If you could bring the night sky inside, what would it be like? The best star projectors fill walls and ceilings with stars, constellations and more to create an experience that can spark imaginations. Easy to use and simple to set up, star projectors come in many shapes and sizes and to suit a range of budgets as vast as the night sky itself.
There are quick tips for choosing a projector.
1. Look for a simulation based on the actual day and time.
2. The stars will look sharper in the smaller room.
3. Check the number of disks with each product.
4. If it's being used as a night-light, choose automatic shut-off.
You get what you pay for with star projectors. While those at the more affordable end of the market tend to focus on room-filling, colorful yet novelty-style ambient projections of the kinds of objects you might see in the night sky, the more you pay the more accuracy you get. If the intended recipient is a child with an interest in the night sky, go for the one that is more impressive and educational.
Here at Space.com, we scoured the market for the best star projectors and rounded up the best for bedrooms.
We don't know what we like the most about the Atmosphere SmartGalaxy Projector from encalife: the ability to control the projector with our voice or the exquisite 16.7 million colors to choose from. It boasts a sleek design that's sure to delight many: it's modern and compact, which allows the user to place it pretty much anywhere in the house.
Setting the projector up is very easy, but the instruction manual is easy to understand if the user needs it. This projector is able to be programmed to switch on and off at specific times and days of the week, allowing you to enjoy a fully automated experience.
You can change the colors, brightness, and speed just by speaking, and there is also the option to issue commands through your phone. It is possible to slide through a variety of colors with the color wheel on your device. There is a blend of over 17 million colors to choose from.
We enjoyed the experience so much that we didn't feel short-changed, despite the fact that the stars aren't scientifically accurate. This device is a great tool for creating a relaxing atmosphere or a lively party scene because of the ability to change the speed of the projection along with the brightness.
For a reasonable price, encalife has provided add-ons for the Atmosphere SmartGalaxy Projector, such as a safety box and gift box.
It is possible to choose from 16.7 million colors, which are compatible with every phone.
We are not sure what we love most about this Aurora Borealis Northern Lights Star Projector, it is a one-two in this list for Encalife products. Once again, you get to choose from over 13 million Aurora colors and you can do it with ease by controlling it with your phone. You can save the stars, full moon and combination of Aurora Borealis with the Northern Lights projector, it's compatible with all of your phones.
The projector also has the ability to turn on music to change the mood. It can create a lively or soothing atmosphere, and you probably won't see it like this. It comes with timers and controls so you can choose when it comes on and what setting you want.
Dim the lights or move the stars around to make them look like the night sky, as well as choose which stars move around when. If you want, you can make them move around as slowly or as quickly as you want.
The star projector from Sega projects bright, detailed images of the night sky.
One of the sleekest-looking and most powerful star projectors around is the Homestar Flux, which comes with a high price and ambition to match. We found the Homestar Flux to be more of a home planetarium than a simple star projector, with its multilevel glass lens producing realistic-looking night skies from the comfort of your own home. After adjusting the focus to suit you, you will see 60,000 stars, many more than on its competitors, and you don't even need to use a dark room.
This globe-like product really succeeds because of the number of stars it displays and the science-based upgrade options. One of the Homestar Flux's discs shows a sky with 60,000 stars while the other has constellation labels. Homestar Original disks are compatible with 17 Sony- branded disks that can be purchased separately for $18 a piece. Like many other star projectors, there is an automatic switch-off after 15 or 30 minutes.
You can choose from 30 more disks if you go to Astrial. The simulation of the Aurora australis is one of the highlights. There is a disk that shows the planets of the solar system, but there are other disks that are even more impressive. The weird seven-star system called Nu Scorpii and IC 4592 was imaged by NASA's WISE mission, as well as the North America nebula. You can also buy disks that make you feel like you're at a hot-air balloon festival.
The National Geographic Astro Planetarium is a high quality indoor planetarium for a good price that shows an accurate representation of the night sky, and it comes with plenty of extras. There are two projection disks, one showing 8,000 stars and the other guidelines for the major constellations. What you see is true to the time and day you set it to.
It is easy to use. The buttons are blue, which makes it easy to adjust the focusing wheel in darkness. The projection on the ceiling is bright and sharp, and it was made with the help of a German brand of binoculars, telescopes and microscopes. The stars at the edge of the projection can seem blurry.
The falling star mode is an optional feature, which projects a flashing meteor every 40 seconds, though always in the same place. It's an unexpected feature that has nothing to do with astronomy, that makes this a great feature.
There are four educational posters in the box, three AA batteries, and a 3.5mm jack cable that can be used to connect a phone or audio device to the star projector. If you want to listen to music while you stargaze, it has an FM radio.
Although not as garish-looking as the National Geographic Astro Planetarium, the Bresser Junior Astro-Planetarium is almost the same product. The same essential specifications and projections are available in this incarnation, but there are some notable differences.
One of the Astro Planetarium Multimedia disks has a starry night sky and the other has a depiction of the constellations.
