Celestron SkyScout Personal Planetarium
by Celestron
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Category: Digital Camera
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Digital Photo Product Details
Manufacturer: CelestronModel: 93970
Product 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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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Celestron SkyScout Personal Planetarium
Customer Review: Phenomenal!
Summary: 5 Stars
I purchased this item three days ago, and I have NO complaints. I became more proactive in my dream to pursue amateur astronomy within the past two months and due to my needs/lifestyle, this was a definite plus! For one, I live in the suburbs of New York where there are not many safe areas to skygaze and we suffer from light pollution. I have to sort of stick and move...no time for studying a skymap outside and getting more confused. And, I don't live very close to the two main active astronomy clubs in my area where I can gain support.
It is easy to handle-not cumbersome at all. You can choose whether to locate or identify an item. It tells you what is available for the evening. You look through the eyepiece once you locate a star (or otherwise) and press identify, and within seconds, it is telling you what it is and gives you history about it. I started off by identifying what I was already familiar with, so, I asked it to identify Mars, and within seconds, the female voice is telling you "This is Mars, 4th planet from the Sun, named after the God of War..." Of course, you cannot see Pluto, but I asked it to locate Pluto and the lights flashed when I scanned the sky and then it focused on that poor dark area that a high powered telescope would have been the only thing to see it, however, at least, I know where Pluto was last night. It comes with a cute padded carrying case as well.
Now, I don't feel hog tied to meet with a group so often. It is not as though I plan to avoid astronomy groups...they are great for comradare and support, but, their meeting and observing schedules don't fit into my lifestyle, so they can only be an occasional gathering for me. But I am not held hostage to waiting to contact someone because I am confused over reading the skymap. I can now venture on my own. And, you can also opt to study the skymap later, because there are some constellations that can only be partially seen, so, I reviewed later to see if the SkyScout was accurate. I still took notes of my observations-the location, time, what piece of the constellation I saw, etc, and when I look at it again, I'll concentrate on the pattern so I can recollect it later.
It comes with an earpiece, but I don't care for the ones that have to be placed in my ear, I got the traditional headphones that I am more comfortable with and they worked just fine.
SkyScout will alert if you are too close to a metal object...I was a tad bit too close to my fence, so, I just stepped over a few steps and was fine.
Only minus-it eats up the AA batteries. If you only plan to be out for an hour or so, that is not so bad, but if you are using it for more than that, it may be a problem. Within the 45 minutes spent in my backyard, the batteries are already half down. So, I plan to purchase plenty of lithium batteries to take care of that.
Skyscout is perfect for the beginner and can even be an asset to a seasoned person who is going to an unfamiliar area and needs to acquaint themselves to the sky in that area (an example is going on vacation in the Southern Hemisphere). So far, only had it a few days, but I am SO happy such a thing exists!!
**Update** The only disadvantage that I noted is that during the warm summer, it doesn't seem to identify objects that are extremely close to the horizon very well. I had been trying to find Jupiter for awhile, and when I noted it should be northeast close to the horizon at around 4am, I got out of bed and went to look for it. I noted just over my neighbor's roof a bright disk that looked an awful lot like Venus. Got my binoculars out and saw points of light next to it, so, I knew these had to be some of the Galilean moons...get the SkyScout and it tells me the name of this star is Skat, a 3.5 magnitude star. I KNEW this was incorrect. I contacted the store I purchased it from and they told me that it is entirely possible that because of the heat rising from the roof of the home, the waves may have confused the GPS. And, he stated to try again when Jupiter is higher in the sky. I tried again when Jupiter was almost at Zenith, and sure enough, it identified correctly. Since then, Jupiter has been coming up earlier during this heatwave, but it starts close to the horizon and rises higher in the sky as the night goes. I saw it at 11:30pm, and I pressed 'identify' several times, but each time, SkyScout gave me a different name for the same celestial body in the same spot. However, when I pointed it at higher stars like the Summer Triangle, it identified correctly. My summary is that the SkyScout remains an excellent resource for a person like myself who has to spend time learning astronomy independently. BUT, you better learn your skies for yourself...don't lean on it as the gospel. It has helped me to learn the constellations, etc, which I could not have done on my own.
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