Celestron SkyScout Personal Planetarium
by Celestron
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Celestron SkyScout Personal Planetarium
Customer Review: A Revolution in Astronomy
Summary: 5 Stars
I have literally been waiting for the Skyscout all my life. I always wanted to be able to look in the sky and identify celestial bodies but just didn't have the kind of brain that could wrap itself around star charts. Nor did I know anyone who could stand there and discuss it with me on a chilly night.
The Skyscout is like no other astronomy-related device because for the first time, you can just take it out of the box, put in the batteries, wait a few seconds for it to find its location via GPS (same as a car navigation system), point at something in the sky and press the IDENTIFY button to have it identified to you. Think about that for a second. At last, you have an easy-to-use handheld device that can tell you what star or star formation you're looking at!
Or you can work the other way. Have it list celestial bodies and formations for you, press the LOCATE button, then helpful arrows in the readout will blink until you've pointed it in the right direction. And many of the entries in its database have audio accompaniment so you can learn about them through the included earphones! How cool is that? It has a slot that will eventually accept cartridges with more stuff as time goes by, but the built-in database is pretty big as it is.
And for what it's worth, because the Skyscout uses built-in GPS, you can use it to display your locaiton using GPS coordinates. I have a nav system on my car but the SkyScout is still better than that, because I can't figure out how to get that info out of the car! on the Skyscout it's just one button.
All this stuff is particularly easy to access, and even the error messages are helpful. For example, on one particularly cold Seattle night I tried to use it from inside my car. A magnet icon popped up, and an error message explained that magnetic interference by something such as the chassis of an automobile was impeding it. Slick.
The gizmos currently included with high-end telescopes come nowhere near this facility. First off, you need a telescope with you. The Skyscout is the size of a hotel alarm clock and has its own (non-magnified) viewer. Just whip this thing out of your pocket and go to town. Second, the ones with telescopes are agonizingly slow to calibrate, like half an hour or so, and must be reoriented every time you pick up the 'scope and move. Plus you have to enter all kinds of location and time information on many of them; the Skyscout just finds itself. And finally, none of them of course can simply tell you what you've pointed the 'scope at. The Skyscout can. I also need to emphasize that it neither needs nor comes with an 80-page manual like the ones that come with telescopes. It's like 1 printed sheet, and that's plenty. The UI is very, very simple.
This is a revolutionary 1.0 product. My only complaint is that goes through batteries like I eat Lucky Charms. Bring an extra set when you go out. Oh, and one reviewer said that for $400 it should come with a lens cap. Fair enough. But remember that the optics are almost irrelevant--it's just a plastic cover so you can see the lighted guides pointing you in the right direction. Get a fingerprint on it, fine--just wipe it off with any lens tissue. The unit won't be damaged, nor will its usefulness be affected in any way by a dirty lens. Your telescope has the magnfication and the useful optics. If you even brought it with you--I never have, so far!
Customer Review: I LOVE IT...
Summary: 5 Stars
Well worth the wait, this Skyscout delivers. It does exactly as advertised. I live in New York City, not exactly the astronomy capital of the world. So I was a bit hesitant to order because of the limited visibility here in the city. I ordered mine from Amazon on June 11 and was tired of waiting for my order to be fulfilled. So I ordered when I noticed the Discovery Store had it in stock. I had to pay more in shipping and tax but I HAVE IT IN HAND!!!
The Skyscout comes with
one skyscout, a padded case, earphones, wrist strap, usb cable, quick start guide, and instructional CD-ROM
Setup is a snap. Just insert two fresh double A's in the protective shields inside the battery compartment. Tighten the screw and hold the power button until you get the startup screen which reads SKYSCOUT.
After that the GPS kicks in to locate exactly where you are. That takes about a minute or so. You then press continue and your ready to go. You can choose from: Identify, Locate, GPS, Field Guide, and Settings. Tonight I went to Cunningham Park, stood in the middle, and started the show.
Under the option Locate, you search for planets, stars, deep space objects, and it also gives you the option to choose tonights highlights. This narrows space down to what you can see that night. Brightest stars, planets, constellations, whatever you are in the mood for.
I started out looking at Jupiter. I pressed the identify button and it tells you to search for a star and press the target button.
