Popular Home Star Projectors
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A star projector for the home can come in variety of shapes and sizes. Whether you're using it to teach astronomy, as a gadget to impress party guests or simply a way to get little-ones off to sleep, your very own home planetarium is a fascinating addition to any garage, lounge, bedroom... well, just about anywhere.
On this page I present reviews of popular home star projectors, ranging from the cheap-and-cheerful to the almost-professional. I try to be as impartial as I can, but as an astronomy enthusiast, I think they're all so cool! |
Homestar Aurora
From SEGA... also famous for games
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With its futuristic looks, the Sega Homestar Aurora has three modes of projection – stars and the Milky Way, aurora and sunset.
Featuring soothing music and sounds of nature, which can be volume-controlled, the Homestar also has two automatic timer settings. The Homestar Aurora comes in either black or white, and with 4 AA batteries will operate for approximately 4 hours of continuous use. |
Homestar Aurora Review
Japanese technology produces this high-end star projector
Sega Toys – you’ve heard of them – have produced a whole series of home planetarium projectors, ranging in price from a few-tens-of-dollars to several-hundreds-of-dollars. Homestar Aurora, coming in at the cheaper end, may not have as many features as its more expensive siblings, but nonetheless doesn’t lose anything by way of quality and wow!
Homestar Aurora itself looks just great, like all Sega models of planetarium projector. Like the others, it’s actually a slide projector rather than a pinhole projector, whereby light permeates through pinholes on a spherical (or otherwise) surface. There are three such slides with the Homestar Aurora: a circle of stars and the Milky Way projected with a silhouette of trees, the same again but including a sliver of sunset, and finally stars with a blue-green aurora.
There are pretty accurate renditions of the stars of the Galaxy, so if you arm yourself with an astronomy book and a laser pointer, you should be able to trace out constellations. The projector itself also throws out over a good range, which is one of its strengths and possibly why Sega adopted the slide-projector approach.
All in all, Homestar Aurora should be considered more than just a night light projector. The quality is good, it’s artistic in every aspect and even comes with music. So, kick back after a hard day’s work, set the Homestar running and you’ll be relaxed in no time.
Star Master Cosmos Projector
A star projector that finds a niche in creating funky effects
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Using a drum-style projector, the Star Master Cosmos Projector covers the room with approximately 10,000 moving stars.
Featuring constellations that can be changed over time, the Star Master Cosmos Projector also has a multi-color display mode. The Star Master Cosmos Projector can be powered by AC adaptor or batteries. |
Star Master Cosmos Projector Review
Get your star party started!
The Star Master Cosmos Projector is probably best described as ‘cheap and cheerful’, and puts little effort into displaying stars accurately or providing much in the way of educational value.
But, I really like the shape of this gadget (which is really what it is). It’s unusual to see a star projector that looks quite like this.
There’s the option of displaying stars or colors and although it can be used with an AC adaptor, for reasons unknown, this is not supplied. There’s also no power-off timer, so if you leave the projector on, the batteries will not last.
I would recommend the Star Master Cosmos Projector if you wanted to create a funky atmosphere at a house party. It would certainly be a talking point and for the money, it’s a bargain.
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The Uncle Milton 3-D Star Theater is just great for learning about the constellations. However, it doesn't project over much of a range, so you'll need to position it nearer to a wall for the best effect.
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Laser Stars Indoor Light Show
Vivid images and smooth movement from this star-shaped projector
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The Laser Stars contains a dual projection system to create an amazing display of animated stars, nebula cloud formations, and even the occasional shooting star!
Using precision optics and laser technology, the Laser Stars can be adjusted to a range of angles, and includes a dimmer control for displaying just the stars themselves. The Laser Stars can be free-standing or wall-mounted, and requires AC power. An adaptor is included. |
Laser Stars Review
It's definitely star light, star bright, with the Laser Stars
One thing I like about the Laser Stars projector is the fact that it’s star-shaped itself, which is a clever touch, and that the projected images are exceptionally vivid. The stars however, do not form any real constellations, so it’s not so useful as an educational instrument.
But with a little soft music to set the mood and a darkened room, Laser Stars comes into its own in producing a romantic, fun-to-watch light show.
Motion of the stars is smooth and the clouds well rendered but, to get the most out of the good quality optics, it’s recommended that the room be quite dark and wall surfaces light in color.
A final important note, as with all of the home star projectors reviewed here, is to read the manufacturer’s instructions on use. Please read safety notices carefully and operate the projectors as instructed. Replacement bulbs, lasers etc. can usually be supplied by the manufacturer if required, so check the conditions there as well.
Star Theater Pro by Uncle Milton
This popular planetarium projector looks both stylish and futuristic
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With a spherical design, the Star Theater Pro uses an ultra-bright white LED and optical-quality lenses to project a crystal clear rotating field of 10,000 stars.
