ihavebeenfloated

I posted this as a comment over on Scobleizer’s post about how “awesome” the Celestron SkyScout is. For those uninformed, this device alleges that you can hold it with one hand*, look through a large hole in the back of the unit**, and it will identify anything in the night sky that you point at*** and tell you all about it via nifty disembodied voices. Other claims? You can download new data about potential stargazing events, and there’s a “Tonight’s Must-See List” that directs which way you should point the device to see interesting night sky objects.****

* It’s not possible to hold any decently high powered binocular or telescope with one hand and be able to actually stabilize it enough to see the any night sky objects. The moon is nearly impossible to see without a tripod on even lower powered binoculars.

** Yeah, no. It looks to me like there isn’t even a lens in the front of the unit, just a black circle that is meant to give the impression (aka “mislead you”) that there might potentially a lens there. Chances are, from the sound of it, you’re never actually looking at the real night sky. This means that no matter what it points at, you’re never going to be able to actually see it in the sky yourself, since chances are you live in a light polluted neighborhood and you wont even have a pair of binoculars and a tripod with you. I would wager, perhaps unfairly, that if you actually did a in depth survey on the SkyScout, you’d find out that where the SkyScout points and what is actually in the sky at that location (if it were actually a lensed device) are two completely different things.

*** Again, not that you’re actually looking at the real sky with this device.

**** And again, not that you’ll ever actually be able to see any real night sky objects with the SkyScout, just a rendered facsimile.

I’m glad all real astronomy buffs will see through this thing as a silly expensive gimmick.

If it even has a real lens you can see the sky through, you’re not going to be able to see anything at night anyway. Even with a pair of decently high powered binoculars you need a tripod to spot anything due to total lack of stabilization in your arms. Chances are, if you’re using this device, you’re probably not even going to know how to set up a tripod and a pair of binoculars, much less a full telescope.

I thought Starry Night was a bit insane at $70+ to tell you what was in the night sky, but this thing takes the cake. I can already imagine Starry Night will have many, many benefits over this thing, e.g.: SN gives you exact positioning measurements for your telescope to point at a night sky object, or can interface with your (insanely expensive, but awesome) computerized telescope base…

Sorry, I have to rant on. It saddens me to see people so taken back by a product that wont result in you actually looking at the real stars with some real lenses. Instead, you’ll stand outside in your light polluted neighborhood where you can vaguely make out Orion’s belt on a moonless night (good luck seeing it with a full moon) and point it at the sky and say, “ooh, nifty, supposedly over there in the sky mars is making a transit of the seven sisters, whatever that means!” for an hour and then, when you go back inside bored out of your mind, you realize that dropping $400 on a toy was kind of stupid.

I knew it was a dud when it was only priced at $400. If this was an actual functioning set of binoculars or even a low powered telescope (obviously it wouldn’t be hand-held) that was actually useful for looking at night sky objects, its price would be in the upward range of a thousand dollars, if not thousands of dollars. “Cheap” quality products to not exist in astronomy. No device can do everything this device tries to misguide you into thinking it does (I like how on their website they don’t actually clarify, ever, whether or not you’re looking at the real sky, or can ever see anything in the real sky) for that cheap.

If you want a good astronomy experience, by a pair of high-powered binoculars, a tripod (and a tripod attachment for the binocs), and a sky atlas and/or a book on stargazing. (I have “Exploring the Night Sky with Binoculars” by Moore and it’s pretty good.)

Surprisingly perhaps (to you), that set up above might cost you $100 at most, and that’s if you splurge. You’ll have a more satisfying experience star gazing because you’ll have to find the objects on your own (not difficult!) and spend some time outside looking at the actual objects, instead of some rendering of them. (If this doesn’t sound fun to you, then perhaps astronomy isn’t for you.)

Check this webpage for more information about stargazing with binoculars.

If you want to get all “snazzy and technical” then buy Starry Night, you can print of sky maps for when you go outside (extremely useful) and it has all sorts of snazzy data on it, probably way more than the SkyScout does. It also as a “low light” mode if you bring Starry Night outside with you on your laptop so that it wont mess up your eye’s adjustment to the night. (Tints the screen red, pretty nifty, works well.)

But then again, if you want to drop $400 on a device like this, you’re more than welcome to. I’d rather pay $100 and be technical with my stargazing (and actually be able to see the real night sky objects while I’m at it), but that’s just me.