I pointed to the biggest and brightest star and the Skyscout identified it was Jupiter. It then gives you the option of getting information in text form, or by audio narrative. The Skyscout contains audio narration for over 200 hundred celestial objects. I am sure Celestron will add more to that number with updates. It is a great feature that brings your star gazing to life.
The skyscout is great, but as with any new technology it has its bugs.
My skyscout on a number of occasions just shut off. I would have to power it back on and wait for the GPS to relocate my point of origin. It happened about five or six times, today and yesterday. I have no idea why it happens. I was in the middle of the park so I do not believe there was any magnetic interference. It was fustrating and disappointing, I got over it. I love this thing.
One thing I felt could be improved was the viewfinder. I live in the light polluted city so I feel that if it had a wider field of vision it would be much easier to locate what you want to see. You need dark skies and I understand that, but if it had a wider field of vision I would be able to see the stars much easier. There are two red led rings within the viewfinder that provide directional arrows to find an object. But maybe if those rings were shutoff while you are looking through the veiwfinder it would be easier to see the stars as well. Just my opinion. It is a zero magnification viewfinder so you do not have to hold it up to your eye.
The skyscout is worth every penny. It gets five stars for doing what it is supposed to do. If you have children you will have hours of fun with them. If your an adult and love star gazing, grab the wife as I did and have some fun. You will not be disappointed. Unless of course yours shuts off for no reason too.
Customer Review: One word: FUN!
Summary: 5 Stars
I live in the city of Chicago, surrounded by light pollution and tall buildings. I only decided to purchase the SkyScout because my family lives in a very dark part of Florida, and I'm headed home for vacation soon.
All nine siblings and our parents have been astronomy nuts forever, and last time I was home, it went a little something like this:
Sibling 1: That's (Insert Star Name).
Sibling 2: No it's not. Are you blind? That's (Insert Different Star Name.)
Sibling 8: You're all crazy. It's not a star at all. It's (Insert Planet Name.)
Sibling 3: Yeah, okay, 8, if we were in the North Pole, you'd be right.
Sibling 4: Where'd I put that star chart?
Sibling 6: [Shrugs.] I saw the baby playing with it earlier.
Sibling 7: I'll go look inside the house.
ALL: Can you bring me a beer when you come back?
With a price of $199 plus free shipping, I could no longer justify NOT having a SkyScout for occasions like this. So I bought it with the understanding that, being a city dweller, it would only get very occasional use and would be completely useless where I live.
Was I wrong!
Amazon shipped the SkyScout lightning fast, as it does with everything. I had initially ordered it from another website which sells mostly telescopes, and since they don't keep the SS in their warehouse, I was going to have to wait 15 days for processing at Celestron (I know!) before it was shipped. I ended up canceling that order and after ordering from Amazon, had my SS in just a couple of days.
I am *not at all* technologically inclined. Still, I was able to easily set up the SkyScout and within a few minutes, I was standing out in my building's parking lot (filled with cars, incidentally) in sub-zero weather. To my delight, it was a "star-filled" night, Chicago-wise. Orion was clearly visible, as were about 15 other things.
I thought for sure I'd have trouble with magnet interference, due to the fact that I was standing just feet from 10 cars. Nope. The SkyScout powered right up and acquired the GPS fix in a minute or so.
About 4 seconds after I got a fix on my first star, I knew I was hooked. Holy. Cow. This is so much fun.
As I learned about beautiful Rigel, how far away it is, how bright and large it is, etc., I was in heaven.
I looked at a few more objects, but the freezing temps soon drove this frostbitten chick inside.
I have used it almost every night since then, and my husband who works midnights takes it to work each night, too. We are having so much fun.
I am a very visual learner. Star charts do little for me. I have to learn in 3D. For the first time in my life, I feel like the sky makes perfect sense. I see the constellations, and not just Orion. And I don't have to flip through charts or log onto the internet to find stuff. I can relax, laugh and cut up with the family, and still have a wonderful night of stargazing. (I also have a telescope, of course, and that's going to FL, too. Knowing where something is in the sky is no fun if you can't see it.)
