pretty cool device September 30, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
I've wanted one of these since they came out about 2 years ago and read an article in Popular Science Magazine. They originally came out at $399 and I didn't want to pay that. But last week when I saw they were down to $199 I had to get one. I'm glad I did. The device is amazing. With its last update from July 2008, there are now more than 40,000 objects in its database.
What you do it look into the optical non-magnifying lens and little lights point which way to move the scope until the object you are looking for comes into view. Its pretty cool.
There is an LCD screen with info on it. One of the coolest things is that it has "Tonight's Highlights", telling you which object is in view right now and gives you all kinds of info on the object. With the headset plugged in, you can even hear it in spoken words.
The skyscout uses GPS and tilt sensors to figure out your position. For under $200, the unit is an excellent value and highly recommended to anyone with any kind of interest in astronomy.
The only negatives about the device are that the LCD can be hard to see even in total darkness, there isn't quite enough contrast and it takes getting used to. The GPS can take a few minutes to lock on each time you need to use it. The device should also give you the ability to research objects without the GPS, but this isn't the case, it has to lock onto GPS in order to do anything. I was sitting in my classroom and of course it doesn't work indoors and I wanted to look up some certain stars but couldn't so its basically useless unless you have the GPS locked on. Other than that the units great.
 Very Enjoyable! September 27, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Got these as a gift for my husband and, WOW, how wonderful for him to look at the constellations and be able to identify what he's looking at. Very nicely made and easy to use. A nice idea put to use for our enjoyment!
 A very fun product September 24, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
I was given a SkyScout as an award at the company I work at (it would have never occurred to me to buy one). I've had it out several times with my kids (11 and 7) this summer.
My kids love the SkyScout. All you do is point it at an object in the sky and press identify and it will tell you what it is (very cool). If you want to find something you just look it up in the UI and then follow the read lights in the view finder (even cooler).
My kids love to look at the sky in the summer and this has given them all the more reason to learn about astronomy. They've been asking me to get the telescope out so than can see even more.
Pros:
Easy to use. Very cool features. It always draws a crowd at night. It helps the kids learn astronomy in the best way I can think of - they get immediate answers questions while looking at the stars. That's way better than looking up info on Wikipedia any day.
Cons:
I can't read the display at night without my reading glasses. The GPS can take several tries to find its position (even with an open sky). The list of objects to find isn't filtered when objects are over the horizon. It's often close but not always exactly on the object we're looking for.
All-in-all it's a great learning tool. It makes learning for my kids (and for me) fun. We've really enjoyed it. Having used it, I would highly recommend it to parents who value educating their kids about astronomy.
SkyScout September 23, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I purchased the SkyScout for my wife--she likes birds and the night sky. It works well as billed and is easy to use though we are pretty tech oriented. It does take a little time to acquire orientation when you first come out and turn it on. It is very accurate and we use it with the Celestron maps. Note--as everyone does--that it does not magnify. It is purely an identification aid. I tried its competitor from Meade and found it a lot more clunky to use and in reality it was more of a talking video tour. This unit can do that as well but it is not its primarly use. Tough, pretty compact and easy to use though not foolproof. Price has dropped some and is fair for the capability.
Good for eduation; better with improvements September 4, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
We are new to astronomy and have used this for over a month. To date,we are pretty much satisfied with this product. The upgrade went smoothly and battery use not bad (though we are using rechargeable). My only dislikes are:
1. Screen is difficult to read (for older, over 40 eyes that is; younger folks might not have issue). It could be the color and I wish there were a way to change it.
2. You need to use a headphone or external speaker. Minor nit, but when you have a group of younger folks enjoying this product, it is nice to point and all listen at the same time so that everyone can find a unique object.
3. Sighting is a little awkward and many choices sometimes come up (big circle and shaky hands, though a tripod might help the latter), so you need a little more background information to correctly identify what you saw.
Other than that, we have been quite pleased.
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