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Edmund Scientific Star and Planet Locator
| Brand | Edmund Scientific |
| Part Number | |
| Availability | available |
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Reviews
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Oct 14, 2007
Very useful star locator for newcomers
Pros:Quick and easy to use, inexpensive, good first guide.
Cons:Small size can be difficult to read in the dark.
Comments:This is a very useful tool for newcomers to astronomy and the night sky. The rotating dial is easy to use, allowing the user to set the time and month to get a quick picture of what is up and where the constellations are. Having the names and relative magnitudes of the major stars is helpful when learning, especially when observing from city skies. Somehow, the elliptical viewing window gives a natural impression of the sky - better than circular representations.
Bottom Line: Would you recommend this item? YesSep 8, 2007Edmund Scientific's "Famous Star and Planet Locator"
Pros:Excellent introduction to the night sky and celestial mechanics, very low price.
Cons:Paper construction makes it fragile but at $2.95, who cares?
Comments:Edmund Scientific’s venerable Star and Planet Locator is unchanged since I bought my first one in the mid 1960s. Though it no longer sells for 75 cents, at $2.95 it’s still only a quarter the price of the next cheapest star finder.
Bottom Line: Would you recommend this item? Yes
The Star and Planet Locator is a basic 8½” across planisphere printed on thin card stock showing the entire night sky for 40 degrees north latitude. Stars are white on a dark blue background with constellation markings and names. Brighter DSOs like M31 in Andromeda and M13 in Hercules are also marked, though they are identified only as “Galaxy” and “Cluster.”
Like other planispheres, the Star and Planet Locator is a great introduction to the night sky. It provides a familiarity and an understanding of the cycles of the constellations. And what better way to demonstrate basic celestial mechanics than to represent the celestial pole by the very grommet on which the night sky revolves?
The chart has no equatorial or local grid although the celestial equator and ecliptic are marked. In my opinion, this only makes the Star and Planet Locator easier to read than other planispheres, which usually have more detailed but cluttered charts. I’ll go to a star atlas for that.
Edmund’s Star and Planet Locator is also well known for all of the neat stuff on the back. There’s some excellent astro-info, which includes lists of meteor showers, the brightest stars and a chart listing planetary positions for 4 years. (Mine has planetary positions for 1985 to 1988 and a chart of the positions of Halley’s Comet in 1985 and ‘86.) Edmund updates the data on the back regularly. There is also an included manual with an excellent introduction to Astronomy for beginners.
In conclusion, the Edmund Star and Planet Locator is an excellent low-tech introduction to the night sky and is easier to read and use than most other similar star wheels. Even after making the jump to Astronomy software and detailed star atlases, I still use it to see "what's out there." If it has any shortcoming, it’s that it’s made of paper and so it won’t last forever. At $2.95, though, this shouldn’t be an issue.Sort by
