Astronomy Log

If you ever want to use your GoTo telescope on location then you’ll need a 12v power source.

Maplin have their Portable Jump Start and Air Compressor on offer until the end of December 2008 for just £19.99 – perfect for powering your telescope.

The perfect gift for the astronomer in your family, plus it will always do lots of other jobs around the house such as pump up tyres or jump start your car battery as well.

The original price was £44.99, so now you can save £25! Order your Battery here now!

Maplin Telescope Battery Specifications:

• Up to 400A cranking power
• 12V power supply output – ideal for spotlights, car vacuums, portable fridges etc
• 200psi compressor for inflating car and cycle tyres, inflatable toys etc.
• Unit houses a sealed 17Ah battery with meter to show battery charge
• Built-in light for emergencies
• Complete with heavy duty jump leads, mains power supply and car cigarette lead

Get someone you love, preferably an astronomer, a subscription to Sky at Night magazine. The magazine comes with a CD packed full of interactive goodies every month as well as a magazine which includes astronomy news, how to’s, in-depth articles and my favourite – astronomy adverts!

The cheapest place to buy a subscription online is with Magazine Group, who currently have the subscription for:

6 months Sky at Night Magazine : £17.80

12 months Sky at Night Magazine : £35.75

That works out to be about £3 a magazine including delivery, instead of the shop price of £4.25

I attended my first Star Party the other week and both the hosts of the party used green laser pointers to point out which celestial objects we were actually looking at through the telescopes and on the large projection screen.

The green laser pointers were amazing and the beam of light went all the way through the sky to the object, which made it look like the beam was actually touching the stars!

So I decided to get myself a green laser pointer, I chose a Revelation Green Laser Pointer from Telescope Planet, it arrived quickly and came in a presentation metal box and it included 2x AAA batteries as well as instructions.

The laser pointer has a 5 mW output and has a beam range of over 12,000 ft. The unit is of very high quality and a great present for any astronomer, especially at the price of around £30.

The laser pointer can also be used in conjunction with a universal bracket which can be fitted to most telescopes which allows the laser pointer to be used as a very capable finderscope.

You can buy the green laser pointer from Telescope Planet here.

Looking for an unusal gift for someone? How about Astronaut Food? You can get Strawberries and Neopolitan Ice Cream.

Now you can eat the same food Nasa Astronauts eat on space missions. The foil sachets contain freeze dried strawberries or ice cream which last almost indefinitely, making them suitable for long space flights.

As they are eaten, saliva in the mouth re-hydrates the ultra-light chunks, returning them to their original state. Just Pop a Strawberry one in your mouth and it swells up magically to a full size fully flavoured succulent fruit. Brilliant for parties, perhaps Star Parties!

Each Astronaut Food packet is £2.99, you can buy the Strawberries Astronaut Food here and buy the Neopolitan Ice Cream Astronaut Food here.

 Does your child dream of beng an astronaut with NASA? Well I found these Astronaut costumes for kids on the web in Orange and in White.

“Take one giant leap for mankind in our astronaut flight suit costumes! These high-quality flight suits are replicas of those worn by the astronauts and NASA flight crews, and feature chest and waist harness buckles, padded neck collar ring, and matching custom embroidered NASA vector cap”.

What great fun for kids for dress-ups, fancy dress parties – your very own spaceman costume.

They look really good and they fit ages 4-8 years old. They cost £35 from The Science Museum store.

There are sizes for 4-6 year olds, and then 6-8 year old sizes.

Buy a Kids Astronaut Costume here.

It was amazing to see the Meade Sky gadget on Channel Five last night on The Gadget Show, when it was up against the Sky Challenger Picoo Z helicopters and won.

The MySky is definitely an amazing gadget, and particularly useful if you want to add GPS functionality to your Meade Non-GPS telescope.

The only thing that worries me is that from the image above, people may think that what you are looking at on the screen is actually a live shot of what is in the sky, when it is really just images stored on the MySky.

I have written more about the Meade MySky here.

The Meade My Sky is available for £196 online here.

On my travels around the internet I found the National Geographic Star Planetarium. This planetarium can transform a room into a space theatre. A Cyber Sky CD-ROM comes with it and is packed with facts and ancient legends to learn about as you watch projected stars move across the ceiling.

I think this kind of childrens planetarium has been around for many years now and has been updated in it’s look and now comes with a CD where it used to come with a cassette tape (remember those?).

“Transform your room into a 360-degree planetarium filled with stars and constellations. Includes a CD audio tour of the night sky and a hand-held meteor maker to add streaking meteors on command. Use the constellation dome outdoors as a 3D glow-in-the-dark star map. With lights, sounds and fascinating facts, it’s just like being in a real planetarium at home!
Age 8+”.

A great gift for the junior astronomer and not too expensive either, I found a similar Star Theatre which looks an improved version at The Science Museum for £29.99, or the version pictured above from The Toy Shop at £19.95

View the National Geographic Star Planetarium here.

I saw this Solar System mobile kit on the web. It’s a mobile of the solar system that comes in kit form and has to be put together.

The solar system mobile kit comes with everything you need including paints, brushes and a full colour poster.

What a great idea for a kids present though, something for them to do and educational at the same time and something for them to hang in the bedroom afterwards. A good introduction to the solar system for budding junior astronomers.

“Create the entire solar system in your own home. This fascinating kit has everything for making a beautiful, glow-in-the-dark mobile featuring all our known planets. 75cm high, 75cm wide when complete. Includes a bonus wall chart full of fascinating facts. Ideal for supporting Key Stage 3 of the National Curriculum. Age 7+”.

The Solar System mobile is available here from The Science Museum for £16.99

I found “moon in my room” whilst surfing around I am really tempted to buy it, ok so it’s bit of a toy, but the idea is really great, and it looks good too.

Moon In My Room – What could be cooler than having your own moon hanging up on your bedroom wall or ceiling? This fasinating moon with authentic detail shines just like the real moon in the twelve different lunar phases.

Using a mini remote control, you can smoothly glide through the twelve phases of the moon, or leave it on automatic and watch it glow from Waning Crescent to Waxing Gibbous and finally the New Moon. The light will automatically turn itself on in a darkened room, and off after 30 minutes; ideal for night-time wind-down, although it can be manually over-ridden.

Moon In My Room is really easy to set up and no mains electrics are required. Just position the unit and use the wall mountings that are included in the box.

Moon In My Room also comes with an audio CD, explaining loads of exciting facts about the moon. Great for little astronauts.

Moon In My Room requires 4 AA and 2 AAA batteries. Diameter 26cm. For Ages 3+.

Moon In My Room features:

• Remote controlled moon with 12 light-up phases.
• You can control the Moon phases manually or leave it on automatic.
• A built in light sensor; it will automatically start illuminating in a darkened room.
• An auto shut-off mechanisum after 30 minutes of inactivity to save battery power. (Although you can override this feature if you wish)
• Audio CD
• Designed to be mounted on your bedroom wall via wall mountings.
• Size: 26 cm x 26 cm x 6 cm

The cheapest place I could find it was at Prezzybox for £24.95