Including two disc slides (Sun/Earth/Moon and Star Field) and a planetarium soundtrack, the Star Theater Pro has a fully adjustable focus and projection angle for an optimum viewing experience. The Star Theater Pro features an auto shut-off timer and can be powered by the AC adaptor or batteries. |
Star Theater Pro Review
Let this projector add a little romance to stargazing
Like the Sega Homestar Aurora, the Uncle Milton Star Theater Pro looks amazingly futuristic. It’s simple to control and projects bright, crisp images over a wide area. With its motorized image rotation and planetarium soundtrack, it effortlessly creates a calming, romantic atmosphere.
As mentioned in the description, it comes with two interchangeable discs – one with images of the Sun, Earth and Moon and the other a star field. These discs load into the front of the Star Theatre Pro and images on them are then projected upwards.
Star Theater Pro being a ‘slide projector’ does lead to some distortion and blurring of images if it’s not aimed straight at the projection surface and properly focused. However, with a little practice in adjusting the projector, this is usually not a problem. At the time of writing this review, the manufacturer states that additional discs are currently on back order, if you wanted to add further images to the set.
The planetarium soundtrack is purely a relaxing music CD, as opposed to providing a commentary on stars and planets. In this respect the educational value of the Star Theater Pro is limited. Having said that, this is a very popular and stylish home planetarium, it is light and portable, and incorporates a 30/60 minute power-off timer.
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Transform your ceiling into a starry night! With a proprietary Glominite formula, these stars shine and shine and shine. 150 glow-in-the-dark stars and adhesive putty let you create your own Universe.
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Projectables Solar System Night Light
One of a range of projectors specifically designed for children
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Using long-life LED lighting, the Projectables Solar System Night Light projects a decorative picture of the planets onto a wall or ceiling.
Incorporating a light sensor, the display will automatically switch itself on in the dark and off again when it is light, either during the day or when the room lights are turned on. The Projectables Solar System Night Light is both energy efficient and cool to the touch, as well as being easy to set up and operate. |
Solar System Night Light Review
A night light projector for a price that's right
The Projectables Solar System Night Light has a very sleek and simple design and is really nothing more than its name suggests – a night light projector. The displayed image is that of a blue disk containing cartoon-like pictures of the planets, so it doesn’t rank at all for educational value.
However, there’s no denying this projector is fun. Despite the fact that there’s only one image which doesn’t move around, as with some of the other projectors reviewed here, kids seem to be fascinated by the light sensor. This is a great feature built in to conserve power, so when the lights are on, the projector is off, but when the lights go down, it comes on.
Brightness of the display is at quite a pleasing level, being neither too bright nor too dim. Adjustability is only up-and-down and an image size of about 3 ft would be projected onto a ceiling of height 8-12 ft.
The Solar System Night Light is cool to touch and fairly robust, and is actually one of a range of GE night lights which also includes a Fairy Princess, Snowman and Jack-O-Lantern projectors. I’ve played around with one of these and seen other reviews, and can’t really fault it for the money.
Cloud b Twilight Constellation Night Light
Perfect for little stargazers - these things are so cute!
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Both plush and soft and with hand-painted details on the wings, the Twilight Ladybug projects a starry night of seven major constellations, including the Big Dipper and Pegasus.
The wings of the Twilight Ladybug can be illuminated in three different colors, powered by batteries which are included, and features an auto shut-off 45-minute sleep timer. The Twilight Ladybug comes with a beautifully illustrated Star Guide, Certificate of Adoption and an enchanting bedtime story. |
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Both plush and adorable, the Twilight Turtle comes in a range of colors including blue, purple and mocha.
The shell of the Twilight Turtle illuminates in three soothing colors and includes eight actual constellations in the star pattern. The Cloud b Twilight Turtle comes with a Star Guide, Certificate of Adoption and batteries. |
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Both fun and educational, the Twilight Sea Turtle projects stars in Ocean Blue, Emerald Green or both colors together.
The shell of the Sea Turtle illuminates in three colors while also highlighting five endangered sea friends. The Twilight Sea Turtle comes with a beautifully illustrated Star Guide, Certificate of Adoption and a Twilight Storybook. |
Twilight Constellation Night Light Review
What's not to like about Twilight Constellations?
Well… what can I say about all of these? Not much, because they’re just great for small children. Heck, I’ve even heard of adults buying them for themselves!
The age range for these projectors is 3+, which is about right. Although the shells are robust and the ‘toys’ in general are very well made, they will only stand so much chewing/stomping/throwing before they give it up. If you intend to buy one of these for younger children as a night light, which they are in addition to a star projector, you should keep them out of arm’s reach.
The stars do not move and when you change some of the colors of the stars, they may not be as visible on the ceiling or walls – but for educational value and to stimulate the imagination, these things are perfect.
All Twilight Constellation Night Lights operate on a 45-minute timer to conserve battery power and feature three different colors of night-light illumination. These colors vary between models. If you buy Twilight Sea Turtle, a portion of the proceeds is donated to an international conservation organization.