6 Starstruck gift ideas for astronomy lovers

Serious astronomers can end up throwing a lot of money at the perfect telescope, but this Slokey model is a good, slightly more budget-friendly choice for someone starting out. 

Solidly built and quick to assemble, beginners will find it straightforward to pack up and down with minimal faff. The tripod is adjustable, with heights ranging from 80-125cm.

The manual adjustment gives you optimal control of the telescope’s focus. Its 80mm aperture and 500mm focal length delivers clear images of distant celestial bodies, including the moon, Venus and Mars.

The telescope comes equipped with its own smartphone adaptor, so you can try out some digiscoping on those galactic views. 

Promising review: “Love this telescope, it's well built, doesn't feel cheap, instructions is easy to understand, tripod is nice and strong, it had a nice clear lens, I love the adapter that holds your phone to lens to take photo. It’s easy to put together and looks well.”

The ideal binoculars for astronomy pair powerful magnification with durability, which this model by SkyMaster does in spades. 

Its 80mm zoom lens comes equipped with BaK-4 prisms, making it ideal for rendering crisp images in low light conditions. Its 20x magnification offers superb views of the night sky—not least the moon, which you can observe with impressive detail.

Its armoured body makes it extra durable against bumps and scrapes, while its water resistant exterior means it is hard-wearing in wet weather. 

With such a potent lens, the binoculars do pack some weight—a tripod adapter comes included to give your arms a rest on long nights outside. 

Promising review: “I bought these purely for Astronomy use—which is really their intended purpose—I have only used them once so far due to cloud cover etc and they performed well. So far I am genuinely pleased with them and consider them good value for money.

"Firstly the vital light-gathering ability of the 80mm objective lens is more than adequate. The image is crisp and bright, observing of stars on a slightly hazy evening was more than acceptable. The eye relief is fine for my eyesight but I don't wear glasses. The build quality is excellent all over.”

Red light helps astronomers see in the dark while still preserving their night vision—which is key for catching sight of those fainter, more distant stars and galaxies. 

If you’re planning on sifting through accessories in an astrophotography kit, or walking over uneven terrain to get a better view, then a red light head torch is a sound investment for night visibility. 

This head torch by WESLITE comes with three red light modes to suit your different needs, ranging from a focused spotlight to a wider flood light. Its brightness reaches up to 1000 lumens.

It comes with two rechargeable batteries, which last between five and ten hours—plenty of time for you to spend the evening looking at the stars. 

Promising review: “Excellent quality and value, brilliant for astronomy”

Nowadays you don’t need an expensive camera to try out astrophotography. This smartphone adaptor by Celestron connects your phone to an optic eyepiece, so you can experiment with some hands-free digiscoping. 

Clip your smartphone into the adaptor to align it with your telescope lens and magnify the view of the night sky through your phone’s camera. The NexGO features two directional knobs to help you get the alignment just right, and easily swivels from landscape to portrait mode.

This model is compatible with multiple Apple, Google and Samsung phone models with the case on, and can fit to any eyepiece with a 25.4mm to 44.45mm diameter. 

Promising review: “Lightweight, strong, great design. I have used other adapters with little success. This one is the best. Holds phone securely attaches firmly to telescope. Adjusting the adapter is easy. Attach your phone align with eyepiece by adjusting two smooth turning knobs. Ready in seconds.”

If you find picking out constellations disorienting and baffling, award-winning space scientist and The Sky at Night presenter Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock has compiled this digestible compendium to all the stars in the sky. 

The book walks you through each of the 88 constellations, explaining where to look for them and the science, mythology and special visual attributes that we know about each. 

Each constellation is beautifully illustrated, while an astronomical map gives you a stunning visual aid.

With Dr Aderi-Pocock’s tips, you can become an accomplished naked eye astronomer, with bountiful knowledge about dark sky locations and the ideal kit to enhance your gaze into the cosmos. 

Promising review: “So helpful and clear whilst bringing a touch of magic and whimsy to my nights!”

The moon is a wondrous, mysterious and desolate landscape—a huge grey desert populated by endless craters and mountains. Its pocked surface practically jumps off the page in this gorgeous illustration, which imitates a telescopic view of the lunar body.

Styled like a vintage map, the poster is helpfully labelled so you can pinpoint areas of note, like the Sea of Tranquility (where the first moon landing touched down), the Ocean of Storms (a scar possibly left by a giant asteroid’s impact) and the Tycho crater (one of the moon’s most distinctive features). 

Promising review: “Such a lovely poster, definitely get if you are thinking about it because it is so aesthetic and has such a great quality to it!”