Astronomy Tools

This page is devoted to currently available physical tools for observing the sky. Now, don't get me wrong. I love computers and the Internet. I write software for NASA spacecraft and robotic aircraft. I've got astronomy software and satellite tracking software on my PalmPilot, laptop, and desktop computers. But for sheer information density and ease of use, you sometimes need a tangible device. (And they are just plain cool! 8) Please let me know when you find new devices.

Products are listed in no particular order. While I've tried to be accurate, my apologies if any mistakes slipped through. I'm not related to any of these companies or products other than as a customer.

Probably the first thing you should get is a monthly sky guide. If you subscribe to Sky & Telescope or Astronomy magazine, they include a monthly star guide. Both magazines produce a printed yearly guide that will give you a good introduction and, especially important, help you plan particular objects to observe when you go outside. And there are a plethora of web sites to help you.

Planispheres and star finders:

People have different opinions about the next tool you should get. Some would suggest a good star chart. I suggest a planisphere.

A planisphere is a device that lets you predict when celestial objects will be above your horizon. The simplest models have a base plate printed with all the stars visible from your latitude. Above that is a moveable ellipse that represents your local horizon. The dates of the year are printed on the base plate, and the times of day on the moveable horizon dial. By aligning a time with a date you can see the stars that are above your local horizon at that time.

Fancier models will allow you to predict the rise, set, and location amongst the stars of celestial objects.

• Sky & Telescope has a nice selection in their online store. Take a look in their planisphere section. My favorite is David H. Levy's Guide to the Stars Planisphere. It is large (16" in diameter), easy to read, and has clear instructions. The central grommet is open so you can hang it on the wall. it is also available from the publisher at KenPress.
• Stellarscope
• Rob Walrecht Planispheres Rob makes planispheres for many different latitudes, including a model for the equator and ones for the southern hemisphere.
• FireFly Books has two planispheres:
• Planisphere Deluxe This is another large planisphere and goes down to magnitude 5.5 stars. It allows the user to plot the location for any object if the Right Ascension and Declination is known. It is not as readable as Levy's but has more detail. I have both! 8)
• The 10 inch version
• The Alpha Star Finder
• Celestaire has lots of cool navigational equipment. Their forte is celestial navigation. In order to use a sextant for navigation you have to be able to identify celestial objects! 8) Take a look at the star finding aids section of their catalog.
• Of particular interest is the Star Finder 2102-D. This device was used by navigators to plan which celestial objects to use for navigation. It has removable horizon templates that allow it to be used over the entire world. Note: traditional planispheres are designed to be held up and compared to the sky during an observing sessions. The 2102-D has stars printed as if the observer were standing outside the celestial sphere looking down at the Earth.
• Edmund Scientifics has several interesting items:
• The Planisphere Watch is a little planisphere on top of an analog watch.
• Their Star and Planet Locator is a bargain at $2.50 and can be bought in bulk quantities. Perfect for giving away at your next lecture! (Get a box of ten compasses for $0.50 each to give away too.)
• The MeteoScope is a planisphere with the radiants of meteor showers plotted. The MeteoScope is published by AstroCart.
• Learning Technologies has several planispheres:
  • Heifetz Planisphere with Undistorted Images of Constellations
  • Precession of the Equinoxes Historical Planisphere
  • Precession of the Equinoxes Classical & Historical Planisphere (Southern Hemisphere)
• Celestron offers several planispheres in the accessories section of their online catalog.
• Orion Telescope has a planisphere. They also have red goggles that you can wear in the house before going out to observe. This helps preserve your night vision. (Geek chic! 8)
• Skymaps has a planisphere page.
• The Sky Challenger has interchangeable wheels for different student activities. Looks like fun!
• "do it yourself planisphere" sites:
• Project STAR has star finder kits.
• The Discovery Channel
• Peter Alway's page
• The York University page gave my browser font indigestion.
• Washington & Jefferson University
• Ken Wilson's instructions for the Science Museum of Virginia (MS-Word)
• Uncle Al's Sky Wheels

Orrerys:

An Orrery is a device that models our solar system. Simple ones show the movement of the Earth about the Sun and the Moon about the Earth. More complex devices have the nine (or is it eight? 8) planets in the solar system, and some even have many of the planet's satellites.

The Orrery has a long and distinguished history and there are many scholarly books about the subject.

• Helios Planetarium I haven't seen one of these in person, but I'd love to get one!
• Vuarnesson Planetica Orrery This is a very useful tool. This makes it easy to figure out which planets are visible.
• I'll be adding more soon...

Astrolabe:

Don't know about astrolabes? The place to go is James Morrison's Astrolabes web site where you can find out about the uses and history of the astrolabe. He also has a page which lists manufacturers who have reproductions for sale.

I've gotten a couple of astrolabes from:

• For a modest charge, James will make a personal astrolabe customized to your location.
• Norman Greene makes some nice reproductions including a pendant.
• Celestaire has a couple of astrolabe kits. I have one of their Planispheric Astrolabe kits.

Star Globes and Home Planetaria:

• Spherical Concepts Starship Earth II, 16" & 30" globes I have one of the 16" globes and it is very nice. It has an adjustable horizon ring that makes it easy to customize to your location.
• Trippensee 16" Celestial Globe
• Vuarnesson StarGlobe Think of this as a three dimensional planisphere. Clever concept. I don't find myself using it very often but it looks nice on the shelf over my workstation.
• Uncle Milton has a couple of planetarium/star globe products. Their web site just has the original Star Theater product. Go to your favorite search engine and look for "star theater 2" to find vendors for the newer product.
• Edmund Scientifics has some star globes.
• Sky Publishing online store globes
• Vixen has a Space 800M home planetarium on their web site. I have been told by the North American distributors that this item is not for sale here in the USA.
• Star Maker Planetarium Kit. Do it yourself planetarium projector and dome.

Miscellaneous:

• MoonStick is a slide rule like calculator to compute phases of the Moon. Fascinating!
• Moon Phase & Sunrise/sunset wheels
• Concise Company is still manufacturing very nice circular slide rules.

Maintained by Will Marchant, (will@spaceflightsoftware.com). Last updated 2006-03-29.