It's easy to adjust the image using a focusing wheel around the lens and it's best used to project from 2 meters. If it is intended for a child's bedroom, it can be set to automatically shut down after 30 or 60 minutes.
It has a falling star mode, which can be activated to project a flashing meteor every 40 seconds.
The National Geographic Astro Planetarium has an audio device, but the Junior Astro-Planetarium doesn't. If you don't want that feature, the Bresser Junior Astro-Planetarium is a cheaper option.
There is a star projector that is more serious than some star projectors, but only just. The Omegon Star Theater Pro Planetarium can be attached to a portable battery source for special occasions, such as if you want to place it in the center of a room, because it is powered by ausb cable.
Although it illuminates the ceiling with a realistic night sky of 10,000 stars, it lacks brightness, ultimate sharpness and stellar accuracy. You can change the time or day, but you're only getting a random night sky that lacks context. It is difficult to find anything you might recognize, but it does include the arcs of the Milky Way.
It is good for anyone after a night sky projection, but not very effective as a learning device.
A plethora of additional disks is what the space night lamp boasts. In the box is an Earth/Moon/Sun disk, while online there are further options for disks showing a more detailed Milky Way, a star-forming nebula, the planets of the solar system from a flyover point-of-view, and conceptual art of the universe.
The Omegon Star Theater Pro Planetarium can be used to play disks similar to those sold for similar Uncle Milton products.
Like most star projectors, this one has a useful sleep time function that can switch off the projector after 60 or 120 minutes.
The AmbienceGalaxy Star Projector doesn't offer as many lighting modes, but it doesn't suffer for it. Users are able to blend the shades together with a supplied remote control. There are 21 color modes that can be created.
The build of this projector is very high quality. It is sleek, black and allows it to fit in with many home decors and it also doubles up as a music device, allowing users to play their favorite sounds while watching galactic shades dance around their ceiling and walls. The speaker is of a high quality.
This is a seamless experience, with the user being up and running within moments, and you will need to set up your phone's Bluetooth before you begin.
You won't get scientific accuracy with the Ambience model, but you will get a fantastic experience that allows your kids to sleep better at night.
You can see the stars of the night sky across the ceiling and walls if you aim the Smithsonian Optics Room Planetarium and dual projector science kit wherever you like. You can either use the stars as the sole image or as a background to some other images that come from three other slides in the box, in this default planetarium slide. There are 24 simple, still images of objects ranging from the sun, Earth, moon, asteroids and planets, the International Space Station, the Space Shuttle, and deep sky sights. It also has a poster.
It's definitely something for a child rather than an adult, not just because of its focus on pretty pictures, but the basic nature of its planetarium mode, which is little more than a rotating star pattern. It shows only the stars of the northern hemisphere, so whether or not it's possible to learn anything from its projections is questionable.
Kids can fall asleep under the stars with the 15-minute auto-shut-off that is available in the Smithsonian Optics Room Planetarium. Young kids who have expressed an interest in space, but not those interested in the detail, are best suited. It is very easy to use, very affordable and will suit undemanding users with low expectations.
Imagine being in a star cluster. If you want scientific accuracy, look elsewhere, for what you get with the BlissLights Sky lite 2.0 is a fascinating ambient experience that makes up for the lack of scientific rigor.
Designed for home offices, home cinemas, gaming rooms, spas, bedrooms and house parties, this laser-poweredaxy projector takes viewers on a journey through multicolored clouds. It uses a laser and an light source to create projections. The round product has three ridges in its undercarriage that allow it to be set to project at three different angles, including upwards onto a ceiling. The Sky lite 2.0 can be powered by a computer or portable battery, thanks to the help of ausb power cable.
The latest version of the app allows the user to choose from seven built-in effects modes, as well as the projector's intensity, brightness, and rotation speed. A custom colour blend can be created using the app. If you buy the Classic Green Stars variant, stars are either green or blue.
Sky lite 2.0 is impressive, but it is best put alongside a lava lamp in terms of what it tries to achieve. If you want to see a hypnotism through an imaginary nebula, this star projector is for you.
The cardboard cut-out of the 4M Night Sky Projection Kit might not seem like a good addition to our list of the best star projectors. There are some small holes in cardboard over a lamp. The image is fairly basic, but it's how you get there that's clever.
This is a great way to learn. Children are introduced to the concept of the northern and southern hemispheres before we get to the stars, because the aim is to build a globe-like night sky that's projected onto the night sky. They need to create holes where the major stars are in order to introduce them to the major stars and constellations in the night sky.
The hardware is easy after that. A small lamp is provided on a square base, which requires 4 x AA batteries, which aren't included. With a support fixed to each of the four corners, you put the night sky domes over the lamp and the stars are projected onto the walls and ceiling above. The stars and constellations are printed back-to-front to ensure an accurate projection. It's all fairly complicated and time consuming, but that's the point since it makes for an effective and affordable learning device. Don't expect anything more than a novelty night light for a child's bedroom.
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