I highly recommend this product as a fun, easy tool for learning the night sky. If I had had this thing when I was a kid, I'd have lived outside under the stars. I can't wait until my 2-year old is big enough to use it!
Thanks, Celestron!
Customer Review: It's Helping Me Learn How to Locate Celestial Objects
Summary: 5 Stars
I bought this from Amazon when it was on sale here for under $200. I also ordered "The Night Sky" star finder by David Chandler to learn how to use a sky chart so when I am ready to purchase my first telescope for astronomy, I won't have to spend additional $$$ for a Go-To package. The Celestron SkyScout is a good complement to the star gazing gear I'm putting together (which includes a simple compass people use for camping & hiking). You might need a compass or some GPS gadget that can accurately tell you if you're facing north or south. So far, I've only used my Skyscout twice since the replacement arrived yesterday. I also got this error message when I powered up the first one: "Error: GPS hardware problem detected. Please contact Celestron Technical Support". I called Celestron Tech Support. Then the headphones went bad later on in the night. The same happened with the replacement unit. Fortunately, my old Sony Walkman headphones work on the SkyScout.
Celestron Tech support helpful. They didn't try to rush me through the checks. We checked to see if my SkyScout had the latest firmware version (which I did). Tech Support provided information for the longitude/latitude based on my location, and also provided the offset. The offset can also be found in the instruction manual. And if you search your location on Google Earth, you'll have your latitude/longitude. Well, long story short...Celestron also sent an email suggesting that I send the first one back to the dealer "The gps is the issue. The fastest way to get replacement is to try the dealer you purchased from. If they can not assist you then we can create a return authorization and have you send in the Skyscout to us for replacement". Amazon promptly addressed the issue so I didn't have to contact Celestron again. I got the replacement from Amazon within the next business day. Amazon used a different carrier this time. The first night I took it outside, I got interference and weak Sat signals. I then drove out to the lake where I have a larger clearing with no metal objects around me. My Skyscout picked up weak Sat signal, displayed strange longitude/latitude settings, and targeted the wrong celestial object in the night sky. I wanted to locate Andromeda galaxy but it pointed to Sagittarius constellation. This is when The Night Sky star finder and a compass become useful. I realized I forgot to adjust the offset for daylight savings time (see user manual). I didn't have a telescope with me so I had to rely on a sky chart (star chart) to confirm the celestial object. On my second night out, it was cloudy with some light rain. The SkyScout worked perfectly. I was out on the lake again. Sat signals strong. No obstruction. No interference. It located Andromeda spot on - twice! So far, I'm happy with it. Can't wait to use this at a dark sky site.
Customer Review: Works great!
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a wonderful item if you're interested in the night sky. It identifies stars and displays precise GPS longitude and latitude with exact time, both of which may be important in aligning computerized "go-to" telescopes. It is amazingly accurate and reproducible. Point it at the same star three times and get the same identification each time. It has the ability to located celestial objects, which works well, but is a little more cumbersome. You need to follow the little red directional arrows in the view finder. Slow movement of the skyscout is necessary, otherwise, the arrows jump around can give you misleading directional advice.
Since the unit is unaffected by obstructed views or light pollution, it has advantages over sky charts. Having had the experience of pointing the skyscout towards an urban sky obstructed by tall buildings and light pollution to try to identify one of the two or three "stars" visible, only to have the skyscout promptly identify "Mars," I'm quite impressed. It seems to be well constructed. It feels solid in the hand and appears to be able to weather a drop or two, although admittedly I haven't put this to the test.
The manual warns you that it might have difficulty getting a GPS signal if you're next to a tall object and this is true. It works better in small clearing than near a building or large trees. The view finder is direct view and zero magnification, so this is a device for identifying but not observing celestial objects. They do market a telescope now that the skyscout can be mounted piggyback on, but I haven't tested this. It does aid in using my freestanding telescope. The unit is small and very portable. I'm going on vacation to area with much darker skies than to which I'm accustomed, and I'm looking forward to bringing my skyscout to help me identify stars I've not seem before. Since it is small and lightweight, it will pack easily and is much more convenient than packing books with sky charts and red-beam flashlights. I really like this device and recommend it without reservation for anyone interested in identifying stars and planets