Have you ever looked at the night sky and wondered just what's out there? Now you don't need an astronomy degree or years of experience to enjoy the wonders of the Cosmos. The Celestron SkyScout is a revolutionary new handheld device which instantly identifies and/or locates any celestial object visible to the unaided eye, providing educational and entertaining information, both in text and audio. A fun learning tool for all ages, the Celestron SkyScout personal planetarium puts the knowledge of an expert astronomer in the palm of your hand!

The Celestron SkyScout looks and feels much like a camcorder and works very similar to an MP3 player. Turn the Celestron SkyScout on and it will automatically use its global positioning unit to pinpoint your location. Once there, you simply look through the viewing screen with the adjustable brightness red bullseye to center on the area of your choice. Then push the button and the Celestron SkyScout Personal Planetarium will identify the object it was aimed at. What's more, the SkyScout also provides a database full of information, including right ascension, declination, magnitude and more... through over 50,000 stars, planets and constellations! Even the most experienced amateur astronomer can fully appreciate this clever gadget... After all, it makes identifying difficult stars such as Pi and Xi a breeze!

For added fun, the Celestron SkyScout truly is a personal planetarium. A pleasant female voice provides great information and stories through the earbud about 200 of the most popular celestial objects in scrolling text and narrated audio. The audio clips are enchanting and a great way to learn and share information!

Celestron SkyScout IYA 2009 Limited Edition features include...

IYA-Themed SD Expansion Card! - Highlights Include detailed information regarding important IYA andCelestial events taking place each month throughout 2009, audio and text descriptions for Solar System objects, audio on select Messier objects, and highlights of important milestones in astronomy and space history

"Tonight's Must-See List" - When the SkyScout is turned on, it will tell the user the 10 coolest things to look at in the sky that night, using internal GPS to automatically customize it to where that particular user is located

"Constellation Lessons" [^] If the user is looking at a star that's part of a constellation, the SkyScout will inform the user, show a picture of the constellation, and help the user locate the other stars in the constellation.

"Updatable Software and Data" [^] USB port (2.0) included for periodic updates of the operating software, as well as the ability to download new data from celestial objects like the Space Shuttle or passing comets.

"SkyTour Content Cards" [^] SD card slot exists for additional content offerings, such as "Astronomy for Kids".

How the Celestron SkyScout works... SkyScout combines GPS technology, which gives the time, date and location of the user, software that calculates the position of the objects for that moment, and 3 axis sensors measuring gravitational and magnetic fields to determine the true orientation of the SkyScout to the Earth!

The internal audio unit contains 200 stories which include 10 planets, 81 Named Stars, 88 Constellations, 11 Asterisms and 10 Messier Objects - including Orion and the Andromeda Galaxy! An example audio clip contains information like:

"The northern constellation Andromeda represents an ancient Greek lore of the beautiful daughter of Ethiopian Queen Cassiopeia, who was chained to a rock at sea as revenge for her mother's boastfulness. Though it is outlined by relatively faint stars, Andromeda is best known as the location of M31 - The Great Andromeda Galaxy - the most distant object visible to the unaided eye on a clear, dark night far from the light pollution of urban areas." Celestron IYA 2009 SkyScout Features...

Standard Accessories, such as a Carry Case, Earphones, Hand Strap and USB Cable, plus IYA-themed SD Expansion Card

Optional Accessories Available such as: Audio Speakers (so that you can share the audio content with family and friends) and Additional Sky Tour Cards, to learn more about the sky through a customized "tour".

"Locate" Capability: Allows users to quickly find over 50,000 stars, planets, and other celestial objects

"Identify" Capability: Allows users to quickly identify over 50,000 stars, planets, and other celestial objects

"Sky Tour" Audio Presentation: Gives you a tour of the best objects to look at that are automatically customized for the user's location. Additional SD slot gives the ability to add additional educational lessons and sky tours!

Built-in Field Guide Includes: